Aurora: The Rejected Luna

Chapter 2

_Aurora’s POV_

The ballroom felt different after he entered. It was as if something invisible was watching everyone at once.

I stood near the wall holding my tray, trying to stay unnoticed like always. That was the safest place for me. The edge of the room. The shadows where no one looked twice. But tonight, even the shadows felt restless.

Alpha King Darius Blackwood stood at the front of the ballroom. He was speaking with our Alpha and a group of elders. Even from far away, I could feel how strong he was. Something inside him pressed against the room like a storm waiting to break.

My fingers tightened around the tray. Selene appeared beside me quietly.

“You’re shaking,” she whispered.

“I’m fine,” I said quickly.

She gave me a look. “You are definitely not fine.”

I forced a small breath. “I just… feel strange.”

“Because of him?” she asked while glancing toward the front.

I followed her gaze without meaning to. Darius stood still while the elders spoke. He did not smile. He did not nod much. He only listened. Like everything already belonged to him and he was simply waiting for people to accept it.

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “It feels like the air is heavier.”

Selene leaned closer. “That’s his aura. People say it’s like standing in front of death itself.”

I swallowed. “That is dramatic.”

“It’s true,” she insisted. “Even strong wolves struggle near him.”

I looked away. “I am not a strong wolf,” I said quietly.

Selene’s expression softened. “You don’t need to be strong to feel it.”

Before I could answer, a sharp voice cut through the ballroom again. “Aurora!”

My body tensed immediately. It was Amelia.

She was walking toward me. Her friends followed behind her like shadows.

“Why are you still standing there?” she asked, eyes scanning me like I was dirt on the floor.

“I am working,” I replied.

She laughed softly. “Of course you are.”

Selene stepped forward slightly. “Aurora is doing her job.”

Amelia ignored her completely. Her eyes moved toward the front of the room. And I saw it. The change in her expression. She was looking at the Alpha King.

“Look at him,” she whispered. “He is even more powerful than I imagined.”

One of her friends giggled. “He is staring at no one, Amelia. You should go introduce yourself.”

Amelia straightened her dress. “I will. Of course I will.”

She turned slightly toward me. “Make yourself useful,” she said.

I frowned. “What?”

“Bring drinks closer to the front. I want to make sure everything is perfect when I meet him.”

Selene scoffed. “Since when do servants meet the Alpha King?”

Amelia’s eyes flashed. “I am not talking to you.”

Then she looked at me again. “Move.”

I hesitated only a second. Then I nodded. I could not fight her here. Not in front of everyone. I lifted the tray and slowly walked forward. Every step felt heavier as I moved closer to the center of the ballroom.

The Alpha King’s presence became stronger the nearer I got. My heart began to beat faster for reasons I did not understand. When I reached the serving table near the front, I placed the drinks carefully. My hands trembled slightly. I tried to steady them.

“Calm down,” I whispered to myself.

But the air around me felt strange. I lifted my head slightly. And that was when it happened.

It hit me. It was a dark and deep scent like burning wood mixed with cold rain. It wrapped around me instantly, pulling at something inside my chest.

My breath stopped. My fingers slipped slightly on the tray. “No…” I whispered without meaning to.

Selene noticed immediately from behind me. "Aurora? What is wrong?”

I could not answer. The scent grew stronger with every second, wrapping around me until it was all I could breathe. It was coming from Darius.

I felt a strange pull deep within me. It was powerful and impossible to ignore. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before. The feeling seemed to come from the place where my wolf should have been.

But that was impossible. I had never had a wolf. For twenty years, there had been nothing. And yet, something inside me was responding to him.

A pulse spread through my chest. It felt as though a part of me that had been asleep for years was finally waking up. The sensation was so overwhelming that I staggered slightly.

Selene quickly grabbed my arm to steady me. "Hey!" she said, her voice full of concern. "Are you okay?"

“I…” My voice shook. “I don’t know.”

At that exact moment, everything changed. Across the ballroom, Darius suddenly stopped speaking. It was subtle but I noticed it immediately. His head turned slightly as though he had sensed something unexpected.

My heart started beating faster. Slowly, his eyes moved through the crowd. His expression remained calm and focused as his gaze passed over dozens of guests. Then it stopped on me.

The moment our eyes met, the entire room seemed to freeze around me. My breath caught in my throat and I nearly dropped the tray again.

This time, I knew I had not imagined it. Darius was looking directly at me.

A strange tension spread through the ballroom at once. It was subtle at first but people quickly began to notice where his attention was fixed. Whispers began spreading through the crowd.

“Why is he looking over there?”

“Is he angry?”

“Did someone offend him?”

I could not move. I could not breathe properly. Selene leaned closer.

“Aurora… why is he staring at you?”

I quickly shook my head. “I don’t know.”

But that was not entirely true. I did know one thing. Something terrifying was happening to me.

My chest felt like it was burning from the inside and the strange pull I had felt earlier was growing stronger with every second. Then Darius started moving.

The moment he took a step forward, the crowd immediately parted to make way for him. No one had to ask. People simply moved aside as he walked through the ballroom.

Amelia noticed right away. A bright smile appeared on her face as she hurried forward and stepped into his path.

“Your Majesty,” she said quickly while bowing her head. “I am Amelia Nightbane. It is an honor to finally meet you. I have heard so much about....”

She never got to finish. Darius did not even look at her. Without slowing down, he walked right past her as if she were not standing there at all.

A stunned silence swept through the room. Amelia froze where she stood. Her smile disappeared instantly. The color drained from her face as dozens of eyes turned toward her.

I probably should have felt sorry for her. Instead, all I could focus on was the pressure building inside my chest.

Darius kept walking....straight toward me. With every step he took, my heartbeat grew faster and louder until it felt like everyone in the room could hear it. Beside me, Selene grabbed my arm.

“He is coming here,” she whispered in disbelief.

“I can see that,” I whispered back.

My legs felt weak. Part of me wanted to run. Another part could not move at all. None of this felt real. Things like this did not happen to girls like me.

Yet a few moments later, Darius stopped directly in front of me. He was so close now that I could feel the warmth of his presence. Slowly, I lifted my head.

The moment our eyes met, everything else faded away. Even the music and whispers seemed to vanish. For a few seconds, it felt like there was only him and me.

His dark eyes studied my face carefully. They were intense, unreadable and impossible to look away from. Then his gaze narrowed slightly.

“One step closer,” he said calmly.

My throat suddenly felt dry. “I…” I swallowed hard. “I’m not moving.”

Silence spread through the ballroom as quickly as a fire racing through dry grass. By now, every person in the room was watching us.

I could feel their eyes on me. They were waiting, wondering and trying to understand why the Alpha King was standing in front of a girl like me.

Darius did not seem to notice any of them. His attention remained fixed on me as he studied my face carefully, almost as if he could see something that no one else could.

Then he leaned slightly closer. The moment he did, the scent between us grew stronger. My knees nearly gave out beneath me. A strange warmth rushed through my body and I had to fight to stay standing.

Darius remained silent for a moment before speaking again. “This scent...” he said slowly.

His eyes darkened slightly as he looked at me. For the first time since he entered the ballroom, a crack appeared in his calm expression. My heart pounded painfully against my ribs.

“What scent?” I asked quietly.

He did not answer right away. Instead, he continued looking at me as though I was a puzzle that made no sense.

Then he finally spoke. “Who are you?”

The question caught me off guard. My lips parted but no words came out. How was I supposed to answer that?

I was Aurora Nightbane. I was the forgotten daughter....the wolfless girl....the disappointment of the family.

Before I could find an answer, Amelia's voice suddenly broke through the tension.

“Your Majesty!”

Everyone turned toward her. She hurried forward with a strained smile on her face.

“She is no one important,” Amelia said quickly. “Just a servant. My sister did not come since she was not feeling well. I think she may be confused.”

The words hit me like a slap. But before I could react, I saw something dangerous flash across Darius's face.

Slowly, he turned his head toward Amelia. For the first time since entering the ballroom, he actually looked at her. Amelia immediately straightened, a hopeful smile appearing on her face as if she thought she had finally gained his attention.

But the look in Darius's eyes made that smile fade almost instantly. His expression was colder than before.

“You are mistaken,” he said calmly.

Amelia blinked in confusion. “What?”

Darius did not explain. He simply turned his attention back to me. The moment he did, the atmosphere in the ballroom shifted again. The air felt heavier. It was as if everyone was waiting for something to happen. I could not look away from him.

And when he spoke again, his voice was lower than before.

“Bring her to me.”

Beside me, Selene gasped loudly. My mother's face went completely pale. My father looked as if he had forgotten how to breathe. Even Amelia stood frozen. She was staring at Darius with wide eyes and an expression full of disbelief.

But I barely noticed any of them. Because I could only hear those four words repeating inside my head. "Bring her to me." Again and again...like an echo I could not escape from.

And I knew, without understanding why…..

My life had just changed forever.