Exhausted, Rejected And Alone

Opening

In the Storm Fang Pack, Luna Rexiana was everything a luna was supposed to be. She cleaned up the messes the warriors left behind, mediated disputes before they turned bloody, and more than once had thrown herself between her mate and open steel or fire during border wars. She did it without complaint, without expectation of thanks. Yet Alpha Clint Morris took everything for granted. He let her carry the weight of the pack while constantly belittling her, calling her useless, and branding her barren because five years of marriage had yielded no heir.

​Clint took other women openly and told anyone who would listen that it was her fault, her empty womb had driven him to them. Each betrayal triggered excruciating pain through their mate bond, ravaging both Rexiana and her wolf. Ground down by constant verbal abuse from Clint and the pack, Rexiana began to believe their words, convinced she was truly worthless, defective, and unfit to be Luna.

​The abuse escalated when one of Clint’s mistresses, Maya, fell pregnant. Elevated by the pack, Maya weaponized her pregnancy against the Luna. Every minor ailment, even a simple cough, was blamed on Rexiana's "jealousy." Absurd as the accusations were, Clint never once defended his luna. Instead he ordered her to stand in the scorching sun from midday until dusk as punishment for “endangering” the pregnancy that was never hers to protect.

Rexiana stopped arguing. She had spent five years believing every word they said about her. So she endured the bond-pain in silence, the public shame in silence, and the slow death of the woman she used to be in silence.

After learning about Maya's pregnancy, Clint and his parents ordered that Rexiana would be its sole nanny and caretaker once the child was born. Even though the pack was wealthy enough to hire any number of experienced nursemaids, yet Past Luna Heather Morris declared it Rexiana’s “good fortune” to be allowed to care for her mate’s pup, since she was otherwise useless. Rexiana accepted the role without a word of protest.

One afternoon, however, Rexiana accidentally overhead something she never should have heard, Maya was having an affair with a another wolf, Steve, and the child might not even be Clint’s. The sharp-nosed alpha should have caught the foreign male scent clinging to his mistress, but he was so desperate for an heir that he accepted every excuse. Maya claimed the strange smells belonged to one of her many brothers. Rexiana overheard enough of their conversation to know better. She said nothing.

Maya, realizing her secret was no longer safe, moved first. She began to act terrified: sleepless, haunted by nightmares of Rexiana coming for her and the unborn child. She painted herself pale beneath false makeup and practiced shaking, offering evidence of her fear to anyone who would look. The performance was convincing enough to rattle the pack.The strain grew until Clint, finally, wrote a divorce letter. Maya pressed it into his hands the morning after a fevered night of tears, she’d even had one of her many lovers in the pack, who served as a lawyer, stamp and print the document before dawn. The plan was simple: reject Rexiana publicly, banish her, and absolve the household of any threat so Maya and the pup would be safe.The next morning Rexiana stood at the stove, as she always did, preparing breakfast. She ran the kitchen like a small kingdom: the one who remembered every preference, the one who rescued wasted food by changing menus, the one who managed the pack’s mornings. Before she arrived, the head cook had served the same bland dishes to everyone; half the food went to waste. Rexiana had taught herself every recipe she could find online, learned each pack member’s preferences, and single-handedly transformed mealtime for the pack. She had done the same in her marriage, learning every way to please Clint, bending herself into whatever shape he demanded just to keep his eyes from wandering. It was never enough, nothing she did was ever enough.

That morning Clint strolled in with Maya wrapped around his arm. A few younger wolves clustered at the dining table; others lingered, waiting to be served. No one lifted a hand to help Rexiana, they never did. The omegas had away stayed away from the kitchen and only went to clean the sleeping quarters, leaving the Luna to pull heavy trays from the ovens alone.

​When Maya’s mocking voice cut through the room, Rexiana didn't need to look up to know who had entered.

“In the kitchen as always,” Maya said, voice cold and small, her smile edged with triumph. Maya’s eyes were slightly swollen, the result of a performative night spent sobbing into Clint’s chest.

Rexiana forced a bright smile. "Good morning, Alpha. Good morning, Maya," she said, keeping her tone light and careful. Long ago, Clint had forbidden her from ever uttering his name. To you, I am only your Alpha, he had cold-bloodedly reminded her.

​"The morning isn't good at all," Maya replied, her voice dripping with artificial sweet poison.

​Clint stood beside his pregnant mistress, his chest puffed out with self-righteous protection. His fixation on securing an heir had blinded him to every red flag.

​In Maya's free hand, she gripped a fresh stack of papers. She needed Rexiana banished today, before the Luna could open her mouth and shatter her golden lie.

Clint tugged gently at Maya’s arm, offering a soft compromise. "We can settle this right after breakfast."

​Instantly, Maya burst into fresh, dramatic tears. Every passing second was a terrifying gamble; if Rexiana opened her mouth before those papers were signed, everything Maya had built would crumble. "No! I want her out before midday! Or are you waiting until she actually carries out her evil plans?"

​She made zero effort to hide her desperation. Given the sharp, refined hearing of every wolf in the room, the hidden malice in her demand was unmistakable. Yet no one spoke up.

​At the stove, Rexiana’s heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her hands shook violently as she dished another warm plate, her back turned to the crowd. She had no family left outside these borders, nowhere to run, and no sanctuary. She didn't want to leave, but if her Alpha commanded it, her wolf would have no choice but to obey.

​"Rexiana. Come here," Clint said, his voice laced with an unusual, heavy hesitation.

​Despite his years of cruelty, the sudden reality of expelling her felt unnerving. She had been the constant backdrop of his life for five years. Yet, his delusion won out, to him, Rexiana was a bitter, barren female capable of anything, and he had an heir to protect.

​Rexiana slowly wiped her damp hands on a kitchen towel and walked toward him, her head bowed. Once, a lifetime ago during their first year of marriage, Clint had treated her with gentleness. But that warmth had evaporated long ago, replaced by cold insults and bitter neglect.

​"Maya believes you pose a threat to the baby," Clint began, clearing his throat. "So... I think we should end this farce of a marriage here."

​The words struck like a physical blow. Rexiana’s knees buckled, and she hit the tile floor hard, her palms flat against the cold ground. "Please... Clint... Alpha... please don't send me away," she sobbed, tears spilling fast over her cheeks. "I will do anything... please... don't reject me..."

​"Too late, witch!" Maya sneered, her tear-stained face instantly morphing into a look of triumphant malice. "You’re leaving today whether you like it or not!" When Clint didn't immediately echo her cruelty, Maya turned her sharp eyes onto him, dropping her voice into a demanding coo. "Right, baby?"

​Clint hesitated, an uneasy weight settling in his chest as he weighed the finality of his decision. But under Maya's expectant gaze, he hardened his posture.

​"Uh... right," Clint muttered. He straightened his back and looked down at his kneeling mate. "I, Clint Morris, Alpha of the Storm Fang Pack, reject you, Rexiana Johnson, as my mate and Luna of Storm Fang Pack."

​The mate bond shattered with a agonizing, physical tear. Rexiana gasped, curling in on herself as a wave of burning, visceral agony tore through her chest and her wolf. Clint winced, a sharp, suffocating pain spiking through his own bond, but he forced his expression to remain cold and unbothered. He refused to show weakness over a defective woman.

​"From this moment onward, you are banished from Storm Fang grounds," Clint declared coldly. "If you are found within or around our territory after one hour, you will be hunted as a rogue and executed under pack law."

​The moment the words left his lips, Maya gleefully tossed the stack of papers onto the floor beside Rexiana’s trembling hands. The tears were gone from Maya's eyes, replaced by pure, unadulterated triumph.

​"Make sure you sign those before you crawl out," Maya gloated, unable to hide her excitement. "Only with your signature can I officially step up as Luna."

​Through a blur of hot tears, Rexiana looked down at the document on the floor. At the bottom of the page, Clint’s heavy, familiar signature was already dry. He hadn't just signed it this morning under pressure, he had signed it long ago, waiting for the right excuse to throw her away.