Broken Moon

Title: Rejected Under the Blood Moon Synopsis: On the night the Blood Moon rises, I am rejected by my Alpha mate in front of the entire pack—stripped of my rank, my dignity, and my future. Carrying his heir and condemned as a traitor, I am cast into exile to die. But fate is cruel, and power never forgets. When the Alpha who shattered me realizes his greatest enemy now holds the one thing he cannot replace, hatred turns to obsession—and rejection becomes a war neither of us can escape. Chapter 1 The rejection hits harder because it’s public. Because the entire Blackridge pack is watching. Because the man standing before me—cold eyes glowing silver under the Blood Moon—is the mate fate chose for me. “Lyra Vale,” Alpha Kael Blackridge says, his voice carrying effortlessly across the ceremonial clearing. “I reject you.” The words slice through my chest. Gasps ripple through the crowd. Whispers follow. Shock. Delight. Hunger. A public execution disguised as tradition. My knees lock, but I don’t fall. I refuse to give them that. “I reject you as my mate,” Kael continues, his gaze sharp and distant, like I’m already dead. “As Luna. As anything to this pack.” The mating bond snaps. Pain explodes through my body—white-hot, savage, unforgiving. I bite down hard enough to taste blood, my hands curling into fists as agony rips through my veins. The bond screams as it dies, taking something vital with it. I manage to lift my chin. “Why?” My voice shakes, traitorous, but it carries. Kael’s expression doesn’t change. “Because you betrayed me.” A stunned silence follows. I stare at him. “That’s a lie.” Murmurs swell. Heads turn. Eyes narrow. Kael raises his hand, silencing the pack. “You were seen meeting with rogues beyond our borders. Passing information. Endangering this pack.” “That never happened,” I say. My heart slams violently against my ribs. “You know me. I would never—” “You will not speak unless spoken to,” he cuts in. Humiliation burns hotter than the pain still clawing through my body. I’ve trained beside him since we were children. Bled for this pack. Loved him in silence before the bond ever snapped into place. And now he won’t even look at me like a person. “I am carrying your child.” The clearing erupts. Kael freezes. For the first time tonight, something cracks. I press a trembling hand to my stomach. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted the bond ceremony first. I wanted it to be right.” The words are raw. Too honest. Too late. His eyes drop—just briefly—to my stomach. Then his jaw tightens. “Impossible,” he says. The lie is quieter now. More dangerous. “It’s not,” I whisper. “You know it’s not.” A female laugh cuts through the tension. Selene. She steps forward from Kael’s side, her white ceremonial dress pristine, her hand resting possessively on his arm. The chosen Luna. The Alpha Council’s favorite weapon. “How convenient,” she says sweetly. “Claiming pregnancy after being exposed as a traitor.” My blood runs cold. Kael doesn’t pull away from her touch. “I would never lie about this,” I say, my voice breaking despite my efforts. “Test me. Have the healer—” “There will be no test,” Kael says. My breath catches. “What?” “You are not my Luna,” he says flatly. “And if there is a child, it is not mine.” The words are deliberate. Meant to destroy. The pack watches, transfixed. I feel something inside me fracture completely. “You don’t believe that,” I say. “You can’t.” Kael steps closer, towering over me. His presence presses down like a physical weight—Alpha dominance sharp and suffocating. “I believe what preserves this pack,” he says quietly. “And you are a liability.” Tears blur my vision. I refuse to let them fall. “I loved you,” I whisper. His eyes flicker. Gone in an instant. “Remove her,” he commands. Two guards step forward. Fear finally hits. “You can’t exile me,” I say, panic bleeding into my voice. “Not like this. I’ve served this pack my entire life.” Kael’s gaze hardens. “You should have thought of that before betraying us.” The guards seize my arms. I struggle. “Kael!” He turns away. The rejection burns anew, deeper now, fed by betrayal and disbelief. As they drag me toward the boundary stones, Selene leans close, her lips brushing my ear. “If you survive,” she whispers, “remember this moment. You were never meant to stand beside him.” Rage flares through the pain. I twist free just long enough to look back. Kael stands beneath the Blood Moon, already addressing the pack, already rewriting history. I swear then—silently, viciously. He may have rejected me. But this is not the end. As my blood spills onto the sacred ground and darkness closes in, I clutch my stomach and make a promise to the child he denied. They will regret this. All of them.