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BLOODBOUND RECKONING:A rejected wolf's return.

Princess_Zy
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The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 14 chs / week.
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Synopsis
Cursed, rejected, and robbed of her child, Sera Winters fled with nothing. Five years later, she returns—no longer broken, but a legendary Alpha with devastating power. Her groveling ex-mate begs for forgiveness, but fate has other plans. With the world at stake, she must choose: redemption or revenge.
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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1: The Defect

The silver polish stung Sera's cracked fingers as she worked the cloth across the ornate candelabra, her twenty-second birthday passing as unremarkably as every day before it. Dawn hadn't fully broken over the Silvercrest estate, but she'd been awake for hours already. Servants rose before the wolves they served, and though the blood running through her veins marked her as Alpha-born, her reality was far more humble.

She paused, catching her reflection in the polished silver. Dark circles shadowed her gray eyes, and her once-lustrous brown hair hung limp in a practical braid down her back. When had she started looking so tired? So defeated? She already knew the answer. Six years ago. The night everything changed.

The grand dining hall stretched before her, all mahogany and crystal, a monument to the Winters family wealth. Her family's wealth, technically, though you wouldn't know it by looking at her threadbare dress or the calluses mapping her palms like topographical markers of servitude.

"You missed a spot."

Sera's shoulders tensed at her brother's voice. Damien Winters stood in the doorway, already dressed in training gear that probably cost more than she'd touched in money all year. At twenty-five, he carried himself with the natural arrogance of someone who'd never known rejection, never felt the bitter taste of inadequacy.

"I'll fix it," she said quietly, returning to her work.

He crossed the room, boots echoing against hardwood floors that she'd scrubbed on her hands and knees just yesterday. When he reached her, he deliberately knocked over the bucket of polish, sending grayish liquid spreading across the wood she'd spent hours cleaning.

"Clumsy," he said, his smile sharp. "Better get that cleaned up before Mother sees."

Sera said nothing. She'd learned years ago that responding only made things worse. She simply knelt, using her already-dirty apron to soak up the mess while her brother laughed and walked away.

This was her life now. This had been her life for six years.

The memories crashed over her without warning, as they often did. The Awakening Ceremony. Every wolf experienced it at sixteen, that magical moment when their human half finally met their wolf, when they shifted for the first time under the full moon's blessing. It was supposed to be beautiful, transcendent.

Sera remembered standing in the ceremonial circle, wearing the white dress tradition demanded. Fifty members of the Silvercrest Pack had gathered, including her parents, her brother, and her extended family. Alpha Thornwood himself had presided over the ceremony, his stern face softened by encouragement as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Let your wolf rise, Sera Winters. Let her greet the moon."

She'd felt it then, that pull. The moon hung massive and silver above them, so bright it hurt to look at directly. Power thrummed through the earth, through her body, coiling in her chest like a living thing preparing to burst free. This was it. This was her moment.

She'd closed her eyes, reaching inward for the presence she'd felt stirring for months. The wolf inside every shifter, waiting for this exact moment to emerge.

Except there was nothing.

She'd reached deeper, panic beginning to claw at her throat. The other wolves were watching, waiting. She could feel their expectations pressing down on her like physical weight. She was a Winters. Her bloodline stretched back generations, pure Alpha stock. Her father was the pack's Second. Her grandfather had been an Alpha in his own right.

Minutes passed. Then ten minutes. Fifteen.

The whispers started.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Why isn't she shifting?"

"Is she broken?"

Alpha Thornwood's hand had tightened on her shoulder, more grip than comfort now. "Sera. You need to shift."

"I'm trying," she'd whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I'm trying, I swear I'm trying."

But nothing happened. No matter how hard she reached, no matter how desperately she called out to the wolf that should have been there, she found only emptiness. A vast, terrible silence where her other half should have lived.

After an hour, they called it. Failed transformation. The words had hung in the air like a death sentence.

Her father's face had gone stone cold. Her mother had actually turned away, unable to look at her. Damien's expression had twisted with disgust, as if her failure had somehow contaminated him by association.

The shame had been suffocating.

But they'd tried again. And again. Once a month for six months, they'd attempted the transformation ceremony, each time hoping her wolf would finally emerge. Each time, Sera had stood in that circle, feeling the moon's pull but unable to answer it. Each time, the pack's sympathy had curdled a little more into contempt.

After the sixth attempt, Alpha Thornwood had made his declaration: "Sera Winters is wolfless. She will be treated as such."

In the supernatural hierarchy, there was nothing lower than a wolfless wolf. Even humans held more respect, because at least they'd never had the potential for more. But a wolf born without their other half? That was nature's mistake. An abomination.

Overnight, everything changed.

Her room in the family wing was reassigned to visiting relatives. She was moved to the servants' quarters, a tiny space with a narrow bed and a single window that looked out on the stables. Her clothes, her belongings, her entire identity as a Winters was stripped away.

"You'll earn your keep," her father had said, his voice devoid of warmth. "The pack doesn't support dead weight."

So she became a servant in the house where she'd been raised as a daughter. She cleaned rooms she used to sleep in. She served meals to the family table where she'd once sat. She washed her brother's clothes and polished her mother's jewelry and kept her head down and her mouth shut because what other choice did she have?

Wolfless meant powerless. It meant she couldn't leave pack territory without permission. Couldn't challenge anyone's authority. Couldn't appeal to pack law for protection. She was technically still a Winters by blood, but in every way that mattered, she'd been disowned.

The morning stretched on in its familiar patterns. Sera finished the dining hall and moved to the kitchens, where she helped Cook prepare breakfast for the family. The older woman, a Beta wolf named Margaret, was one of the few who showed her any kindness.

"You look tired, child," Margaret said, pressing a warm roll into Sera's hands. "Have you been sleeping?"

"Well enough," Sera lied, biting into the bread. The truth was she rarely slept well. Nightmares plagued her almost nightly, dreams where she was running through the forest on four legs, finally whole, only to wake and remember the crushing reality.

"Your mother's hosting a luncheon today," Margaret continued, her tone carefully neutral. "She'll want good china."

Of course she would. Helena Winters loved showing off, especially to the other high-ranking families. Sera wondered if her mother would mention her wolfless daughter at all, or if she'd simply pretend Sera didn't exist, as she usually did.

By mid-morning, Sera was setting the table in the garden terrace where the luncheon would take place. The autumn air carried a crisp bite, and the grounds were stunning, all manicured hedges and late-blooming roses. She could hear laughter drifting from the house, the sound of pack members arriving.

"Sera."

She turned to find her mother standing in the doorway. Helena Winters was beautiful in the way all wolf shifters were, but she carried herself with extra grace, extra poise. Her blonde hair was perfectly styled, her dress immaculate. She looked at Sera the way someone might look at a stain on expensive fabric: with barely contained distaste.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Make sure you're scarce once the guests arrive. I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable."

The words landed like a slap, though Sera's face remained neutral. "Of course."

"And fix your hair. You look like something the cats dragged in."

Her mother swept away without waiting for a response, leaving Sera standing among the carefully arranged place settings, her hands trembling slightly. After six years, you'd think the casual cruelty would stop hurting. It never did.

She was heading back to the kitchen when she nearly collided with Thomas, one of the elder pack omegas. Unlike her, Thomas had his wolf. He was simply lower in the natural hierarchy, his omega status making him submissive by nature rather than by circumstance.

"Careful, Miss Sera," he said, steadying her with gentle hands.

"I'm so sorry, Thomas. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"None of that now." His weathered face creased with concern. "You've got that look again. The one that says you're somewhere far away and hurting."

Sera attempted a smile. "I'm fine."

"You're a terrible liar, always have been." Thomas glanced around, making sure they were alone. "I heard some of the senior pack members talking last night. There's going to be a gathering next week. All the neighboring packs."

Sera's stomach tightened. Large pack gatherings meant extra work for her, but they also meant something else: unmated wolves looking for their fated mates. The mate bond was sacred among shifters, a connection forged by the Moon Goddess herself. When two fated mates met, the bond was instantaneous and undeniable.

Unless you were wolfless.

Most experts agreed that without a wolf, Sera couldn't have a mate bond. The connection required both halves to be present. It was just another thing her condition had stolen from her: the chance of finding that perfect other half, the person meant to love you unconditionally.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked Thomas quietly.

"Because Alpha Thornwood's son will be there. Kael. He's taking over as pack Alpha next month."

Everyone knew about Kael Thornwood. At twenty-six, he was everything an Alpha should be: powerful, intelligent, ruthless when necessary but fair. He'd been away for five years, training with other packs, learning leadership. Sera had only met him once, years ago, before her failed transformation.

"I still don't understand."

Thomas's expression turned pitying. "Your father's been talking about securing better standing for the family. With you being... well. He sees the gathering as an opportunity."

Ice flooded Sera's veins. "An opportunity for what?"

But she already knew. She could see it clearly, the kind of political maneuvering her father excelled at. She might be wolfless, but she was still Alpha-blooded. Still technically a Winters, even if they treated her like dirt. In the right circumstances, she could still be useful.

She could still be sold.

"No," she whispered. "He wouldn't."

Thomas squeezed her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Miss Sera. I just thought you should know. Be prepared."

He slipped away, leaving Sera standing in the hallway, her mind racing. Her father was going to try to arrange a match for her. Probably to some lower-ranking wolf who wanted the prestige of an Alpha bloodline connection and didn't care that the bride came broken. It would be a business transaction, nothing more.

The afternoon passed in a blur. Sera moved through her tasks mechanically, setting out food, refreshing drinks, staying invisible as her mother's friends laughed and gossiped. She caught fragments of their conversation: talk of the upcoming gathering, speculation about which unmated wolves might find their mates, excitement about Alpha Kael's return.

None of them looked at her. To them, she was furniture. Less than furniture, because at least furniture served a purpose without causing embarrassment.

As evening approached and the last guests departed, Sera finally retreated to her small room. She sat on the narrow bed, staring at her hands. These hands had once been soft, well-manicured, the hands of an Alpha's daughter. Now they were rough and scarred from work, marked by her fall from grace.

Six years ago, she stood in the ceremonial circle expecting her life to begin. Instead, it had ended. The girl she'd been, full of hope and potential, had died that night. What remained was this hollow thing, going through motions, surviving but not really living.

She thought about Thomas's warning. About being used as a bargaining chip. About being handed over to some stranger who would look at her with the same disgust her own family did.

For the first time in years, something stirred in her chest. Not her wolf, never that. But something else. A tiny flame of anger, of resistance.

She was so tired of being treated like she was nothing. So tired of accepting this life because she had no other choice. So tired of being ashamed of something that wasn't even her fault.

The moon rose outside her window, full and silver and achingly beautiful. Sera stood and moved to the glass, pressing her palm against it. She couldn't feel the pull anymore, that connection other wolves described. To her, the moon was just a moon. Beautiful but distant. Unreachable.

"I don't know if you can hear me," she whispered to the Moon Goddess, to fate, to whatever power decided these things. "I don't know if you care about someone like me. But I can't keep living like this. Something has to change."

The moon offered no response. It never did. But as Sera stood there, something settled in her chest. A decision, maybe. Or just the final death of hope.

Either way, she knew one thing for certain: she couldn't control what her family did to her. Couldn't control being wolfless or being treated as less than nothing. But maybe, just maybe, she could control what happened next.

Even if she had no idea what that would be.