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

Chapter 5 – Not a Consolation Prize

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

On our side, I felt my father stiffen, Jace’s hand tighten on my chair. In the flickering projection, Kael Blackthorn went very still.

Then his mouth curved. Not quite a smile. More like someone tasting unexpected spice.

“A consolation prize,” he repeated, voice low. “That what they’re calling you now?”

“That’s what they’re offering,” I said. “What they call me depends on the audience.”

Helena’s eyes flicked to me. Jace made a strangled sound that might’ve been a laugh.

Kael leaned back, shadows shifting across the scar at his temple. “I was told Moonridge has a problem,” he said. “A future alpha who disgraced his own ceremony. A Council terrified of looking weak. And now a solution that lands in my lap.”

His gaze slid briefly to Helena. “You left out the consolation part, Frost.”

“I left out the color,” Helena said. “Not the facts.”

Marcus bristled. “Blackthorn—”

“Save it,” Kael cut in, tired. “Your heir rejected his fated Luna for a human. Under your roof. Under Council eyes. I know the smell of blood in the water.”

My throat closed. Fated Luna. Rejected.

His eyes returned to me. “What I don’t know is why you’d let them dress your throat for my teeth.”

Jace snarled, “Watch it—”

“Jace,” Dad snapped.

“Maybe I’m tired of standing where everyone else puts me,” I said. “Being talked over like I’m not in the room doesn’t feel much better than being ‘dressed for your teeth,’ Alpha.”

Something in his gaze sharpened.

“You don’t have to go,” he said, tone blunt. “Council can’t drag you across my border. They know that.”

“I know.” My mouth twisted. “They’ve been very clear this is my choice. At the end.”

“Generous,” he murmured. “Considering how much they gain if you say yes.”

“Kael,” Helena said flatly. “We’re here to propose an arrangement that benefits all three parties.”

“Three,” he echoed. “You. Moonridge. Me.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re missing one.”

He’d just counted me separate from all of them.

“Say it,” he said. “Spell out the terms. Let her hear what you want to trade her for.”

I didn’t flinch at her. It felt like a test.

“Moonridge needs to blunt this scandal,” Helena said. “The Council wants stability between two powerful packs. You dislike our interference. We propose Aria Thorn be received as a political Luna. Temporarily. A title for Council eyes. No bond required.”

“Let me guess,” Kael said. “She sits at my side for your meetings, you take your pretty pictures, and when you’re comfortable again, you take her back.”

“Her status would be subject to review,” Helena allowed. “Nothing without her consent.”

“Without my consent,” I echoed. “That keeps getting added last.”

Kael studied me. “Do you want this?”

The room held its breath.

I thought of Liam and Hannah, of my parents’ faces, of Marcus warning what might happen to Hannah if I refused. Of my wolf, watching, waiting.

“I don’t know what I want,” I said honestly. “I know I can’t stay here and pretend nothing happened. I know I won’t survive being the girl everyone whispers about.”

My voice went rough. “If I come to Blackpine, at least I’ll be hated for new reasons.”

Mom made a broken sound. Dad’s breath hitched.

Kael’s gaze didn’t leave mine. “We don’t hate easily,” he said. “Suspicion, yes. Curiosity, often. Hatred, we save for those who earn it.”

“Comforting,” I muttered.

“Blackpine is not soft,” he added. “You’d work. Fight. Walk into a house where no one pities you and no one cares who you almost were to some other pack’s prince. You would also be very far from the people who did this to you. That’s the only kindness I can offer tonight without lying.”

“Is that a yes?” Helena asked.

He didn’t look at her. “This isn’t my choice,” he said. “Blackpine won’t turn away strength. But I won’t drag someone into my house who won’t walk there herself.”

Again, his eyes found mine. “So. Aria Thorn. Do you want to come?”

My heart hammered.

Behind me, Jace’s hand settled on my shoulder, shaking. My parents’ scents twisted with fear and guilt. Hannah’s quiet sobs scraped at my hearing. Liam hovered at the edge of my awareness like a storm I refused to face.

I set my hand over Jace’s, squeezed once, then let go.

“I don’t want to go anywhere as anyone’s sacrifice,” I said. “Or anyone’s bandage.”

Kael’s jaw flexed. “Then say no.”

I shook my head.

“But I also don’t want to spend my life cleaning up a mess I didn’t make,” I went on. “If coming to Blackpine means I get to be something other than the girl he threw away… then yes. I’ll walk there myself.”

Jace’s fingers dug in, then slowly loosened.

On the projection, Kael’s eyes cooled with decision. “Then we have an agreement.”

Helena exhaled. “Transfer within three days,” she said. “We’ll finalize terms tomorrow.”

Three days.

My wolf sat back inside me, watchful.

“Aria,” Dad said hoarsely. “You don’t have to—”

“Yes,” I said quietly. “I do. Not for you. Not for the Council. For me.”

For the first time since I’d opened Liam’s door, air slid into my lungs without stabbing.

On the other side of the light, Kael inclined his head a fraction.

“Get your affairs in order, Aria Thorn,” he said. “Blackpine doesn’t wait.”