CHAPTER TWO

Madeleine's POV

 

I ran quickly towards the stage, hoping the guards wouldn't block me from getting there. No one had stood up to present themselves as the Alpha's mate. Was that not enough proof that I belonged to him?

 

“Step back. Calm down. Have you forgotten who Damon is?” I said in my mind, but my body had another option. I didn't stop moving until I reached the stage, and then I waved at the priest standing at a close distance.

 

“How did you let this filthy thing get to this glorious altar?” Damon's calm but mischievous voice filled the air as the guards quickly arrived to get me out of the hall.

 

“No!” I screamed, unwilling to back down. I could be an Omega indeed, but I was not lacking in confidence. “I am quite convinced that I belong to the Alpha... his scent struck me, and now I can feel my wolf coming alive.”

 

A sudden rise of murmurs filled the hall as some wolves laughed quietly at the kind of risk I was taking, while some marveled at how this could be the case.

 

“I am not telling a lie. My mother told me about this prophecy. She said I would find my mate on my twenty-fourth birthday!” I continued to fight for my right, and then I turned slowly around to look at the priest, but I saw Damon first.

 

There was an utterly disgraced look on his face, like he was about to vomit.

 

“I know the traditions. I've read history. Bring out the equipment and collect my scent. Compare it with the Alpha's!”

 

“Oh. What boldness!”

 

“She must be stupid!”

 

“Oh, she's either insanely bold or maybe she's just... you know, insane.”

 

Many voices filled the air. I saw how those pretty girls cooperated to kick me out of the venue. When I saw the direction of their gazes, I directed my own gaze there too. I was wearing nothing but a stained white dress with rough hair. I saw my face in a mirror. I looked like someone pulled up from a dungeon after years of suffering there.

 

Guards quickly came to the altar as they grabbed me forcefully, kicking me to my knees.

 

Damon growled at the priest before collecting the mic from him as he dramatically walked towards the altar. He hesitated before speaking, as he continued to monitor the mood of the wolves in the hall.

 

“The last time we held a great ceremony, I banned these infidels from stepping inside because of this same DISGRACING reason!” he yelled into the microphone as everywhere fell silent.

 

“Every guard on duty will be punished for letting her slip past you. She shouldn't have even stepped into the hall, let alone claim to be my own mate,” he said and then glanced at my face. “It's hilarious, though. I've not seen someone as brave as her in the past few years. Despite the impression, I'm going to teach her how I treat foolishly brave little rats.”

 

I could feel my eyes pooling with tears. This was my last chance at rising from the dust. This was the exact moment I'd been waiting for for a long time. This was the moment my mother spoke about.

 

She didn't particularly tell me it would be an Alpha wolf. How could I run away from the fate the Goddess had sealed for me? How long could I run away from my own shadow?

 

“Bring forth the equipment and try this again.” Damon turned to the priest and ordered. “Make sure the scent doesn't move out of the hall, lest another filthy maid come in to disgrace me in front of this large crowd!”

 

“Noted, my Lord.” The priest lowered his head as he redid the process, sending out his perfect scent into the air.

 

I raised my head gently, and our eyes met. I quickly lowered my gaze. His own gaze was so brutal and piercing that I could feel it slicing through my eyeballs.

 

And then the sweet, heavenly scent filled my nostrils. I shut my eyes with a sigh as I inhaled the scent.

 

“What is the only way to confirm who my mate truly is?” the Alpha asked the priest without speaking into the mic.

 

“She will shift for the very first time. The Moon Goddess informed me through our precious gammas. Her skin will be filled with brown hair, just like how brown your wolf is, and then she will call your name through her wolf's voice,” the priest explained.

 

With a whisper to the priest, he murmured, “I shouldn't have let you say anything into the mic. You could have whispered it to me instead.”

 

“The wolves deserve to know...” the priest tried to defend everyone until Damon glared at him, causing him to fall silent.

 

“Release the scent again!” Damon ordered. “And let's see who will dare to tell a lie this time around. I'm going to deal with this stupid Omega who lied to everyone, but I need one more scapegoat.”

 

“Released,” the priest confirmed, and then silence fell on the hall. Even those pretty girls were scared to say a word. No one wanted to lose their life. The last time someone lied to the Alpha, he ordered the executor to behead him before it was later discovered that he didn't tell a lie but was misunderstood.

 

Wild brown hair filled the surface of my skin at once as I felt something shifting inside of me. I tried to keep the pain hidden because it was pain mixed with the joy of my wolf's awakening, but I could not. The pain was suffocating.

 

With a loud growl, I let go of the guards' grip on me as I called out with a loud voice.

 

“Damon Voss!”

 

My brown eyes met his own furious gaze before he saw that brown hair standing on end all over my skin. Some of the wolves marveled at how true this case was.

 

“This was exactly the prophecy of the Beta's mate, not my mate. The priest must be mistaken!” Damon declared and, with a furious voice, stepped closer to me.

 

He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me to the middle of the stage, kicking me to my knees before everyone.

 

“If anyone thinks they can make it to the top by bribing my officials and pretending to be my own mate, let them learn from the lesson I'm about to teach this one.” As he spoke, I felt a sudden break within me, like my wolf was splitting into pieces.

 

Our mate was rejecting us. We were just becoming a strong wolf. We were not yet very strong. The pain would be too suffocating.

 

“The bond is real, Alpha!” the priest declared. “We can't go against the full moon!”

 

“The full moon be damned,” Damon uttered as he threw the mic away, his voice loud enough to fill the air. “But if you stand on that point, then I'm just going to do it.”

 

“I, Damon Voss, reject...” While he spoke, I rose to my feet and jumped off the stage, kicking the guards standing in my way and running out of the hall as fast as I could.

 

Would anyone feel the preciousness of having a wolf and dare to lose it to someone's rejection because they felt unworthy to them?

 

With tears blurring my eyes and reality dawning on me that no one would ever want me, I dashed out of the pack and ran towards the woods.

 

He was definitely going to reject and banish me from the pack, but he would call men to torture me for lying before kicking me out. I'd seen it happen before, and I decided that wouldn't happen to me.

 

As I stepped into the woods, I heard the voices of rogues in the distance, and my heart skipped many beats, but I knew for sure that returning to Stone Ridge Pack was a no-no.