The Ghost Luna's Coronation : Claimed by the Lycan king

ELARA'S POV What happens when the one person you thought would be your redemption becomes the cause of your longest pain? My mate. I had thought that meeting him would be my escape, my salvation. But here I was, even more rejected and broken than before. I could still remember his every word, the look of horror and disgust in his eyes. It was as if I were the most repulsive creature he had ever seen. Maybe I was. I was just a plain girl. He deserved a queen, and I was barely a shadow. That was exactly what he told me. “I don’t want a weak omega for a mate,” he had sneered, his voice sharp and filled with a cold, jagged hate. “You’re worthless, Elara. I deserve better.” The day I turned eighteen was supposed to be the start of my life. My mother had woken me with a gentle kiss, her eyes shining with a hope I hadn’t seen in years. She brushed my plain hair away and whispered, “Today is the day, my sweet girl. The Moon Goddess will bless you with a strong Alpha. Someone who will see how special you are.” I believed her. With all my fragile heart, I believed her. The ceremony was held under the full moon in the Silver Moon square. When the light bathed us, I felt the pull, the unmistakable thread of fate snapping into place. And then I saw him. Alpha Jax. He was everything a leader should be: tall, broad, and commanding. For one beautiful moment, as our eyes locked, I thought I had been chosen. But that moment shattered faster than glass. The rejection came three months later. I had spent those months as a ghost in his house. I cooked his favorite meals, kept the manor spotless, and stayed silent while he brought his widowed brother’s wife, Sarah, into our home. I watched him hold Sarah’s child with a tenderness he never showed me. I was still a virgin, untouched, waiting for him to claim me. I thought my patience would win him over. I was wrong. During the monthly pack gathering, Jax stepped onto the raised platform. I stood beside him, hopeful and naive. “Pack members,” Jax began, his voice like thunder. “I have an announcement.” He turned to me, and the ice in his blue eyes made my stomach drop. “Elara,” he said, his tone laced with contempt. “I, Alpha Jax of the Silver Moon Pack, reject you as my fated mate.” The crowd gasped. My knees buckled. “Jax… why?” He laughed, a harsh, cruel sound. “Why? Look at you. You’re plain. Weak. A pathetic little omega who can barely hold her own wolf. I’ve touched you, Elara, but I feel nothing. You don't respond to me. You’re broken. What kind of Luna can’t even feel desire for her Alpha?” Humiliation burned my skin. The pack’s eyes were like needles. “I brought my brother’s widow and her child into my home because they are a real family,” Jax continued. “They are strong. You? You’re just a ghost who drifts around. I deserve better than a frigid, worthless girl.” “I… I was waiting for you,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Only for you.” “That’s the problem,” he sneered. “Even your body knows you aren’t worthy of an Alpha’s touch. You’re too weak to even feel me.” With a final, agonizing crack, the mate bond tore out of my chest. I turned and ran. I ran until my legs gave out, collapsing in the dark woods of the neutral zone. I clutched my chest, gasping. I was a ghost. I was nothing. Night fell, and the moon rose to mock me. I lay in the dirt, my white dress torn, replaying his words: Weak. Worthless. Frigid. Then, a low, powerful growl cut through the darkness. Heavy footsteps approached, slow, deliberate. A scent hit me that I had never felt before: dark pine, smoked cedar, and a masculine heat so intense it made my wolf, who I thought had died with the rejection, suddenly lift her head. I lifted my head. A man stepped out of the shadows. He was taller than Jax, with hair like midnight and eyes of molten gold. This was Alpha Caspian, the King of the Black Ridge. The most feared wolf in the territory. I scrambled back, but my body betrayed me. A sudden, slick warmth pooled between my thighs, a sensation I had never felt with Jax. My core throbbed. Just looking at this stranger, my n*****s tightened and a soft whimper escaped my lips. I was wet for a man I didn't even know, in a way my own mate said was impossible. Caspian inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring as he caught my scent. A slow, predatory smile curved his lips. “Well, well,” he murmured, his voice a deep, velvet rasp that sent shivers down my spine. “What broken little omega is crying in my woods tonight?” He took a step closer, his golden eyes devouring me. He saw the rejection mark on my neck, but he didn't look disgusted. He looked hungry. “He called you weak?” Caspian whispered, reaching out a hand. “He must be blind. I can smell the goddess all over you.” I looked up at him, trembling, and realized that for the first time in my life, I wasn't a ghost. To this man, I was the only thing in the world that mattered.