THE REJECTED LUNA

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 7

The sun climbed higher over the ruins. Heat pressed down on my skin. Sweat ran down my back in slow drops. I walked between the broken stone pillars. My fingers brushed the rough edges as I passed each one. Vines hung thick and green from above. They moved a little when the wind blew through. My boots left clear prints in the soft dirt. Each step sent a small ache through my legs but I kept going.

Kade stayed a few feet behind me. He watched everything without saying much. His eyes moved over the stones like he searched for hidden marks. I kept going deeper into the middle of the ruins. The air grew thicker here. It pushed against my chest with every breath. The bond tugged again without warning. This time it pulled harder than before. Drax’s face came into my mind clear. His jaw looked tight. His hands clenched at his sides. He paced back and forth in some room far away. I felt his anger mix with worry.

I shook my head fast to push the feeling away. My hands curled into fists at my sides.

He feels us now, Nythera said inside my head. Her voice stayed calm like still water. The c***k grows wider. Let it.

My steps slowed near a tall broken arch. I looked up at the stones piled high above me. Sunlight came through the gaps and made bright spots on the ground. I stepped into one of the bright spots. Warmth touched my face right away. My wolf rose a little more inside me. Nythera pressed close to the front of my mind. She did not fight to take over. She just stood with me. My breathing slowed down on its own. The ache in my hip faded a bit.

Kade came up beside me. He pointed at the ground near my feet. “Look there,” he said. His voice stayed low.

I looked down. Old marks were cut into the stone under a layer of dirt. I knelt down quick. My knees pressed into the ground. I brushed the dirt away with both hands. The marks looked like lines and circles. They felt warm when my fingers touched them. My skin tingled all over. A soft silver light glowed around my hands for a second. The light came from inside me.

This place knows our blood, Nythera whispered. It remembers what they tried to forget.

I stayed on my knees for a long time. My fingers traced the lines slow and careful. Each line made pictures flash in my head. A woman with silver eyes stood in a forest. She did not bow to anyone around her. Wolves stepped back when she looked at them. Power came from her without loud words or big fights. My chest felt full and tight. Tears pricked my eyes again. I blinked them away fast before they fell.

“Why did they hide this from me?” I asked out loud. My voice sounded small in the open space between the stones.

Kade crouched down next to me. He did not touch the stones himself. “Because it scared them,” he said. “Your wolf is not like theirs. She does not need their rules to be strong. They wanted you small so they could stay in control.”

I stood up slow. My legs felt stronger under me now. I wiped the dirt from my hands onto my pants. The bond flared hot again in my chest. Drax’s side grew more restless. I felt him stop pacing suddenly. He put a hand on a table somewhere. His wolf Varkon growled low inside him. The sound echoed in my own chest. I did not pull away this time. I let the feeling sit there. My own hands stayed steady at my sides.

He is losing his grip, Nythera said. His power needs everyone to stay in their place. You are out of place now.

A small laugh came out of me. It sounded rough but real. I looked over at Kade. “He rejected me to keep things clean,” I said. “Now the mess follows him everywhere he goes.”

Kade nodded once. He stood up too. “That is how it works. Rejection does not end the bond clean. It leaves pieces. Those pieces cut both ways.”

We kept walking through the ruins. I stepped over fallen stones. My balance felt better with each step. When my foot slipped once on loose dirt I caught myself fast without falling. Kade watched but did not say anything about it. The sun moved across the sky. Shadows grew longer between the pillars. My stomach growled loud. Kade pulled dried meat from his pack and handed me some. I ate it while we walked. The taste was plain but it filled me up enough.

Later we stopped near a low stone wall. I sat on it and let my legs hang down over the edge. My fingers picked at the edge of the stone. Small bits came off in my hand. I looked out at the trees beyond the ruins. The Hollow Expanse looked endless from here. Dark shapes moved far away between the trees. Maybe animals. Maybe more wolves looking for me. My shoulders tensed up tight.

Kade sat a little way away from me. He chewed his food slow. “They will send more,” he said after a long quiet time. “Not to scare you. To finish the job.”

I nodded. My jaw tightened hard. “I know. I felt it in the last fight. They moved like they had clear orders from higher up.”

My mind went back to the pack. I saw Selene’s face in my head. She stood tall next to Drax with a small smile on her lips. Her hand touched his arm like she belonged there. The picture made my stomach turn over. I looked down at my hands. They were dirty from the stones but they did not shake anymore.

She builds her place on his power, Nythera said. We build ours from inside.

I took a deep breath. The air felt cooler now as the day moved on. I stood up from the wall. My legs carried me to the middle of the open space again. I closed my eyes tight. The silver light came back behind my eyelids. Nythera stepped forward in my mind. She showed me how to stand still. Not hiding. Just present. My body copied her. My feet planted wide on the ground. My shoulders dropped relaxed. My breathing came even and slow.

Kade stood up too. He walked around me in a slow circle. “Good,” he said. “Feel the ground under you. Let it hold you up.”

I did what he said. The dirt felt solid under my boots. The stone under it felt old and strong. Something in me answered back. Power rose slow from my feet up through my legs. It filled my chest without rushing. My hands opened at my sides. The bond tugged once more. Drax felt it on his end. His breath caught sharp. He stood up fast wherever he was. I smiled a little with my eyes still closed.

Let him stand up, Nythera said. We are already standing.

Time passed slow after that. We practiced moving through the ruins. Kade came at me from different sides. He did not hit hard like before. He tested my balance instead. I turned when he moved. My arms blocked his hands without thinking too much. Once I pushed back and made him step away two full steps. His eyes showed surprise for a second. Then he nodded once. Sweat ran down my face in lines. My shirt stuck to my back. But I kept going. Each time felt a little cleaner than the last.

The light started to fade when we stopped. Orange colors filled the sky above the trees. I sat on the ground with my back against a pillar. My muscles ached in a good way. Kade handed me water from a small bottle. I drank it slow. The cool liquid went down my throat.

“They erased me from the pack,” I said after a long quiet time. “No one looked at me the same after the rejection. Tasks changed without words. People moved away when I came close. I heard whispers but they stopped when I got near.”

Kade listened without interrupting. He sat across from me near the fire we made.

“I left because I had to,” I went on. My voice stayed low. “The second I crossed the boundary the bond got tighter instead of loose. Then the wolves came. They did not yell or warn. They just attacked all at once.”

My hands tightened around the bottle. The plastic made a small sound. I remembered the first hit on my arm. The pain flashed hot across my skin. I remembered rolling on the ground and getting up fast.

You got up every time, Nythera said. That is what they did not plan for.

I looked at Kade across the small flames. “Now I am here. In this place that does not belong to any pack. And I feel different. Stronger in my own way.”

He nodded. “The Expanse strips lies away. The pack told you your wolf was broken. This place shows you she was just waiting.”

Night came slow. Stars showed up one by one in the dark sky. The fire crackled soft. Light danced on the old stones around us. I stared into the flames. The orange glow made my eyes feel heavy but I stayed awake. The bond tugged every so often. Each time Drax felt closer in my mind. Not in distance. In feeling. His wolf paced more. His thoughts turned again and again to the clearing where he said no to me.

I poked the fire with a stick. Sparks flew up into the air.

He cannot fix what he broke, Nythera said. So he will try to break more.

I smiled at the fire. “Let him try,” I said out loud. My voice sounded steady.

Kade looked at me across the flames. He did not smile but his eyes looked pleased. “Tomorrow we go deeper,” he said. “There is more to find here. More that will wake up in you.”

I nodded and lay down on the ground near the fire. The dirt felt cool under my back. My body was tired but my mind felt clear. Nythera stayed close. She did not sleep. She watched with me.

Sleep came after a while. Dreams came too. This time they were not all fear. I saw myself walking into the pack clearing. Heads turned fast. Eyes widened. Drax stood in front. His mouth opened but no words came out first. I did not look away. I stood tall. The bond pulled between us but I held my own end.

A loud sound woke me up sudden. My eyes flew open. The fire burned low. Kade was already on his feet. His body was tense.

“Get up,” he said fast. “They are here.”

I pushed up quick. My heart beat hard in my chest. Dark shapes moved at the edge of the ruins. Eyes glowed in the dark. More wolves. Too many this time. They did not come slow. They came running straight at us.