Chapter 1: Rejected 

Ava's POV...

"Filthy bitch!" Another jab hit my side as I lay on my back, curling my body into a ball on the muddy ground, while Jason, our second master, kept hitting me.

"Jason, calm your wolf," Evans, our master, the beta of the pack, halted him.

"This witch was trying to escape again," Jason seethed, throwing daggers at me.

"What?" Evans threw me a shocked look that morphed into anger. "Again?" he asked.

"He was trying to rape me again," I answered back, pointing at Jason.

"Lies, she even stole some diamonds they mined here. She was going to run away with our diamonds." Jason eyed me.

They didn't even give me time to defend myself. Evan's eyes flashed red with his wolf, and before I could speak, he banged me against a rock.

"Bitch, you'll learn your lesson," he growled, and that was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

When I woke up, I was in a dark room. Without my wolf, I couldn't see anything, but it stank in here.

"Gosh! I hate my life."

There were some voices outside. They sounded low and distant, but I could tell they were talking about me. Staggering in the dark, I moved to the walls and tried to listen in on what they were saying.

“She has had her fate decided by the big boss; she would be sold.”

"That is better. Keeping her will be very dangerous; it's better we sell her and make some profit off her, though I'm not sure anyone would want a worthless lowlife like that omega," the other voice sounded.

"Oh my gosh," I muttered, my voice trembling.

After an accident that wiped out my memories, I became a slave to the Blood Moon Pack. I was just fifteen years old at the time, and ever since, my life has been nothing but hell.

Once a week, the Blood Moon Pack holds the alpha's feast, where alphas of great power and wealth attend to purchase as many omegas as they desire.

"I have to escape from here before they get me to that blasted feast. I need to leave." I stood up from the dirty floor.

"Goddess, who am I kidding? I can't escape, even if I wanted to."

The last time I tried, Franco caught me. I'm sure they would take extra measures this time. And even if I managed to run away, I was sure their wolves would catch up to me.

No matter how I see it, I was going to be on the losing end since they had their wolves and I didn't.

Fear gripped me like an icy tendril, squeezing my heart. I couldn't comprehend the cruelty of such a fate, but before I could think of a way to help myself, the door was pushed open, and Grace entered the room. 

Her eyes were cold and extremely calculating, and I could see her with the flash of light that came from the open door.

Grace had always been a threat to all omega females; if you weren't her favorite, then you're done. It was quite a pity that I ended up under her watch. "Come on, it's your day today," Grace said.

"What if I refuse?" I spoke up with a fierce look on my face. For the first time in my life, I spoke up.

"You don't have a choice, Ava," she declared. She forcefully grabbed my arm, her grip unyielding, as she pulled me along, my protests falling on deaf ears.

"I can't do this," I pleaded, desperation tainting my voice. "I'm already eighteen. I'll find my mate soon, and I'll leave. Please don't make me do this."

"You mate? You won't be getting any mates; besides, no one would want someone like you in their life," she snorted. "Let me believe what I want to believe now. I can, please, do anything else."

Grace scoffed, a cruel smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Omegas like you, Ava, aren't meant to have mates. You are meant to be used to warm up beds and satisfy the desires of those who hold power. Accept your fate."

Her words pierced through me like a thousand knives, each one deepening the wound in my already shattered heart.

In a room adorned with seductive furnishings, I was forced to wear clothes that accentuated my every curve. "I can't escape..."

A sudden commotion erupted outside the room. The door swung open, revealing a man with chiseled features and eyes that sparkled with love. 

His shirt hung loose, revealing a hint of his muscular chest, and his tie dangled carelessly around his neck. "Mate," his magnetic voice echoed.

Relief flooded through me as the scent of mint and earth filled my nostrils. "You came," I cried. I rushed into his arms, tears streaming down my face.

Instead of the warmth and reassurance I craved, he gently pulled away, his gaze filled with regret. 

Confusion clouded my mind, my heart pounding in my chest as I searched for answers. Wasn't he supposed to be happy?

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice heavy and his face devoid of any emotion. "I can't accept you as my mate."

The ground beneath me disappeared, and I felt myself falling, both physically and emotionally. The pain was unbearable—a deep ache that resonated through every fiber of my being.

 How could this be? How could the one person I thought would save me be the very one to abandon me? How could my light decide to leave me in the dark?

"I, Alpha Jared of the Jade Pack, reject you as my mate!"

His words felt like thousands of nails being pierced into my heart. How could I be so unfortunate?

I looked at him as he waited for me to do the same and set him free from our bond. I got up on my feet and said, "I hate you!"