The Scored Luna Awakens

“I, Caden Jasper, heir of the Crestwood Alpha, reject you, Tamara Vladis, as my mate.” A dark pit swallowed my heart whole; the very ground I stood on tilted. The pack hall was instantly flooded with murmurs, confusion swirling into every exchange. “Why?” My voice cracked past my trembling lips. “Caden, is this another one of your jokes?” My attempt to play it off failed miserably; his expression was as set as stone. “Does it look like I'm joking with you?” His demeanor shifted. I wobbled in my heels. “If you got cold feet, why didn't you tell me all this time? Why did you lead me here first?!” Here, in the pack hall, we stood before not just our families but distinguished high-ranking wolves and elders. “Accept my rejection,” he said sternly, unmoved by the tears that had begun to pool in my eyes. “But what about our future, Caden? Just last night we were talking about the name we'd give our pups…remember?” I clutched his arm like a man at sea holding on to driftwood. “We were going to name the first boy Leo, then the girl would be Maria…don't you remember—” I couldn't finish; he tore me off with so much force I stumbled backwards. My heel broke, and I landed on my butt, the pain shooting across my spine. It was pathetic, but I hoped at least seeing me in physical pain would move him. It didn't. His eyes thickened with disgust. “Just because you don't have a wolf doesn't mean you shouldn't have any dignity either.” I clutched my layers of azure satin and lace; he had gone straight for my greatest insecurity. “Who cares about inner wolves? You're my Tamara, and wolf or no wolf, that won't change.” That's what he said to me four years ago before sliding a sapphire promise ring onto my finger. Our love was just something that was always meant to be. I'd known him since I was in diapers; he defended me when pack members turned their noses down at me for being wolfless. He didn't care that people thought I was ‘deficient’; he loved me for me. At least that was the delusion he'd fed me hook, line, and sinker for almost half a decade. I had loved a mirage…a monster. “Caden, you can't do this to me…I'm Beta's daughter…” A sudden high-pitched laughter tore through the hall, silencing even the murmurs. Without looking back, I recognized the voice. “Tiana?” My twin's name slipped past my lips. She glided past me, wearing a gown like mine, but hers made my once-beautiful gown look like thrift wear. Hers was studded with diamonds and pearls; she wore a full beat of makeup and a sinister smile. “Tiana…” I struggled to get up on my broken heel. “Only the bride is supposed to wear azure.” She didn't stop walking, didn't acknowledge what I said until she was contently resting against my mate's side. He wrapped his hand around her waist. “Tiana, you…” It was one thing for Caden to betray me, but my own twin sister? It was too much. I yanked out my heel and hurled it at them. Caden instinctively wrapped his body around Tiana to shield her, and that infuriated me even more. I was fishing for my other heel when someone grabbed my hand. “Let me go!” I screamed without looking back. “Tamara, that's enough. Can't you see they want to be together?” Hearing my father's voice felt like I had been drenched in cold water. He released me, and my hand fell limply by my side. “Father, with all due respect, can you hear yourself right now?” I stabbed my fingers at the traitors. “Tiana is trying to h****k my wedding.” Mother stepped forward, her eyes unable to meet mine. "Your sister has already been through so much; why can't you let her have this?" Suddenly I felt like the only sane person here. "But today was supposed to be my wedding! How can I just stand aside and let her have my mate?” “I have already rejected you. Why isn't that going through your head?!” Caden yelled at me. “But I haven't accepted it!” I shot back maliciously. I didn't even care about being with him anymore; that ship had sailed ever since I found out that the man I loved never existed. “Tamara…” Father called me, his voice deepening. “Accept his rejection; we'll find you other eligible suitors.” “Yes,” my mom echoed my father's opinion (her favorite pastime). “There are lots of lovely men around your age. Just let your sister have this; it's the least you owe her.” “What?!” I hissed out. “I don't owe her a single thing!” It happened when we were little. Tiana and I went out to play. She was the one who dragged me toward the extremities of the pack border where rogues loved to linger. She was snatched by a rogue, and I managed to escape. It took years before my parents found her, but from day one, I knew the girl they brought back wasn't the Tiana I knew when I was little. The chirpy, upbeat little girl had been sharpened into a cunning and vicious person who hid her cruelty behind a mask. Even though I knew that deep down it wasn't my fault that she was kidn*pped, my parents always hinted at it. “Just let Tiana have the dress…” “Tiana wanted that snack. Just let her have it.” While shopping for my wedding gown, Mom almost collapsed with grief when I said I wouldn't let Tamara wear my dress. I should have taken what happened as foreshadowing for today. This was too much. I lost my mate… He chose my sister. And my parents were shamelessly backing it. Blots of darkness swallowed my vision, and I collapsed on the wooden platform. I stirred awake with the scent of antiseptic sliding into my nostrils. The doctor beside me tilted his glasses, asking me some questions. Finally, his voice fell as he confessed, “I'm deeply sorry, Lady, but you lost your baby.”