The Alpha's Secret Pup: Rejected By My Mate, Claimed By The Lycan King

Chapter 1: The Rejection My name was Elara Finch, and for eighteen years I was known as the only wolf-less girl in Silver Moon. I had survived it. The whispers in the hallway at school. The way mothers pulled their pups away from me when I walked past. The way warriors looked at me with pity when I tried to train and couldn't shift. I survived all of it because I had one thing no one else had. Kade. Kade Blackwood. The future Alpha. My fated mate. The Moon Goddess gave him to me when I was sixteen. I found him behind the lake, crying because the other girls said I would never find a mate. He held my face and said, "I don't need a wolf, Elara. I need you. You are my Luna. Forever. I promise." We promised forever. That forever ended today. The pack hall was decorated in white roses and silver lights. Today was supposed to be my Luna Coronation. I had woken up at 5am. My best friend Maya had done my hair in soft curls. I wore the white silk dress my mother left me before she died ten years ago. It was simple, pure. I wanted Kade to see me and remember his promise. I was four weeks pregnant. I found out yesterday from the pack healer in secret. Two pink lines. I hadn't told anyone yet. I was going to tell Kade tonight, after I was crowned, when we were alone in the Luna suite. I imagined his face. His beautiful golden eyes filling with tears. His big hands on my still-flat stomach, his wolf purring. The drums started. My heart started pounding. Kade walked in. He was so handsome in his black Alpha suit that my breath stopped. His shoulders were broad, his hair black, his aura so powerful that every unmated girl in the room bowed their head. But his eyes, his beautiful golden eyes that used to look only at me, didn't look for me. They looked at the side door. And she walked in. Celeste. The Alpha's daughter from Blue Lake pack. Perfect. Fragile. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a waist so small you could hold it with one hand. With a wolf that was pure white and already famous for being strong. The pack had been whispering for months that she would be a better Luna. A stronger Luna. A Luna who could actually shift. Kade took her hand and led her to the Alpha stage. My stage. The stage where I was supposed to stand next to him. My knees started to shake. Kade raised his hand. The hall went completely silent. Two hundred wolves staring at him. "Pack of Silver Moon," his voice was loud, cold, Alpha. Not my Kade's voice. Not the boy who whispered forever behind the lake. "I have made a decision for the good and future of this pack." He still didn't look at me. He couldn't even look at me. "I, Alpha Kade Blackwood, reject Elara Finch as my mate and Luna." The world stopped. I heard Maya gasp beside me. "No..." "I reject her because she is wolf-less. She has no wolf. She can give this pack no strong pups. She cannot fight. She cannot lead. She faints during training. A Luna must be strong, must have a wolf. Elara is weak." Every word was a knife. Not in my heart. In my stomach. In my pup's stomach. "I have chosen a true Luna. Celeste of Blue Lake. She is strong. She is worthy. Her wolf is white and powerful. She will give us strong pups and lead us to glory." He pulled Celeste into his chest and kissed her. In front of me. In front of the whole pack. In my white dress. On my coronation day. The pack cheered. They actually cheered! They clapped and howled for their new Luna! I stood up. My legs were shaking so hard I had to hold the chair. "Kade... Kade, what about our promise? What about forever? You promised me forever behind the lake!" Finally, he looked at me. His golden eyes were empty. Cold. Like I was a stranger. "Forever was childish, Elara. I am Alpha now. I have a pack to think about. I need a real Luna. Guards, take her out. The ceremony will continue." Guards grabbed my arms. My own pack's guards. "Kade! Kade, I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant with your pup! Your pup!" I screamed it. I screamed it so loud the whole hall heard. The music stopped. Everyone stared. Kade froze. His eyes widened for one second. I saw shock. I saw hope. I saw his wolf flash in his eyes. Celeste grabbed his arm, tears instantly in her eyes, playing the victim perfectly, "She is lying! She is wolf-less, she is lying to trap you, Kade! Don't believe her! She wants to ruin our day! She is jealous!" Kade looked at me, at my stomach, at Celeste crying on his chest. And he made his choice. The choice that would haunt him for three years. "Take her to the cells," he said coldly, turning his back on me. "She is hysterical. And clearly delusional." They dragged me out while the pack cheered for their new Luna and my white dress tore on the floor. That night, the elders came to my cold cell. Not to free me. Not to say sorry. "The Lycan King, Rhys, demands his yearly sacrifice. A young female. Since you are no longer Luna and you are wolf-less and now possibly carrying a weak, wolf-less pup that will be weak like you, you are perfect for him. Be grateful your useless life finally has a use." They dragged me, still in my white, bloody, torn coronation dress, into the dark, rainy forest. They tied my hands with silver rope to the ancient Moon Stone where sacrifices are left. And they left me there to die. The rain poured on my face. I was bleeding from my feet. I put my hands on my stomach. "I'm sorry, baby. Mommy is so sorry." In the shadows of the trees, two huge red eyes opened. And a low, animal growl shook the forest. The cursed Lycan King had smelled his sacrifice. And he was coming.