After rejected: Becoming a true Luna

Chapter1

AVERY'S POV

I tore through the forest, feeling the wind howling past my ears as my paws pounded the earth. My wolf surged forward, running faster than I’d ever pushed her before. Trees blurred into streaks of green and brown, but I barely noticed. The speed made my heart thunder wildly in my chest and I pushed even further.

“Avery! Slow down! You’re going to hurt yourself!” River’s voice echoed in my mind through the mind link, full of panic.

I ignored him.

I didn’t want concern. I didn't want comfort. What I wanted was control.

I needed to outrun the storm that had taken root in my chest. Not because I was afraid of the pain, but because I was done letting it own me.

Branches whipped at my sides, and roots tore at my paws, but I pushed harder.

Memories clawed their way to the surface of my mind.

Jaxon my mate and Stephanie my sister. Together.

And me? What about me? Rejected. Unwanted. And tossed aside like I meant nothing. Like I was nothing.

I saw their faces, the smug way she held his hand like he was hers. Like I had never existed. I remembered the sting of betrayal as my parents, my own parents, sided with her. Again.

All because they worried about her "Mental health"

All because Stephanie was rejected by her mate in high school and “deserved happiness.” And what better way to make her happy than to hand her my mate?

It didn’t matter to them that of all the male wolves in this pack and beyond, that she had to choose mine. It didn’t matter how I felt. Because Stephanie always came first.

Just like always.

And now I had to wake up every day and watch the two of them live their fairy tale while I bit down my screams. And the worst part? Stephanie knew. She knew he was mine, even long before I did. And she didn’t care.

Nobody cared.

Anger blazed through me and I tore deeper into the woods, barely feeling the world flashing past in a blur of green. I didn't care that it was night. I just wanted relief.

Lost in my thoughts, I wasn't aware of my surroundings. Suddenly I felt my paw caught on tree roots, tripping me.

I yelped as I tumbled hard into the dirt, immediately shifting back into human form from the impact. The fall knocked the breath from my lungs, and I quickly flipped unto my back.

But the ground beneath me didn’t hold.

It gave way, and I found myself moving without control.

My body slid downward, dirt crumbling beneath my hands as I tried to grab onto something, until I was suddenly dangling over the edge of a cliff. I scrambled, clawing for whatever was available and my fingers finally found a vine.

I held on.

Barely.

I looked down and I found a ravine yawning open beneath me like a hungry beast, ready to swallow me whole. The vine creaked under my weight as I dangled over it, and my arms screamed from the strain.

“Avery!” River’s panicked voice exploded through the mind link. He was close. But I didn’t call for help. I didn't want to.

Tightening my grip on the vine, I gritted my teeth and pulled har. Inch by inch. My bare foot found the rock wall, and I pushed harder, clawing over the edge just as the vine snapped beneath me.

I collapsed on my back, gasping as my body ached all over. My skin was scraped and bloodied, but I didn't mind. Instead I welcomed the pain. It was the only thing I'd been able to feel in a long time.

“Avery!” My head snapped up at River's voice and I quickly hurried over to the back of the tree, changing back into my clothes.

I stepped out just in time to see River burst into the clearing, shifting back to human. He quickly yanked on his sweatpants, panic written all over his face.

“What the hell, Avery?!” he roared.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? This wasn’t what I meant when I agreed to go for a late night run with you in the woods. I wasn't aware that suicide was part of the plan!”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine.”

“You almost fell off a damn cliff!”

“And yet, here I stand.” I said, brushing leaves from my hair.

River crossed his arms, glaring at me. “Well, guess what? I’m pregnant.”

I blinked. “What?”

He raised a brow. “What? You don’t believe me? I figured we were lying now. You lie, I lie. That’s how this works, right?”

I groaned, yanking on my boots. “Don’t be dramatic.”

River’s voice dropped. “You scared the hell out of me. You can’t keep doing this. Stop trying to die.”

“I wasn’t trying to die!” I snapped. “It was an accident, River. I just didn’t see the roots in time because I was—distracted.”

He stared. “Over him?”

I looked away. I didn’t have to answer. We both knew the truth.

River scoffed. “My brother’s an asshole, Avery. You deserve better.”

“So says his little brother.” I muttered.

“And you’re my best friend," River defended. "I’m not choosing sides, Avery. I’m choosing you.”

I swallowed hard. “Don't worry, River. I understand. He was never mine to begin with,” I said. “They were already... something before I turned eighteen. I should’ve known nothing would change.”

“Bullshit!" River snapped. “He’s your mate. And he’s known it for years, ever since he turned eighteen. He didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you. He wanted her. And the freedom to mess around with the thousand other she wolves in this pack.”

And that stung. Because it was true.

It was true that Jaxon didn't tell me when he found out that we were mates because he didn't want a mate. He wanted his freedom.

But it was also true that Jaxon had always had eyes for Stephanie. And when her own mate from another pack rejected her last year, Jaxon saw an opportunity—and he took it.

And me?

I had always felt something—some strange pull towards him. But I hadn’t known what it meant until I shifted at eighteen which was a couple of weeks ago.

The moment I did, everything clicked. And then, in front of everyone, in front of my parents, Jaxon rejected me without blinking. He said he wasn’t giving up Stephanie for some bond, and that I would have to find myself someone else.

So I stood tall and accepted my fate. I didn’t cry. I didn’t beg.

Because no one would ever see me break. Not Jaxon. Not Stephanie. Not even the Moon Goddess herself.

“He made his choice,” I said flatly. “He marked her. Not me.”

River clenched his jaw. “And you’re just letting him get away with that?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “What do you want me to do, River? Beg him? Force myself on him? Humiliate myself even more? That’s not who I am and you know it.”

“You’re right,” he said quietly. “You’re not weak. But strong doesn’t mean silent. You’re allowed to hurt, Avery. Having emotions is not a criminal offense.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have time for pain, River. Or tears for that matter. I made my peace. He’s hers now.”

“No,” River said, his voice growing cold. “He made a mistake, Avery. What he did was wrong, and you know it.”

I exhaled shakily. “Avoiding them is the only way I can breathe. Every time I see them together, it’s like... I’m the villain in my own story. Practically everyone in this pack sees me as some evil sister who's trying to wreck her sister's happiness. If silence is the only way I can prove I’m not, then fine. That's exactly what I'll do.”

Silence settled for a moment.

Then River muttered, “He doesn’t deserve you.”

Before I could reply, we were interupted by the sound of engines rumbling through the forest. We turned toward it and saw a row of black cars heading toward the direction of the pack house.

My heart skipped as excitement rushed through me.

“That’s them,” I muttered.

River frowned. “Who?”

“The warriors from Moon Dome.” I straightened. “They’re here for the volunteers.”

His eyes widened. “Wait—you’re serious?”

I nodded. “I told you River. I’m done.”

“You’re really leaving?”

I nodded. “Yes. It’s time.”

Moon Dome. A celestial pack blessed by the Moon Goddess herself right from history. Every year they accepted volunteers for elite warrior training. Eighteen months of service. The highest honor for warriors all around the world.

For me? It was an escape.

A rebirth.

A chance at a new beginning.

“I can’t stay here, " I said, turning back to River. "I didn’t ask for this mate bond. I didn’t choose it. But I can choose what comes next. And I'm choosing to forge my own path."

River shook his head. “Jaxon’s not going to like this. He’s blocked everything that takes you out of Blue Dawn since the rejection, remember? For some reason he doesn't want you leaving the territory.”

He wasn’t wrong. Jaxon had become territorial in the worst way—denying me freedom after denying me the mate bond. And so far I'd kept quiet.

But this time? He was in for a shock. “Good thing I’m not asking.” I said.

River stared at me for a moment then nodded. “Then go. I’ve got your back, bestie.”

I smiled tightly. “Thanks, River.”

We hurried out of the woods just in time to see the cars rolled up, and warriors emerge. They stood tall, and proud, their clothes bearing the Moon Dome crest: a silver crescent encircled by stars.

My pulse quickened.

Finally.

This was it.

My chance to breathe.

To fight for something on my own terms.

To become something more than just a rejected mate.

“I’m going to submit my application,” I said before walking away.

As the Alpha of Blue Dawn, Jaxon would have to give his concent and signature on the papers.

Unfortunately…