Rejected by My Mate, So I Became the Enemy Alpha’s Luna

Chapter 4 – Terms of Surrender

The word mistake still hung in the air when Helena’s lips curved, almost a smile.

“Blackpine,” she said, “says very little about anything. That is part of the problem.”

She drew a small, dark device from her coat and set it on the table between us, the Council crest etched into the metal.

“We’ve been in negotiations,” she went on. “About border patrols. Rogue incursions. His refusal to appear in person at Council sessions.”

“About Kael Blackthorn doing whatever he wants,” Marcus muttered.

“That, too.” Helena’s gaze stayed on me. “He has made it very clear he does not want a Luna of our choosing. He does not believe in fated bonds. He does not enjoy Council meddling.”

“Sounds charming,” I said.

“He does, however, care about strength. Leverage. Not appearing unstable.” She tapped the device. “The Council suggested a symbolic match. He refused. Perhaps, if he sees who is being offered, he’ll reconsider.”

“Offered,” Jace repeated. “Like a weapon. Or a bribe.”

“A bridge,” Helena corrected. “If she chooses it.”

The room stilled.

“That’s the first time anyone’s mentioned her choosing anything,” Jace snapped.

“You haven’t told him yet?” I asked.

She shook her head. “We proposed the idea. He rejected the principle. He has not seen the specific situation.”

Marcus eyed the device. “You plan to call him like he’s some businessman?”

“In essence.” Helena’s mouth twitched. “The Council maintains direct lines to all registered alphas. He will see you; you will see him. No one moves pieces they haven’t at least looked in the eye.”

“I’m not a piece,” I said.

“No,” Helena said quietly. “Not if you don’t let yourself be.”

Mom found her voice, thin and shaking. “You can’t seriously be considering this. Sending Aria there? After what she’s just—”

“After what she’s just survived,” Helena finished. “Yes. Precisely then. While she is still strong enough that no one can call this exile.”

Dad’s jaw flexed. “Or punishment.”

“Of course it is punishment,” Jace bit out. “You just dressed it up.”

“Jace,” Dad warned.

Helena glanced at him, then back to me. “Aria. You are of age. Ranked. The Council cannot force you into another alpha’s house. But if you stay, you remain the center of a scandal that weakens Moonridge every day.”

“Whispers of an alpha who couldn’t keep his mate,” Serene said softly. “Of a Luna who wasn’t enough.”

Hannah flinched.

My wolf growled.

“And if I go?” I asked. “What do they whisper then?”

“That Moonridge shared its strength,” Helena said. “That you chose to hold the line for your pack. That Blackpine accepted a Luna from a rival instead of spitting on the rules.”

“And what do you get?” I asked.

“Stability,” she said. “A stronger tie between two difficult territories. An heir’s humiliation that does not spiral into war.”

My mother’s eyes filled. “Aria, you don’t have to—”

“Yes, she does,” Marcus said quietly. “Or we all pay. Including your precious human girl.”

Hannah’s head jerked up. “What?”

“Don’t be naive,” he said flatly. “There are alphas who would see you at the center of this as a threat. Who would be… less patient than I am.”

Hannah went sheet-white.

Guilt twisted under my ribs. Even now, part of me wanted to shield her. As always.

Helena pressed her thumb to the device. It hummed, a blue circle glowing at its center.

“We can argue for hours,” she said. “Or we can let you see what you’re choosing.”

Light rose from the device, widening into a vertical pane. Air shimmered, then resolved into an image.

A rough-hewn room of wood and stone. Maps on the wall. Firelight.

A man leaning over a desk, one hand braced on scarred wood. Dark hair, a jagged scar cutting from temple into his beard. Broad shoulders filling the frame. Power rolling off him with no effort.

He looked up.

Cold gray eyes, wolf-bright even through the projection, locked on the room. On Marcus. On Helena.

Then on me.

For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to that gaze. Sharp, assessing. No pity. No shame. Just a predator deciding what, exactly, I was.

“Alpha Blackthorn,” Helena said, inclining her head. “Thank you for answering on such short notice.”

His voice was rough velvet. “You said it was about a problem in Moonridge. I’m listening.”

Helena didn’t answer.

She turned, ceding the center of the room to me with a small gesture.

“This is Aria Thorn,” she said. “Beta’s daughter. Fated mate of Liam Hawke. Rejected two nights before their bond ceremony.”

The title burned. I forced my spine straight.

Kael’s eyes didn’t flicker. He’d heard the story, then.

“For once,” Helena went on, “we thought it only fair that you see exactly who we’re discussing before we speak of… arrangements.”

His gaze stayed on me, unreadable.

Anger and something stubborn stirred where hollow ache had been.

They wanted to trade me like a piece. If I was going to move, I’d meet the man on the other end of the board with my head up.

I drew a breath, squared my shoulders, and met Kael Blackthorn’s eyes without flinching.

“If you’re looking for a consolation prize, Alpha,” I said, my voice steady, “you should probably say no.”