The Alpha's Rejected Luna

I stood at the edge of the clearing, the evening sun casting a warm golden hue over the Shadowclaw Pack's ceremonial grounds. The pack was gathered, a sea of faces staring back at me—some indifferent, some filled with quiet judgment. I had always been an outcast here, never fully accepted by the others, but tonight was supposed to be different. Tonight, I was supposed to finally have a place. I was finally going to be claimed. My heart raced as I adjusted the fabric of my dress, the fine silk smooth against my skin. It was supposed to be a moment of celebration, the moment I would no longer be the pack's invisible wolf. I wasn’t strong like the others. I wasn’t fierce or loud. I’d always kept to myself, kept my head down. But tonight, with the bond of the mate ceremony, I had hoped that things would change. I tried to steady my breathing, but the crowd’s murmurs made it hard to think. I could hear the rustling of leaves as they shifted, waiting for the moment when Alpha Kane Rivers would step forward, claim me, and seal the bond that would finally make me more than just a whisper in the pack. And then there he was. Kane. Tall, broad-shouldered, and radiating an aura of power, he strode to the center of the clearing, his silver eyes scanning the crowd. His presence alone demanded respect, and everyone around me fell silent as if instinctively knowing the weight of the moment. He was everything the Alpha should be: strong, confident, and unshakable. I swallowed hard. I’d been dreaming of this moment for years—the moment he would look at me with those eyes and see me as his equal. I’d endured the taunts, the whispers behind my back, and the way they looked at me like I was a ghost who had no place among them. But now, my fated mate, the Alpha himself, would choose me. I hoped. Kane reached the center and stopped, his gaze never wavering from me. The crowd waited, the tension palpable in the cool evening air. I felt the energy shift as his eyes finally met mine. His lips curled up slightly, the faintest smile. For a moment, I thought everything was going to be okay. That we could be okay. But then Kane's expression hardened. His smile vanished. “Sera Blake,” he said, his voice a deep growl that made my insides tremble. “You are weak. You have always been weak.” My heart skipped a beat. His words hit like a slap across my face. I could feel the pack members’ eyes on me, their judgment burning into my skin. My throat closed up, but I forced myself to stand tall. I refused to show any weakness, even though the pain inside me was already swelling, threatening to break free. Kane's gaze flickered to the side, as though he were looking at something—someone—else. His eyes narrowed before he looked back at me, his expression cold. “I reject you, Sera Blake. You are not worthy to be my mate.” The words echoed in the clearing, louder than any howl, louder than any storm. I reject you. I couldn’t breathe. The world seemed to shift as if the ground beneath me was crumbling. My heart dropped into my stomach. I stumbled back, my vision blurring. The gasps from the pack around me felt like daggers. I was paralyzed, my body refusing to move, refusing to understand. I had heard those words—I reject you—but I didn’t believe them. Not from him. Not from the Alpha who had been my mate for years in my dreams. Kane’s face remained emotionless, cold as ever, his eyes unyielding. “You’re not strong enough to be with me,” he continued, his voice cutting through the silence. “You’ll never be more than a shadow in my pack. You are nothing.” The words hit me like a punch to the gut, stealing the breath from my lungs. I felt my legs give way beneath me, but I caught myself on the stone podium, trembling from head to toe. I wanted to say something, anything. To scream at him for humiliating me in front of everyone. But nothing came out. My throat was dry, my words stuck behind the tears I refused to shed. This was the moment I had feared most. I had spent years hoping that one day, he would look at me and see something more than just a weak, overlooked girl. But instead, I was a disappointment. A failure. I heard the whispers begin—loud enough for me to hear, even over the crowd’s hushed murmurs. “She’s not even strong enough for the Alpha. Pathetic.” “Did you see how he rejected her? What a joke.” “They’re right. She never belonged here.” I felt every word like a slap. Each one was more cruel than the last, tearing me apart piece by piece. This was the pack I had spent my whole life trying to be a part of, and now I was an outcast, rejected by the Alpha himself. My mind raced. I had no place here anymore. No home. No family. No purpose. I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t bear the shame. I turned and ran. The sound of my footsteps echoed in the silence behind me as I fled from the clearing, the weight of the pack’s judgment pressing down on me with every step. My heart raced as the world blurred around me, the harsh whispers fading into the distance. But I couldn’t escape the way my chest ached, how the rejection gnawed at me, how I couldn’t breathe without feeling suffocated by the weight of their stares. I stumbled through the trees, my vision clouded with tears I refused to shed, but the suffocating silence around me only made the pain worse. And then, as I neared the edge of the woods, I heard them. A group of pack members, whispering, their voices carrying in the cool night air. “I told you she’d never last. She’s a liability.” “She's weak. The Alpha was right to reject her.” I didn’t need to hear more. I knew what they were saying. I was nothing. Just a mistake in the pack’s eyes. I pressed my hands to my ears, but the voices continued to echo in my mind, a constant reminder that I didn’t belong. I couldn’t face them. I couldn’t face any of them. And as I ran, the weight of rejection pressing down on me with each step, I felt a deep, unshakable truth settle in my chest. I was alone.