REJECTED AND MARRIED TO THE CRUEL ALPHA

MILDRED’S POV

The overhead bulb glared against the mirror, highlighting my Stepmother's gorgeousness. She leaned closer, carefully dusting on another layer of rouge as if her beauty depended on it.

Molly, my half-sister hummed excitedly as she wore her neck piece. She carefully adjusted it after wearing it, still beaming like she was the bride-to-be.

“Mildred!” she called out with a snap swirling to face me. “Come fix my dress quickly,” She said, scanning me from head to toe, irritated.

I clenched my fingers around the brook handle, stifling with a sigh. Of course. Tonight was the Supreme Alpha’s wedding. An event that the entire kingdom of Selenia had been buzzing about. For Molly, it wasn’t just about the wedding celebration; it was her stage for showoff.

“Yes, Molly,” I muttered, lowering the broom against the wall. I moved quickly, because in this house, reluctance meant trouble.

I lurched behind her and twitched at the stubborn material of her dress. The crimson silk clutched to her body like a snake, refusing to obey. She had chosen it deliberately, something too tight, too daring, because Molly always wanted heads to turn when she walked past. An ultimate attention seeker.

“Be careful,” she hissed, tilting her chin higher. “If you ruin this, I’ll…”

Riiiiip.

The outfit instantly ripped apart and my vision instantly went blurry! I froze in my tracks. Only the Goddess can save me from this.

Molly’s shriek pierced my ears. “MOTHER!” she screamed at the top of her voice. “Mildred intentionally ripped my dress apart,” she added, crying.

Navaeh’s reflection turned sharply in the mirror. Her eyes turned cold, green, and venomous as they fell on me and my face turned instantly red.

I was in trouble. Molly had been preparing this outfit since the first day the wedding ceremony was announced. She planned to make heads turn with this dress, and I just ruined it. There was no escape; I was doomed.

“Oh, of course,” she spat, rising to her feet. “Who else could destroy such a beautiful gown but you, Millie? Bad luck follows you like a shadow.”

“Mother…I..I didn’t mean to…” I stammered and before I could even finish, a deafening slap flew across my face. My eyes instantly darkened and stars sprinkled right before me, then slowly…I regained my sight.

“You never mean to. Just like you didn’t mean to kill your mother when you were born?” Navaeh dropped and my heart skipped.

The familiar pang nestled itself in my chest. I had long ceased defending myself, but her words still found ways to reopen old injuries.

“Please mother…” I muttered but Molly cut in.

“Are you blind? Don't you ever fucken refer to her as your mother! Yours is dead and rotten! Learn the difference,’” Molly snapped, echoing the insult with a cruel frown.

Navaeh smirked, “ I can never be your mother, whom you didn't even offer a chance at life.” She prowled forward and clasped a fistful of my hair, holding it firmly and yanking so hard that tears sprang to my eyes.

“You are cursed,” she hissed, shoving me aside. “If it were up to me, you’d never step in this house again. But your father, your precious Alpha, pities you too much even to banish you.”

A dry, mirthless chuckle racked my chest because my mother was mistaken. Father didn’t pity me, he hated me more than all of them combined. To him, I was the reason his Luna, the only woman he had ever claimed to love, was buried in the cold earth and he never let me forget it.