After He Abandoned Luna Ritual, I Rejected Him

When I turned eighteen, I sensed my fated mate—Alpha Roman. I thought it was a blessing straight from the Moon Goddess herself. For seven whole years, I waited for him to mark me, waited for him to make good on all his promises. But he always had the same lines: "The time isn't right yet," or "Just wait a little longer." That wait dragged on for seven years, right up until what was supposed to be our wedding day. He got a call saying his assistant Lena had been attacked and kidn*pped. Right there, in front of all our guests, he called the whole thing off and left me standing alone at the altar, the entire room staring. I could feel it clear as day—the raw anxiety and deep, unmistakable affection he had for her. That kind of intense emotion? He'd never once felt anything close to it for me in seven years. When he finally came back, he swore he'd hold a make-up wedding for me in three days. But when I caught Lena's scent clinging to his clothes, I made up my mind. I was done with this man for good. ***** Now, here we were, on the day of my Luna Ceremony with Roman. We stood before the sacred altar. Roman held my hand, those deep gray eyes of his warm with uncharacteristic softness. "Willow, I've waited so long for this day." His low, rumbling Alpha voice carried through the vaulted hall, loud enough for every wolf present to hear clearly. "Witnessed by the Moon Goddess, I promise…" My wolf was practically vibrating with giddy excitement under my skin, thrumming so hard I could barely stand still. Ever since I'd sensed my fated mate at eighteen, I'd waited seven whole years for this exact moment. But right as his canines were about to sink into the skin of my nape, his phone buzzed once, then blared with a shrill, jarring ringtone from his pocket. Lena's name flashed across the screen. His expression shifted instantly. He leaned in close to my ear, his voice tight with urgency. "Willow, Lena was attacked by rogues. Her life is on the line, and she's a respected veteran of the Pack who has done so much for us. I have to go." Before I could even get a word out, he dropped my hand and turned to leave, right in front of every high-ranking wolf from across the continent. I grabbed his sleeve on instinct, my voice shaking. "Roman, the entire clan is here today. This is my Luna Ceremony—" His tone was gentle, but thrumming with frantic urgency. "Don't make a scene, Willow. You're my Luna, you need to be reasonable. I'll make this up to you, I swear, once I sort this out." With that, he rushed out the door. The mate bond thrumming in my chest twisted violently, sharp enough to make me gasp. It was humming with every bit of his panic, every flash of fear he felt for her. Those were his feelings, flooding through the bond: raw anxiety, gut-churning fear, a searing, all-consuming heartache. I'd never felt that kind of heartache from him in seven years. Not once. Below the stage, quiet whispers drifted through the crowd: "It's that half-blood assistant again, isn't it?" "Wow, our Alpha's such a stand-up guy, huh? Bailing on his own Luna ceremony just for her..." I stood frozen in front of the now-empty altar, the bouquet in my hand digging sharply into my palm, stinging like crazy. He was supposed to be my fated mate, a gift straight from the Moon Goddess herself. But Lena had always been a constant, unshakable presence in every corner of the life Roman and I were supposed to share. The ceremony fizzled out, awkward and unceremonious. I forced a brave face and saw off the Alphas and elders from all the other packs. By the time I got back to the castle, it was well past midnight. The living room reeked of sharp, bitter moonwort. Lena was curled up on the couch, wrapped in Roman's jacket, her face as pale as a sheet. Meanwhile, Roman was leaning over her, moving with gentle, deliberate care as he fed her medicine. He spotted me walking in and started to get up, but Lena grabbed his sleeve and coughed weakly, "Alpha..." Roman froze instantly and steadied her, his voice soft as down. "Don't worry, I'm right here." I stopped dead in the doorway, a heavy, suffocating weight lodged in my chest, throbbing with a dull, relentless ache. So he was capable of being that tender with someone, after all. It just had never, not once, been me. Roman looked over at me, his voice heavy with exhaustion and faint apology. "Willow, I'm sorry. Today was unfair to you." Seven years. This was always how it went. He'd leave me stranded, then come back and say he was sorry. And every single time, I'd let it slide, forgive him, and move on. But today? Today was my Luna ceremony. He'd humiliated me in front of every high-ranking werewolf on the continent to run after Lena, and now he'd had the nerve to bring her back to our castle? A white-hot rage bubbled up in my chest, sharp and impossible to ignore. I pointed straight at Lena and asked in an ice-cold voice, "What is she doing here?" "Willow, I got hurt. Alpha just brought me here to get treated." Lena leaned weakly against Roman's chest, her voice soft and wobbly. "I'm sorry I caused trouble for you two. I'll leave right now." Roman's face immediately twisted with urgency. "Willow, Lena's hurt. I'm the one who insisted on bringing her back, so blame me if you have to. You're my Luna, it's only right you stand by me to take care of the pack, not act out over unfounded jealousy." My voice was ice. "Tell her to get the hell out." I couldn't stand the sight of the two of them a second longer. I spun on my heel, ready to storm upstairs. "Willow," Roman called, his eyes darting away from mine, unable to hold my gaze. "Rogue claw venom is nasty. The regular guest rooms don't have a strong enough Alpha scent to suppress the poison. Let her stay in the master bedroom these next few days." I stared at him, stunned, my blood running cold, my voice shaking. "You want an assistant to stay in our master bedroom?" The master bedroom. That was the most private, sacred space reserved for every generation of Alpha and Luna. Roman stepped up to me, brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear with gentle fingers. His tone was soft, indulgent even, but there was no room for argument in it. "It's just for a few days. Be sensible, okay? Lena will be healed in three days, and then I'll throw you the grandest Luna ceremony the entire continent has ever seen to make up for today." The frayed, taut string that had been holding my composure together snapped clean in two. In his eyes, I was his mate, so I was supposed to roll over and let him do whatever he wanted, with no questions asked. Why the hell should I? In that moment, all the fight drained right out of me. I didn't even want to argue anymore. "Fine. Whatever you say," My heart was bleeding raw, but my voice came out eerily calm. Roman broke into a relieved, pleased smile, leaning in to press a warm kiss to my forehead. "I knew you'd be sensible." I jerked back, dodging his kiss, and turned to walk straight to the guest room. Fine, you can have the room. She can have the Luna title too.