Rejected By The Alpha, Blessed By The Moon

The Termination

ROSALYN

The waiting room was quiet, except for the faint hum of the TV playing. I had to journey to a distant clinic in another pack where no one knew me. Where no one knew I was a Luna for this termination. I couldn’t risk any of my pack members finding out about what I was about to do.

Other patients sat around me, waiting for their turn. Everyone looked calm, almost peaceful with those they held dear close to them, comforting them. Everyone except me.

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. My heart felt like it was beating somewhere in my throat. I held my bag tightly against my chest, afraid that if I let go, I’d crumble completely.

I kept thinking about what I was about to do.

About how wrong it felt.

Zayden’s words still echoed in my head.

Get rid of it. There will be no pup from a Luna I didn’t choose. If you don’t, I’ll dissolve this union immediately and cut off all compensation that comes with it.

I pressed my lips back together and shook my head in slow, crushing agony. The last thing I wanted was my brother to drop out of medical school after everything it took for him to get in. And for me to be kicked out of the house with nothing.

After high school, I couldn’t attend college to study my dream course because the contract demands that Luna have no outside commitments that could interfere with her role. As much as I hated to admit it, this marriage was my only means of survival and sustenance. I couldn’t walk away even if I wanted to.

I tried to breathe, but each breath came out shallow as though I were on the brink of tears. The doctor’s assistant handed me a pamphlet earlier, explaining the procedure in quiet, clinical words as if this wasn’t about to break me in half. I hadn’t done this before and didn’t know what to expect. Terminating a pregnancy wasn’t common in our tradition.

What if something goes wrong? What if I bleed profusely and end up passing out on the operating table?

“Cara…” I muttered to my wolf through mindlink, hoping talking to her would somehow steady my nerves a bit.

But she whimpered faintly inside me. She hadn’t said a word since that night in Zayden’s command chamber. It was like she’d gone quiet to protect me from the pain. But even her silence hurt more.

Just how could Zayden put me up to this without caring about my well-being, without caring that this pup was innocent and the birth of it could have turned things around for us?

I lowered my head and squeezed my eyes shut painfully to hold back the tear threatening to spill.

When the doctor called my name, my whole body froze.

“Rosalyn Wynters?”

I looked up. A young she-wolf was the doctor. She stood at the doorway, smiling softly, trying to make it look less terrifying than it was.

“That’s me…” I whispered, forcing my voice to sound steady.

“Please come with me. We’re ready for you.”

I nodded slowly and followed her. My legs felt heavy, my knees weak. Every step toward that room felt like walking toward my own execution.

When we entered, I hesitated. The place didn’t look as comforting as I expected it to. The walls were plain, the lights flickered slightly, and there was a faint metallic smell in the air that made my stomach churn.

“Take a deep breath, Miss,” the Doctor said gently. “It’ll be over soon.”

Over soon.

I almost laughed. Nothing about this would ever be over.

I lay down on the cold table as instructed. My eyes focused on the ceiling, searching and tracing the cracks above to distract myself. I tried to remember the first time Zayden looked at me, the tenderness and warmth I imagined in his eyes that probably never existed.

I tried to replay the first time we made love that led to this unexpected pregnancy. Even though it was a drunken night, it was my first time and even though I bled, I can still feel the way my body melted under his touch, a feeling I’ve never been able to shake off since.

But I felt so small, so used and unwanted knowing that night probably meant nothing to him.

Then I felt it.

A sharp pain deep in my stomach like something was coming off, and something else, something more than physical.

It was Cara.

She finally resurfaced from deep in the shadows of my mind. Her cry echoed in my head, agonizingly raw and heartbreaking.

‘Don’t do this… please, Rosa.’

Tears spilled down my temples as I clenched my fists. “I’m sorry,” I whispered weakly. “I don’t have a choice. If I don’t do this, my brother… my only family and I will bear the brunt.”

A faint warmth spread through me as the doctor inserted a small tube into me. I felt a suction. Pain bloomed.

It was dull at first, then sharp, tearing through me like claws. My breathing quickened. My hands gripped the edges of the table until my nails broke the skin.

And then… silence.

Empty, echoing silence.

When it was over, I couldn’t move. The doctor helped me up, her tone soft and professional, like she’d seen this a hundred times.

“You’ll feel cramps for a few days,” she said quietly. “It’s normal following the procedure. Take some pain relievers, drink plenty of moonwater, and rest. You’ll heal before you know it.”

Heal.

She didn’t know that what broke inside me couldn’t ever heal. And I don’t think I’ll ever forgive Zayden for this.

My legs trembled as I walked down the corridor. Every step I took sent a dull ache through my body, but I didn’t stop. I needed to leave before it was dusk because Zayden had given me a deadline.

Outside the clinic, the evening air was cold against my heated skin. I reached out to Zayden through mindlink. Even though I wasn’t his fated mate, he had marked me on our wedding, the chosen mate mark. And even though it was different from the fated mate mark and couldn’t be compared to it, it was still powerful.

He picked up almost instantly.

“Zayden,” I managed, my voice strained. “It’s done. I… have terminated the pregnancy but I don’t feel too well. Please, can you come get me?…”

There was a pause just long enough for me to hope.

Then his voice came, distant and flat.

“I can’t, Rosalyn. I’m kind of caught up in the middle of something important. Call one of the guards or find a ride.”

Before I could say another word, he cut off the link.

I stood, rooted to the spot in disbelief, my stomach twisting. “Something important,” I repeated bitterly, my voice breaking. What could be more important than the life of his wife and Luna at the moment? How could he play ignorant after putting me through this?

It took all my strength to flag down a taxi. The driver, a kind older wolf, helped me inside when he saw how pale I looked.

We had barely started moving when I saw them.

Through the window, illuminated by the amber glow of the fading sun, I caught sight of Zayden.

He was standing near the clinic's entrance.

And beside him… was Shamira. Even with the pain clawing through every nerve in my body, even on the edge of delirium, there was no mistaking her. I could recognize her from a mile away.

Shamira. His high school sweetheart. His fated mate.

Her long blond hair shimmered like spun gold under the evening lights. Her hand rested protectively on her surprisingly rounded belly. Zayden’s hand was on her back, guiding her inside with the care of a man protecting something precious.

I froze. The air left my lungs.