Luna Return

The moon shines high over the Bloodveil clearing, casting silver light over the assembled pack. Torches lined the stone circle, shining like stars that had fallen to the earth. Tonight should have been the happiest moment of Aria’s life. Her hands trembled as she smoothed the soft fabric of her pale blue dress, her heart beating in her chest with anticipation. Lucien Blackthorn stood just ahead, tall and fierce, his midnight eyes unreadable below the glow of the moon. The Alpha, Her mate,Her future,The man fate had bound her to. Tonight, he would declare her as his Luna. Aria could feel it, every fiber of her soul was twisted with his. The mate bond pulled tight in her chest, a hum of energy, love, and destiny. Her wolf stirred anxiously below her skin, sensing something wasn’t right. But Aria ignored it. She had to. Selene caught her eye from the side of the circle, her best friend looking directly at her. There was something cold in her smile, something sharp. But Aria looked away and said Tonight isn’t about doubts. “Step forward,” Elder Thorne called, his voice echoing across the silent circle. Aria took a step. Lucien’s gaze met hers. But something in his expression made her blood run cold. “Alpha Lucien,” the elder continued. “Do you recognize the bond between you and Aria Rivers as true?” Lucien’s jaw grip. The silence dragged on. Then he spoke. “I do not.” A wave of stunned murmurs through the crowd. Aria stopped, her breath catching. “W..What?” Lucien’s voice was steel. “I reject the bond. Aria Rivers is not worthy to be my Luna.” The world tilted. Pain exploded in Aria’s chest as the mate bond snapped like a thread pulled too tight. She stumbled back, holding her heart, barely able to breathe. Her wolf wailed inside her. “Why?” she whispered, voice shaking. “Lucien… what are you saying?” “I see you for what you truly are,” he said coldly. “Weak, Unfit, A disgrace to the title of a Luna.” Aria said crying..Lies. This had to be a nightmare.. A cruel joke. But Lucien turned his back to her, and Selene stepped closer to him like a shadow slipping into the place. That was when Aria understood. It wasn’t just Lucien who had betrayed her but selene as well. Aria’s vision blurred. Her legs carried her out of the circle before she could think, before she could collapse where she stood. The whispers followed her, cutting deeper than a nail. “Rejected…” “Humiliated…” “Why would he choose Selene instead?”The woods engulfed her And the Luna of Bloodveil vanished. Behind her, she heard Selene’s sweet, poisonous voice ring out through the hush of the stunned crowd ”Don’t worry, Alpha. I’ll never betray you like she did.” Aria didn’t look back,She didn’t scream, or cry, or plead,She ran. And deep in the dark, something inside her shifted not pain , but something far more dangerous. Something determined to rise.