THE RUNAWAY LUNA
752 Words
The crowd did not move after Darius’s words. The gathering was full of whispers, some sharp, some full of pity. Aria felt them like thorns against her skin.
“He rejected her…”
“An Alpha rejecting his mate?”
“What shame for her pack.”
She swallowed hard but her throat felt dry. Her heart was beating too loud in her ears.
“Aria.”
A familiar voice broke through the noise. It was Lila, her best friend. She pushed past the others until she reached her side. Her eyes were blazing with anger, her hair wild from the run. She grabbed Aria’s hand.
“Don’t just stand here,” Lila hissed. “Say something. Don’t let him treat you like this in front of everyone.”
Aria shook her head. “What do you want me to say? He made his choice.”
“You should fight for what’s yours.” Lila’s voice cracked. “You’re the Luna. The goddess chose you.”
Aria looked across the clearing. Darius was still there, speaking with his Beta, his strong shoulders turned away from her as if she did not matter. For a moment his eyes flicked back to hers. In that brief second she felt the bond again, strong and undeniable, pulling at her soul.
But then he looked away.
Her chest tightened until it hurt to breathe.
“I can’t stay here,” Aria whispered.
Lila’s grip tightened. “Then I’ll come with you. Wherever you go.”
“No.” Aria shook her head. “This is your home. Your family is here. I won’t let you give it up for me.”
Lila’s eyes filled with tears but she held her chin high. “You’re my sister in everything but blood. If you walk out of this pack, I will never forgive them for what they’ve done to you.”
Aria pulled her into a hug. The warmth of her friend’s arms almost made her break down. “You have to be strong for both of us,” she whispered. “But I… I have to go.”
Lila clung to her tighter. “Promise me you’ll come back.”
Aria closed her eyes. She wanted to promise, but the words would not come. She kissed her friend’s forehead instead and pulled away.
The crowd parted slowly as Aria walked through them. She felt every stare, every whisper, every knife of pity. Her wolf whimpered inside her, but she kept her head high.
At the edge of the clearing she turned one last time.
Darius was watching. His face was unreadable, his fists clenched at his sides.
She tore her eyes away and ran.
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The forest swallowed her. Branches whipped against her skin, tearing at the dress she still wore from the ceremony. She ran faster, her lungs burning, until the sound of the pack faded behind her.
Finally she collapsed against a tree, her chest heaving. Tears stung her eyes, but she wiped them away with shaking hands.
“This is not the end,” she whispered to herself. “I won’t let it be.”
But then another thought struck her, colder and sharper than rejection. She pressed her hand to her stomach, a strange fear rising in her chest.
The late nights. The missed cycles. The sickness she had blamed on stress.
Her breath caught.
“No…” she whispered.
But deep down she knew. She was carrying his child.
A rush of panic made her knees buckle. If Darius or the pack found out… what would they do? Would they try to take the baby from her? Would they call it weak because of her?
She wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield the tiny life inside her. “You’re mine,” she said through clenched teeth. “Mine alone. I won’t let anyone take you.”
Her wolf growled softly inside her, agreeing with her vow.
But then a different sound broke the night.
A growl. Low and deep.
Her head snapped up. Between the trees eyes glowed in the dark. More than one pair. The stench hit her next. Rogues.
Her stomach dropped. Alone, weak, and unprepared, she was no match for them. But she pushed herself to her feet anyway, her hands curling into fists.
“You’ll have to go through me first,” she whispered, her voice trembling but firm.
The rogues stepped out of the shadows, teeth bared.
And Aria braced herself for the fight.
- Writer
