Rejected By The Alpha: The Starlet's Return

On my eighteenth birthday, as my bones broke and reshaped for my First Shift, I looked up at Autry from the cold marble floor. The Alpha. My guardian. And as the moon decided, my Fated Mate. I reached a trembling hand toward him, desperate for the bond to settle the agony tearing me apart. Instead, he recoiled. "I reject you," he spat, his voice devoid of emotion. Beside him, his Beta mistress smirked, wearing a diamond bought with his pack's debt. He didn't reject me because I was unfaithful; he broke our soul bond because I was a "charity-case Omega" with no political value. He threw a check onto the floor, letting it land in a pool of my own sweat, and gave me one hour to get out. But exile wasn't enough for them. To ensure I couldn't return, they framed me. While I was bleeding out at the border, they released doctored photos accusing me of sleeping with Rogues, destroying my reputation just to save his poll numbers with the council. I watched a livestream of them bulldozing my mother's rose garden, laughing as they erased my existence. He thought I would die in the wild. He thought the rejection had killed my wolf. Five years later, I stepped out of a limousine in front of his corporate tower. I wasn't the scrawny orphan anymore. I was J.B., the face of Vogue, carrying the awakened power of the rare White Wolf bloodline. Autry rushed to meet me, eyes glowing gold, thinking he could simply snap his fingers and get his mate back. He didn't notice the massive sapphire ring on my finger. Or the Alpha of the European Silver Mist Pack standing behind me, ready to tear his throat out if he took one more step.

Chapters

Chapter 4

Jayme POV:

"Cut!" Kenan yelled, ignored by the dying engine whine.

Autry marched through the lavender, crushing flowers with Italian leather. His Alpha aura rolled off him in waves, terrifying the human crew.

"I told you to get in," Autry growled, grabbing my wrist. His grip was a shackle.

"Let go!" I yanked back.

"Stop making a scene," he hissed. "The council knows I let a Fated Mate walk. My reputation is bleeding out. You’re coming back to the guest house until I fix this."

"I am not your property!" I shouted. My wolf snarled, and a flash of strange, white-hot heat surged through my veins.

"Release her."

The voice was a low rumble of thunder.

Kenan stepped between us. T-shirt versus suit, but the air around Kenan grew dense.

Autry sneered. "Stay out of this, human. Family business."

Kenan didn't flinch. He grabbed Autry's wrist.

"I said, let go."

Kenan squeezed.

Autry’s eyes went wide. He tried to pull away, but Kenan’s grip was a vice. Autry realized what I had: this "director" wasn't human. And he wasn't weak.

Autry released me, rubbing his wrist. "Which pack? You're interfering with Blood Moon."

"My set," Kenan said flatly. "My actress. You are trespassing."

Autry sniffed the air, smelling Kenan on me from the handshake.

"Replaced me already?" Autry laughed, a cruel bark. "With a Rogue director?"

"Autry! Wait!"

Cassie stumbled out of the chopper, heels sinking into the dirt. She linked her arm through Autry's.

"What is taking so long?" Then she saw me. "Oh. You."

She looked at the cameras, then Kenan. "Wait, is this Midnight Rain ? My father is the main investor for the distribution."

Kenan frowned. "So?"

"So," Cassie smirked, "I want the lead. If Jayme is leaving, the spot is open."

"I'm not going anywhere," I stepped closer to Kenan.

"Actually," Cassie tapped her phone, "I just texted Daddy. Unless you want your funding pulled, cast me. Jayme can be the... stunt double. The dangerous stuff."

Autry didn't stop her. He watched me, waiting for me to beg.

"Fine," I said, voice trembling with rage. "I'll do the stunts. But I'm staying."

"Jayme, you don't have to—" Kenan started.

"I need the money," I whispered. "And I won't let them run me off again."

Two hours later, I stood on a cliff edge. The scene: a jump into a stormy ocean (a water tank).

Cassie, standing off-camera, "accidentally" tripped over the wire. The safety harness jerked early.

I slipped.

I fell toward the concrete edge of the tank.

I braced for impact.

It didn't come.

Strong arms snatched me from the air. A body slammed into the concrete, taking the blow.

I gasped. I expected Kenan.

But the eyes staring down were amber. The scent was chocolate and rain.

Autry. He’d moved with Alpha speed, catching me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, breathless. For a second, the mask slipped, and he was just the boy who used to protect me.

Continue to next part