Rejected First, Mated Later: Taken By The Cruel Alpha
"Five years ago, I foolishly rejected a powerless Alpha. Now, he's the ruthless leader of the most dangerous pack, and he's returned to claim me."
For Astrid Clifford, the illegitimate daughter of Alpha Levi, survival meant seeking security above all else. Desperate to secure her place and escape her father's cruel household, she devoted herself to Alpha Damien, believing his love and power would guarantee her safety as his Luna.
Astrid's hope was brutally shattered on Damien’s coronation day, when he publicly declared her scheming older sister as his true mate, leaving Astrid reeling from betrayal and humiliation.
Before she could process the extent of the damage, her father, Alpha Levi, sealed her fate once more by arranging her marriage to the one man she hoped she had erased from existence: Kirill Bloodshade.
Five years ago, Kirill was nothing but a low-ranking Alpha, ignored and disrespected by the larger packs. Yet, he saw Astrid not as a bruised, illegitimate daughter, but as the most beautiful woman he had ever known. His heart bled seeing her hidden pain. At eighteen, he offered her his future, his loyalty, and his name.
But he was cruelly rejected by the same woman because he lacked status and power.
That rejection didn't break Kirill, it forged him.
For five years, he clawed his way to the top, shedding his former identity to become the ruthless, dominant Alpha of the Bloodshade Pack, known across the countries as the most feared and dangerous collective of shifters.
Kirill turned away a line of potential mates, fueled by a singular, burning obsession, Astrid.
She is the sin he cannot forget, the desire that sets his entire being on fire. He has returned, not to propose, but to dominate. He will make Astrid his Luna, his mate, and his possession, even if she loathes the dangerous man he has become.
~~~~~~
Astrid sat on the edge of the bed, her face covered by a white veil, as she nervously fidgeted with her fingers beneath her wedding gown.
And then, she heard the footsteps of the man who was now her husband and mate.
She shivered violently at his touch when Kirill suddenly reached out, lifted her veil, and held her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. Those eyes had definitely changed. The deceptive warmth they once held had vanished entirely, replaced by something cold and hard. But the terrifying obsession in them had not died; it had only intensified.
“Now, you have the power, my Luna,” Kirill pronounced. “What do you wish to do first with your new position? Kill your ex, for whom you once rejected me? I can give you his head as a gift for our union,” he declared with a smirk.
