Chapter 2 Rejected

• The sun climbed higher as Bobby watched pack members approach with a stretcher. Her muscles had stiffened during the night, her arms locked around her mother's body. She refused to release Madeleine even as a large shadow fell across her. Chad towered over her, his expression hard and unreadable.
• "Release her," he commanded, his Alpha voice slipping into the words.
• Bobby ignored him. The compulsion of an Alpha's command slid over her like water off glass—another secret she'd kept for years. She stroked her mother's hair one last time before allowing two enforcers to lift Madeleine's body onto the stretcher.
• Chad's eyes narrowed at her defiance. "Follow me."
• Several pack members stepped forward to guide her, but Bobby rose on her own, her legs numb from sitting all night. She shook off their hands and walked behind Chad, her shoulders squared despite her grief. He led her through the main territory toward the imposing pack house, a sprawling structure of stone and timber that served as both living quarters and the seat of pack governance.
• "Don't show weakness," whispered a voice deep within her mind. "They'll use it against us."
• 'I know,' Bobby thought. 'But Mom is gone.'
• "And we need to find out why. Stay alert."
• Until now, Bobby wondered if the voice belonged to her wolf. She knew she had a wolf. At least, she thought she did. At thirteen, something manifested itself to her in a dream—a beautiful silver-furred wolf, larger than typical for a female, with unusual markings around her eyes that resembled a mask. However, on her eighteenth birthday, the night she was meant to shift into her wolf, nothing happened.
• Her mother sat with her through that long, painful night, holding her as Bobby's bones ached with the promise of a transformation that never came. The pack doctor examined her the next morning, his expression grave as he delivered the verdict: wolf-less omega. A rare condition where the human side developed normally but the wolf remained dormant, possibly non-existent.
• "It happens sometimes," he had explained with clinical detachment. "The wolf spirit is there but too weak to manifest physically."
• Bobby refused to believe it. The voice in her head grew stronger after that night, more distinct. Madeleine never questioned when Bobby spoke of her wolf. Instead, she taught her daughter to hide these conversations, to guard against any sign that might reveal her connection to her wolf. Bobby learned to mask her reactions when her wolf spoke, to keep her face neutral when her wolf shared observations about pack members' lies or secrets.
• "Trust no one," Madeleine had warned. "Not with this. They'll use you for breeding. They'll claim you belong to the pack, not yourself. They'll never let you leave."
• Bobby followed Chad through ornate double doors into a formal receiving room where Alpha Matthew and Luna Diana waited. Timothy and his sisters Adira and Andrea stood to one side with their father, Beta Tom. Everyone except Timothy looked at her with thinly veiled disgust. Timothy's expression held something closer to pity, which felt worse.
• "Leave us," Alpha Matthew ordered the surrounding pack members.
• The room emptied except for the Alpha family and Beta Tom's family. Bobby stood alone before them, bloodstained and disheveled.
• Luna Diana spoke first, her voice crisp with disdain. "So, this is the girl who claims to be my son's mate."
• "I make no such claim," Bobby replied. "The Goddess decided this, not me."
• Chad circled her slowly. "A mate bond to a wolf-less omega. What an unfortunate twist of fate."
• "I didn't ask for this either," Bobby snapped.
• Alpha Matthew stepped forward. "Watch your tone, girl. You stand before your Alpha."
• "My Alpha?" Bobby laughed, the sound hollow and bitter. "My mother lies dead because of your lies, and you expect my respect?"
• Luna Diana's face reddened. "Your mother died because she made the fatal error of thinking she could have what's mine."
• "She's lying," the voice growled in Bobby's head. "I can smell it."
• Bobby remained silent, storing the information away. She'd learned long ago that people revealed more when they thought you believed them.
• "Let's discuss what matters now," Chad interrupted. "The mate bond."
• Bobby lifted her chin. "What about it?"
• "I reject it," Chad stated flatly.
• The words shouldn't have hurt. Bobby had no desire to be mated to this cold, arrogant wolf. Yet rejection still cut deep, a primal wound.
• "Don't let him see," the voice urged. "Show nothing,"
• Bobby kept her expression neutral. "Good. We agree on something."
• Chad's nostrils flared. "You misunderstand. I reject you, but the bond remains. You belong to me regardless."
• "I belong to no one," Bobby hissed.
• "Your status here depends entirely on my goodwill," Chad continued as if she hadn't spoken. "A wolf-less omega has no place or purpose in our pack hierarchy."
• Timothy shifted uncomfortably. "Chad, perhaps—"
• "Silence," Alpha Matthew commanded. "My son makes the decisions regarding his mate."
• Chad circled Bobby again, evaluating her like merchandise. "There are ways to tolerate this situation. If you show proper deference and submission, I might grant you certain... privileges."
• Bobby understood exactly what he offered: degradation in exchange for protection. Her mother had warned her about wolves like him, power-hungry and cruel.
• "Prove your worth," Chad demanded. "Kneel and beg for my acceptance. Perhaps I'll be merciful."
• The room fell silent. Every eye watched her, waiting for submission.
• "I'll die first," snarled the voice within her.
• "I said no." Bobby kept her voice level. "I won't beg for what should be freely given. A true mate would never demand such a thing."
• Chad's handsome features twisted with rage. "You dare lecture me on mate behavior? A defective omega with no wolf, no standing, no purpose?"
• "I have purpose," Bobby replied. "Just not one that includes debasing myself for your ego."
• Luna Diana gasped. "How dare you speak to my son that way!"
• Bobby turned to face the Luna. "Your son just demanded I beg on my knees for basic decency. How would you have me respond?"
• "With gratitude," Luna Diana snapped. "Any wolf-less omega would be honored by my son's attention, regardless of the circumstances."
• "Then find one of those omegas," Bobby suggested coldly.
• Chad stepped closer, towering over her. "You don't understand your position. You have no choice in this matter."
• "There's always a choice," Bobby replied.
• His hand shot out, gripping her jaw hard enough to bruise. "Your choice is simple—submit willingly or be forced into submission."
• Bobby wrenched away from his grasp. "Touch me again and you'll lose that hand."
• The threat hung in the air, absurd from an allegedly wolf-less omega confronting an Alpha's son. Chad's laugh held no humor.
• "I've been too patient," he decided. "Beta Tom, have the dungeon prepared. Our defiant little mate needs time to reconsider her position."
• "You think this is power?" Bobby said to Chad. "Punishing the grieving? Allowing murder to go unpunished?"
• Something flickered across his face—doubt? Regret? It vanished so quickly she might have imagined it.
• Lulu, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward. "Chad, surely that's excessive. She's grieving her mother."
• "Stay out of this, Lulu," Chad warned.
• "But—"
• "I said stay out of it!" he roared.
• Bobby watched the interaction carefully. Dissension within the Alpha family might prove useful later.
• Beta Tom hesitated. "Son, perhaps your sister has a point. The dungeons haven't been used in generations. There are guest quarters—"
• "The dungeons," Chad repeated firmly. "She's made her choice. Let her suffer the consequences."
• Two guards entered at Beta Tom's reluctant signal. They approached Bobby cautiously, as if expecting resistance.
• "Don't bother," she told them. "I'll go willingly."
• Chad's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Suddenly cooperative?"
• "I'm choosing my battles," Bobby replied evenly. "This isn't one worth fighting."
• "Not yet," agreed the voice.
• Chad nodded to the guards. "Take her. No food until tomorrow. Perhaps hunger will improve her attitude."
• Bobby allowed herself to be led away, memorizing every corridor and turn as they descended into the lower levels of the pack house. The dungeon was dark and damp, with stone walls that seemed to absorb all warmth and light. The cell they pushed her into contained only a thin pallet and a bucket for waste.
• "Water twice daily," one guard informed her before locking the heavy door.
• Bobby waited until their footsteps faded before exploring her prison. The cell measured roughly twelve feet square with no windows and a single air vent near the ceiling.
• "We've been in worse places," commented the voice.
• 'Mom would be furious if she knew I was here,' Bobby thought, grief rushing back as she mentioned her mother.
• "Then honor her by surviving. By finding the truth."
• Bobby sat on the pallet, finally allowing tears to fall now that she was alone. She had learned to hide her wolf, pretending to be merely human among werewolves. The deception had protected her until now.
• 'We should have run last night,' Bobby thought.
• "And leave without knowing who killed Mom? Without justice? The voice growled. "Never."
• Bobby wiped her tears. 'You're right. But now we're trapped.'
• "Not trapped. Positioned." Confidence flowed through her mind. "They don't know about me. That's our advantage."
• Settling against the wall, Bobby conserved her energy and strength. Chad believed he had broken her spirit, that hunger and isolation would drive her to submission. He couldn't know she had survived worse during her training sessions with Madeleine, who had prepared her daughter for hardship since childhood.
• Hours passed. Bobby dozed fitfully, waking at the sound of the cell door opening. Timothy stood there with a small tray.
• "Don't tell anyone,” He whispered, setting down bread and water. "Chad's being unreasonable."
• Bobby studied him. "Why risk his anger?"
• Timothy shrugged. "We're not all monsters."
• Bobby's voice remained steady despite the anger simmering beneath her words. The cell's cold dampness seemed to intensify around her as she held Timothy's gaze without flinching.
• "That's hard to believe. Especially when the entire pack has accused my mother of seducing a man, she wouldn't go within ten feet of.”
• "Something's wrong with all this," Timothy continued. "The attack, your mother... Chad's behavior. It doesn't make sense."
• "What do you mean?"
• Timothy glanced nervously over his shoulder. "I can't say more. Just know not everyone agrees with how you're being treated."
• After he left, Bobby ate slowly, considering his words.
• "Potential ally or trap?" wondered the voice.
• 'Unknown. But division in the pack can work in our favor.’
• She finished the meager meal and resumed her vigil, waiting for night to fall completely. Only then did she close her eyes and surrender to exhaustion.
• In her dreams, she stood in a moonlit clearing. Beside her padded a beautiful silver-furred wolf, its presence comforting though it never spoke. Across the clearing waited a massive black wolf with gleaming red eyes—not Chad's wolf. She'd seen this black wolf in her dreams before, a recurring presence she couldn't explain. The black wolf regarded her with ancient eyes that seemed to recognize something within her.
• The dream shifted. Suddenly, she witnessed Chad in combat, fighting against unseen enemies. Blood flew through the air as he battled ferociously, his movements full of rage and desperation. Bobby watched from a distance, neither helping nor hindering. A shadow moved behind Chad—a wolf larger than any she had ever seen, its fur the color of midnight. Before Bobby could call out a warning, the massive beast lunged.
• The silver wolf beside her bristled, its hackles rising in alarm. The black wolf from across the clearing bounded toward the battle, placing itself between Chad and the monstrous attacker.
• "This isn't your fight," Bobby told the black wolf, somehow knowing it could hear her.
• The black wolf turned to look at her, its eyes penetrating her soul. The forest around them began to waver and dissolve.
• "I will find you," a deep voice resonated in her mind—not the familiar voice she'd always heard, but something ancient and powerful. "When the time comes, I will find you."
• Bobby woke with a start, her heart hammering against her ribs. The cell remained dark and silent, but something had changed. She could feel it—a presence, a connection forged in dreams yet anchored in reality. The mate bond with Chad throbbed dully in her chest, unwanted and hollow.
• The other connection, however—the one to the black wolf—pulsed with life and promise. Bobby pressed her palm against the stone wall, feeling the earth beyond it, sensing the forest miles away. Somewhere out there, something waited for her. Something that was neither friend nor foe but essential to her survival.
• "Who are you?" she whispered to the darkness.
• Only silence answered, but Bobby knew now she wasn't truly alone. Whatever secrets her mother had died protecting, whatever fate awaited her in this dungeon, she had glimpsed something in her dreams that changed everything.
• The game had more players than the Silvercrest Pack realized. And Bobby intended to discover them all.