“This can’t be happening…” I gasped, my legs giving out as I crumpled to the floor. I had nothing left to keep me upright.
My first shift was happening right now, and every inch of me screamed in agony.
“I refuse this!” Kevin’s snarl cut through the air. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. He clearly grasped what was unfolding, the weight of our situation.
The study held more than just Kevin and his father, Alpha Sterling. Alpha Theodore was there too, along with my father, Beta Cameron.
They’d gathered to discuss last night’s border breach, but Kevin’s restlessness and my arrival had derailed everything.
For what felt like an eternity, they all stared at me in shock. When reality finally hit them, their faces showed disbelief – especially the Obsidian Claw pack members.
I was Kevin’s fated mate. My stepsister had been his girlfriend before she fled the pack a year ago. Since then, Kevin had blamed me for everything, turning my existence into pure hell.
Now he’d discovered I was his destined mate.
“No. I won’t accept this.” Once the shock faded, fury consumed Kevin’s features. Humiliation burned in his eyes, and without hesitation, he rejected me right there.
He’d never accept me as his fated mate!
“I, Kevin Obsidian Claw, reject you as my mate. May our bond be severed forever!” His voice boomed for everyone to witness. “I refuse you as my mate!”
I raised my head, meeting Kevin’s gaze with disbelief, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. I didn’t want to mate with the alpha’s son either.
The bully who’d made my life a living nightmare.
“I accept your rejection,” I whispered weakly, my body collapsing as the agony of rejection merged with my shift’s torment. I was certain death was coming for me.
The last thing I saw was my father rushing toward me, worry etched across his face. I wondered if he’d lash out at me later for disrupting their precious meeting…
When consciousness returned, I found myself in my bedroom in the omega quarters. My father sat in a chair beside my bed, dark circles shadowing his eyes. The moment I stirred, he moved closer.
“How do you feel?”
I scanned my surroundings as memories crashed over me like a tidal wave. With them came the pain – excruciating and all-consuming. I couldn’t remember if I’d completed my first shift.
“What are you doing here?” My voice came out cold. I pulled away when he reached for me.
Cameron’s hand froze mid-air. “I forgot your birthday. I should have been there for your first shift.”
“I’d be shocked if you had remembered.”
“Phoebe. Stop being difficult. Your attitude only makes things worse.” He looked like he’d aged a decade overnight.
“You stopped caring about me long ago, father.”
I forced myself upright despite the dizziness, my gaze steady on him. “Leave me alone like you always do.”
He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut, as if words were forming but couldn’t find their way out.
Finally, he spoke in a detached tone, like he was delivering a report. “You know our pack’s customs. A rejected mate brings bad luck, so the alpha will banish you. You’re free to leave.”
I blinked, not comprehending at first. When he explained what happened after I’d collapsed, how they no longer wanted me because I was rejected, how they expected me gone by tomorrow – it hit me.
It was superstition, but apparently strong enough for the alpha to cast me out.
“You can leave the pack now.” Cameron stood and headed for the door, but before leaving, he dropped another devastating blow that explained the extra pain beyond rejection. “Your first shift didn’t go smoothly. It weakened your wolf. You might lose her.”
After that bombshell, he abandoned me alone to process the overwhelming information that had greeted my awakening.
They wanted me gone now…
***
“I don’t give a damn, father! She stays. She’ll work as a servant in the pack house!” Kevin’s voice thundered as he refused to bend to his father’s decision to exile Phoebe.
This was exactly what she’d wanted. This was why they’d gotten into trouble with Alpha Theodore in the first place – and now they’d hand her exactly what she’d asked for?
“You rejected her. She’s bad luck now.”
“That’s nothing but ridiculous superstition!”
Kevin was still reeling from the rejection. He’d acted on impulse, but watching Phoebe’s body crumble after his words had burned the image into his mind permanently.
She’d been sick – he was certain of it. He’d felt her fever when he’d grabbed her throat. Last night had been her first shift, and such trauma could destroy her wolf. Now Kevin couldn’t think of anything else but her.
Phoebe’s POV
“You’re staying put,” Kevin snapped, yanking away the bag I’d packed. I was about to bolt when he stormed into my room and blocked my escape.
“Get away from me,” I snarled, exhaustion weighing down every word. “Why won’t you just leave me be?!”
“Never gonna happen. I made you a promise, remember?” That twisted grin spread across his face, and my whole body trembled with hopelessness.
I swung at him with both fists. “Get away! Just get away!” Fury consumed me.
What had I done to deserve this torture? What made him despise me so completely?
Kevin barely flinched at my weak attempts to hurt him. He grabbed my wrists effortlessly and slammed me back against the dresser.
Pain shot through me and I cried out, fighting to break free as he pinned both my hands above my head with one of his.
“You’re not leaving, Phoebe. I won’t let you.”
“Why keep me here?! You despise me, and I despise you!”
His grin widened. “Because watching you suffer brings me joy. You’re miserable here, and I love every second.”
“You’re sick! No wonder Viola ran from you!” Rage burned through me as I tried to knee him, but he pressed his entire body against mine, trapping me completely.
Being this close, I felt something that made my stomach turn – his arousal pressing against me.
He was getting off on this fight?
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Heat flooded my belly with disgust.
“Want to see real madness?” He dipped his head and dragged his tongue along my neck. “I made you another promise, didn’t I?”
Then he repeated yesterday’s threat word for word.
“The moment you’re old enough, I’m going to destroy you completely.”
He spun me around and shoved me toward the bed. The hunger in his gaze left no doubt about his intentions.
“Stop! What are you doing?!” I scrambled up, racing for the door, but he threw me back down easily.
“No! I don’t want this!” My screams echoed through the house, but nobody came.
They heard my pleas for help, but they ignored them. They knew exactly who they’d have to face.
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