On Your Kneels, Alpha Chase

Elena I should have known something was wrong the moment I walked into the hall. The Silverfang Pack didn’t usually decorate unless it was a celebration. Tonight, the grand hall was covered in white roses, gold cloth, and wolf-shaped ice sculptures. The air smelled of wild mint and pine, fresh and sharp. Pack members filled every table, wearing their best clothes, their voices loud with excitement. Everyone looked like they were waiting for something huge. Something important. But I hadn’t been told about any celebration. As the Luna, I should have been the first one to know. My stomach twisted, but I forced a smile as I stepped inside. My hands were slightly sweaty, so I wiped them on my dress casually, pretending nothing felt off. My wolf, Selene, paced in my mind. She was uneasy, whispering warnings, but I pushed her down. Tonight is our third anniversary, I told myself again. Maybe Chase planned something special. That thought warmed my chest a little. Chase and I weren’t perfect actually, he barely looked at me anymore, but I still believed the bond between us mattered. Fated mates were supposed to be unbreakable. We were meant to be one heart, one wolf. Nothing was supposed to tear us apart. But everything inside me felt cold. Then I saw him. Alpha Chase stood on the elevated platform at the front of the hall. He wore a dark suit with silver embroidery that matched his royal crest. His posture was firm, shoulders broad, chin raised. The crowd adored him, his strength, his leadership, the power in his blue eyes. When he finally looked at me, he didn’t smile. He didn’t even blink. My feet slowed, and my breath caught. Something in his eyes was different, distant. Emotionless. Like I was nothing more than another pack member. I forced myself to walk toward him, ignoring the whispers following me. “That’s the Luna…” “She wasn’t invited?” “Maybe the rumors are true….” “Look, Seraphina is next to the Alpha….” My pulse jumped. Seraphina. She stood beside Chase on the platform, wearing a sparkling white dress, her long red curls falling over her chest. People stared at her with admiration, as if she were already their queen. And she looked smug, so smug it made my skin crawl. My wolf snarled, furious. Why is she here? Why next to him? Why in white? My heels clicked against the marble floor. Every step felt like walking toward a fire I didn’t want to see burn. When I finally reached the front, I took my usual place at Chase’s right side. But before I could stand fully beside him, he stepped slightly away from me. Like he didn’t want to touch me. Like my presence disgusted him. My heart sank. “Chase?” I whispered. “What’s happening?” He didn’t answer. Instead, he squeezed Seraphina’s hand, right in front of me and stepped forward to address the crowd. “Thank you all for coming tonight,” he announced, voice loud and confident. “Today marks a turning point, for me, and for Silverfang.” His voice echoed through the hall. People leaned in with excitement. He waited. The tension built. Then he said the sentence that destroyed me. “I, Alpha Chase of Silverfang, hereby reject Elena as my mate and Luna.” It felt like someone punched me straight in the chest. Every sound in the hall disappeared. My ears rang. My lungs froze. My eyes went blurry. He kept talking, but I could barely breathe, let alone listen. “I accept Seraphina as my chosen Luna,” he continued. “From this moment on, she will rule by my side.” No. No. No. No. My wolf howled inside me, a raw, heart-splitting scream that threatened to tear my body apart. Selene clawed madly, refusing to accept what she was hearing. Mate. Mate. MATE. Mate cannot reject us. Mate is ours. Mate is LIFE. Her pain ripped through my chest so violently that I stumbled. Chase didn’t try to catch me. Seraphina smirked at me. She looked victorious, satisfied, like she’d stolen something she’d been planning to take for a long time. I shook my head, trying to speak, but my voice didn’t come out. I needed to deny the rejection, fight the bond break, do anything…… but I couldn’t breathe. The crowd began clapping. Clapping. They clapped while my life fell apart. Women cheered. Men whistled. Warriors hit their fists against their chests. They celebrated like something historic was happening. Maybe it was….. the dethroning of the “weak Luna.” Because that’s what they thought of me. Weak. Gentle. Useless. Nobody saw how much I fought for this pack. Nobody saw the nights I stayed awake healing warriors. Nobody saw the sacrifices. Nobody ever saw me. I dropped to my knees, not by choice, but because my wolf shattered inside me. The bond split in half, tearing my soul. The pain didn’t feel emotional, it felt physical, like a blade slicing straight down my spine. My body trembled, fingers digging into the marble floor. “Ch….Chase,” I breathed, barely audible. “Please… don’t.” He looked down at me. And I will never forget his expression. No anger. No guilt. No love. Just coldness, like I was nothing. “I’ve made my decision,” he said simply. “You’re free.” Free. What a cruel word. I didn’t want freedom. I wanted the mate bond. I wanted the man who once held me in his arms while telling me I was his whole world. I wanted the future I believed in. But he wasn’t done humiliating me. Chase turned to Seraphina, took her hand again, and raised their joined hands in the air. “Bow to your Luna,” he ordered the crowd. Everyone bowed. Everyone except me, because I was still on my knees, trying not to collapse completely. Seraphina stepped closer, leaned toward me, and whispered just loudly enough for those nearby to hear: “You were only his Luna by accident. I was always meant to be here.” Tears burned my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall. I refused to cry in front of them. My wolf whimpered, fading… fading… fading. Her presence dimmed like light being suffocated by darkness. My chest burned. My head spun. Nausea rose in my throat. The pain was suffocating, the kind that kills wolves. Then a sudden blast of silence filled my mind. Selene…. my wolf ….. was gone. Not dead. But broken. Completely shattered. Without my wolf, my body couldn’t take the impact. The room spun wildly. The sound of cheering echoed in a twisted, distant way. Someone yelled my name. Someone called for help. Someone laughed. I couldn't tell which was real anymore. Then Chase delivered the final blow, the one that killed whatever life I had left. He leaned down toward me just enough to speak directly to me, his face hard and unforgiving. “You were never good enough,” he said quietly, so only I could hear. “Not as a Luna. Not as a mate. Not as a woman.” My entire world stopped. Something inside me cracked open, not pain anymore, but numbness. Empty. Hollow. Gone. My vision blurred completely. I collapsed. My body hit the cold marble floor. Gasps echoed through the hall. Some people rushed forward. Others stepped back. Chase didn’t hold me. He didn’t call my name. He didn’t even look worried. He turned back to his celebration while my world turned to black. The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was the pack cheering: “All hail Luna Seraphina!” And I faded into darkness, realizing that the mate bond, the one thing I trusted more than anything, was a lie. I loved a man who never loved me. I fought for a pack that never fought for me. And I lost everything in front of the whole world. But the universe has a cruel sense of timing. Because that night, the night I lost my mate, my title, and my wolf, life was already growing inside me. Two lives. Two children. Two heirs the world did not see coming. The world destroyed the wrong Luna. And they would pay for it. Soon.