The Cursed Alpha Mind Reading Mate

HAZEL

The silver bowl trembled in my reflection.

I stared at it, trying to keep my hands still, but my fingers wouldn't stop shaking. The cold stone beneath my bare feet sent a chill through my body. Around me, dozens of pack members stood in a large circle, watching me with curious eyes.

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Instead, I stood in the middle of a ritual circle, waiting to discover whether I would finally receive my wolf.

For twenty-two years, I'd waited for this moment. My mother had been a witch, and my father was an Alpha. Their union had made me something the pack never accepted. I was a hybrid, a bastard, and a curse in their eyes. Those were the names I'd grown up hearing, especially from my stepsister, Jessica, who always found a way to remind me that I didn't belong.

But I had Noah. At least, I thought I did.

I searched the crowd until I found him standing beside Jessica. His jaw was tight, and when our eyes met, he quickly looked away. My stomach twisted. Why was he avoiding me?

"Relax, Hazel," someone whispered from behind me.

I swallowed hard. Easier said than done.

"Begin the awakening ritual."

The elder's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I closed my eyes as the chanting began, pressing my fingernails into my palms while I silently prayed for the Moon Goddess to hear me. Just this once, I wanted something that nobody could take away from me. I wanted to be normal.

The chanting grew louder before suddenly stopping. Silence followed, and I waited for the familiar warmth that was supposed to spread through my body. One second passed, then another, but nothing happened. There was no burning sensation in my bones, no wolf answering the call, and no sign that the ritual had worked.

Only my heartbeat.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and found the elder staring at me with disappointment.

"Unfortunately, the Moon Goddess has not blessed you with a wolf."

A few people exchanged glances before someone laughed. My cheeks burned as I lowered my head. Across the circle, Diana sighed as though the entire ceremony had been a waste of her morning. My father, Alpha Mitchell Moore, didn't even bother looking at me. He simply turned away.

That should have been the worst pain of the night. I was wrong.

A sharp pain suddenly pierced the back of my head, making me stumble as I pressed my palm against my temple. I blinked several times, wondering what had happened, when a strange voice entered my mind.

What a waste of moonlight.

I froze and looked toward the crowd, but nobody was speaking. Before I could understand what was happening, another voice followed.

I knew she wouldn't shift. Noah must be sick of pretending.

My breathing became uneven. I turned around, searching for the person who had spoken, but every mouth remained closed. Then another voice came, followed by another. A woman smiled sympathetically at me while her thoughts filled my head with insults, and a man standing behind her wondered why the Alpha had bothered keeping me in the pack.

I stared at them in disbelief. Every smile seemed to hide something ugly, and every sympathetic expression carried a secret insult. They hated me, and I had never known how deeply.

"Noah..."

I needed to see him. I needed someone who genuinely cared about me, someone who wouldn't look at me like I was a disappointment. Pushing through the crowd, I headed toward the exit, hoping to find him before he left.

A maid brushed past me, and her thoughts suddenly cut through the noise.

Noah followed Jessica into her room again. If I have to scrub another set of ruined sheets, I'll scream.

My feet stopped moving.

What?

I turned sharply and grabbed the maid's wrist before she could walk away. "What did you just say?"

She jumped, her eyes widening. "Miss Hazel?"

"What did you say about Noah?"

"I didn't say anything, Miss."

I stared at her. Her lips hadn't moved, and somehow, I knew she was telling the truth. Slowly, I released her wrist, feeling the blood drain from my face. If she hadn't spoken, then how had I heard her?

"No..." I whispered, shaking my head as the maid hurried away.

I didn't remember leaving the courtyard or climbing the stairs. All I could remember was the maid's thought repeating inside my head. My steps quickened as I followed the direction of Jessica's bedroom, silently begging that everything I'd heard was wrong.

Please let him still be mine.

I stopped outside her door. It was slightly open, and a familiar male voice came from inside, followed by a woman's soft moan.

"Noah..."

My blood turned cold.

I pushed the door open and felt my entire body go still. Jessica was on the bed with a man, her legs wrapped around his waist and her fingers digging into his bare back. The man turned at the sound of the door, and my heart nearly stopped when I recognized his face.

It was Noah.

The man I'd loved for three years. The man who had promised to marry me.

They sprang apart, but I barely registered their movements. My eyes remained fixed on them until their thoughts entered my head again.

How did I waste so many years on that frigid wolfless nothing?

I looked at Noah, unable to believe what I was hearing. Then I turned toward Jessica, whose expression was slowly changing from surprise to amusement.

Look at her. A pathetic little ghost. He's been mine since I decided I wanted him.

Something inside me finally cracked. I grabbed the nearest vase from the dresser and hurled it against the wall beside their bed. The vase shattered, sending pieces flying across the floor as Jessica screamed and Noah jumped out of bed.

"Hazel!"

I stared at him, my chest rising and falling rapidly.

"This isn't what it looks like," he said quickly, struggling to pull on his trousers. "I can explain."

I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of his words. "Explain what? Explain how you've been sleeping with my sister for three months while swearing you loved me?"

His face changed, and for a moment, he looked genuinely frightened. "How did you know?"

I stared at him, wondering how he could still ask such a stupid question. "Does it matter?"

Jessica climbed out of bed, completely unconcerned about covering herself. She folded her arms and looked at me with a bored expression. "You're making a scene."

I turned toward her, my fingers curling into fists. "Really? That's what you have to say?"

She rolled her eyes. "Did you really think someone like Noah would settle for a wolfless freak?"

Her thoughts followed immediately, filled with the same cruelty. Look at her about to cry. Delicious.

My eyes burned, but I refused to let the tears fall. Three months. They had been laughing behind my back for three months while I believed I was preparing for a future with Noah.

"You..." My voice shook as I looked between them. "You both..."

Noah stepped toward me, raising his hands as though he could somehow calm me down. "Hazel, please. Just listen to me."

I slapped him.

The sound echoed through the bedroom, and his head turned sharply from the impact. He stared at me, one hand slowly moving to his cheek.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I shouted. "You had a year to tell me you didn't love me. A whole year! But instead, you kept lying to my face."

"Hazel, I didn't mean for you to find out like this."

"Of course you didn't. You couldn't even be honest enough to end things before climbing into my sister's bed."

I turned toward Jessica, who was watching the entire thing with a satisfied smile. "Congratulations. You've won a cheating coward with no future. Enjoy him."

Then I looked at Noah one last time. The man I had trusted with my heart, defended whenever Jessica insulted him, and imagined spending the rest of my life with. I raised my hand and slapped him again, harder than before.

The sound echoed through the room, and I walked out without giving either of them another chance to speak.