Rejected Luna, Desired Queen

***Ivy*** “What deranged stunt are you trying to pull this time?” Jarett’s voice boomed through the speaker. My left hand, clutching my phone, shook violently. “They’ll k-kill me if you don’t c-come…”I stammered, trembling. My kidnapper pressed his knife harder against my throat, and a warm trickle of blood slid down my neck. The deep cut on my lip and the countless bruises on my body made it a miracle that I was even conscious. Still, I clung to the call like a lifeline. Jarett was the only person I could ask for help. He is my mate, afterall. He also leads one of the most powerful packs in New York. He could easily send a few of his men to my rescue. “I don't care if you die, Ivy. Don't ever call me for something this insignificant again.” His voice was like needles piercing against my heart. He couldn't possibly mean that, right? “Jarett, p-please —” “Who’s that?” A familiar high-pitched voice chimed from the background, shutting me up. Renée . My sister. My blood ran cold. “Enough of your tantrums already,” Jarett snapped, irritation dripping from every word. “Ja—” The call ended. Abrupt. Brutal. The silence that followed shattered me. He was with her. A few seconds later, the mate-bond pain hit me, sharp, punishing, spreading from my chest like wildfire. I felt it rise and twist, like a thousand knives carving through my heart. It was the bond’s way of informing me that my mate was f*****g another woman. My sister. The Moon Goddesses way of punishing me. Punishment for not being enough for him. Punishment for “killing his mother.” Punishment for not having my own wolf. My vision blurred. Tears, exhaustion, and blood loss all merging into one. This is it. This is how I die. While my mate f***s another woman. I forced my trembling head up, staring at the men who abducted me. Three of them. All masked. But the moonlight streaming through the broken building revealed enough. The uniform. Rogues. The same criminals who’d been r****g and killing wolves for weeks. “Looks like your mate isn’t coming,” one of them sneered, yanking my head backward. Pain shot through my skull like lightning. “We’re going to have a fun time with you.” “Hmph. Boss didn’t tell us she was going to be this pretty,” another muttered. I felt the cold trail of the knife slide down my spine, making nausea claw at my throat. “Please… please…” My voice was barely a breath now. They laughed, the sound echoing in the empty structure. “Beg all you want, Luna,” the first one whispered, cupping my cheek. His eyes were bloodshot and wild. “No one’s coming to save you.” He leaned closer. “Now be a goo—ARGH!” I bit down hard on his pinky. Hard enough to taste blood. Hard enough to hear the sickening crunch of bones crushing in my mouth. He screamed and stumbled back. I didn’t think. I didn’t plan. I just moved. Using the last of my strength, I bolted up and towards the exit. Freedom was only a few feet away. But, of course, I was unlucky. A fist collided with my face, throwing me to the ground. A kick to my stomach. Another. Another. And then they descended like vultures. Punches. Kicks. Blows. Each one worse than the last. But nothing, nothing was more agonizing than the mate-bond pain. The surges came and went… then came again. Sharp. Crippling. Torturous. They always went all night. Which meant my suffering would last all night too. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Now… be good and don’t resist,” one of them muttered, before my world went dark. ***** I woke to blinding light. My entire body screamed in agony. My head felt heavy. My skin throbbed. Somehow, I had gotten to a hospital. A nurse told me later that workers found me collapsed on the front porch. “Luckily, the attackers didn't do more than physical wounds and injuries. You don't have to worry about STDs,” the doctor said, pity softening his aged features. “But your heart is failing. At this rate, even minimal strain could stop it completely. You don’t have up to a year to live. You must rest…” His voice became a distant hum. I stared at the dark rims of his glasses instead. I already knew. A she-wolf can die if her mate dies. Or… If her mate sleeps with another woman while still bound to her. The doctor cleared his throat. “There’s something else. You’re two weeks pregnant, Luna.” My heart stopped. “What?” “It’s very early, so I assume you weren’t aware. But your life is now at severe risk.” He hesitated. “You have to choose. Abort your child, or reject your mate.” It was obvious what I had to do. Reject my mate. But I couldn't. Before we got married, Jarett made me sign a contract. He's the only one allowed to reject our bond. I didn't have any say in the matter. Now, that agreement is about to cost me my life. Just then, my phone chimed. A notification from Renée 's post. “The best night with the only love of my life.” The caption sat beneath a picture of her, seated in a bathtub filled with roses and floating candles. Her slender manicured fingers rested on the back of a man’s head. A head I knew. Jarett’s. Tears blurred my vision and my heart clenched painfully. I clutched my chest, trying to breathe through the waves. For ten years, I loved him. Ten long years of waiting. Watching. Hoping for him to look at me with affection. But he only ever had eyes for her. And the night his mother died, Renee had gone off to study Medicine. He lost the two most important persons in his life, and because I was the last person who was with the before she died, he transferred all his rage to me. He concluded that I had a hand in her death. His mother’s dying wish was that he marry me, so he did. But after that… he made sure every day of my life felt like punishment. No matter what I did, he made it clear that he never wanted anything to do with me. I picked up my phone, dialing away with trembling fingers. “The Directors have been on my neck, demanding an audience with the woman who found the cure to the Deathly Vale Disease. Please, tell me you've decided to leave that ass hole of a mate and come here,” Stephan started immediately he picked the call. A smile crept up my lips. “I’m ready to leave.” I found Stephan while taking online classes for Medicine. He'd been very devastated after I told him I was going to quit, in order to take care of Jarett. Now, I have no reason to hold back anymore. His voice burst with relief. “ What finally made you change your mind?” “It’s not u p to me anymore,” I answered calmly. “I have a child I need to live for.” That night, I curled up in bed. And like every night, the mate-bond pain came again, burning stronger, tearing deeper.