The Rejected Luna’s Return

“Get her!” That was the last thing I heard before I ran into the darkness. Branches snapped under my feet. The cold wind cut across my skin, sharp like claws. I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back. “Stop running, Elara!” That voice—I knew it. Kael. Alpha Kael Thorn. My mate. My Alpha. The man who had just rejected me in front of the entire pack. “I reject you, Elara Vale—” I screamed as I ran, like the sound could erase the memory. I had loved him. I would’ve died for him. But he didn’t just end our bond. He destroyed me with it. Right there in the Luna ceremony hall, beneath the full moon, he looked into my eyes—and chose someone else. I tripped, crashed to the ground. Dirt filled my mouth. My dress ripped. Behind me, I heard footsteps. I crawled forward and pushed myself back up, running again. Pain tore through my ankle, but I didn’t care. If they caught me, I was dead. I knew too much. I was too much. “Elara!” His voice again. Closer now. I darted left, into the thickest part of the woods. Moonlight barely reached the ground here. I couldn’t see where I was going. My hands bled from hitting thorns. My feet were raw. But I kept going. I didn’t care if I bled to death. I just couldn’t die by his hands. **** I burst through the trees and stopped. The forest ended. My heart slammed into my chest. A cliff. The river roared below, black and wide. Sharp rocks waited like teeth. I turned. I could hear them behind me—his guards. His wolves. I had one choice. I took three steps back. My chest burned. My mark—the one that tied me to him—was fading fast. I felt it dying inside me. So I did what any girl would do when the man she trusted with her life took everything from her. I jumped. **** I didn’t remember the fall. Just the cold. The darkness. The silence. And then—I woke up. Not in the afterlife. Not in the river. In a cave. Wrapped in rough cloth. Bruised. Alive. And not alone. A man sat at the edge of the fire, sharpening a blade. His face was half in shadow. His jaw was set, his black hair wet, his eyes on me before I even spoke. “You’re lucky,” he said. “Most don’t survive that jump.” I coughed. My whole body shook. “Who are you?” He didn’t answer right away. Just wiped the blade clean, then finally said, “Ryker.” His voice was calm. Not kind. But calm. “You’re a rogue?” I asked. He nodded. “You saved me?” He didn’t answer that. He just looked away and said, “Sleep. You’ll need it.” I watched him for a long time. I didn’t even know him. But something in his silence made me feel… safe. I closed my eyes. That was three years ago. ***** Now I stand in the trees again. Same border. Same woods. But everything’s different. I’m not in a ripped dress. I’m not running. And I’m not broken. Kael doesn’t know I’m alive. Ryker leans against a tree a few steps behind me. Still quiet. Still watching. “You don’t have to do this tonight,” he says. I keep my eyes on the gates ahead—the edge of Nightfang territory. My old home. “I’m not here for him,” I say. “You sure?” His voice is calm, but it cuts deep. I turn to him. “I’m here for me.” He nods, just once. That’s Ryker. No questions. No judgment. Just there. I step forward. The wind shifts. The wolves guarding the outer gates haven’t noticed us yet. But one will. One wolf will feel my scent and freeze. His bond might be broken, but the memory is not. Kael. And when he feels it—he’ll know. His Luna has returned. But not to love him. To bury him.