THE ALPHA'S REJECTED MATE

THE FIRST COUNCIL MEETING

The council chamber smelled like old wood, blood, and power.

Twelve high-backed chairs circled the stone table. Twelve elders who had watched Damien reject me three years ago and said nothing. Twelve men who thought a Luna was just a pretty ornament to sit beside the Alpha.

They were about to learn different.

I walked in barefoot.

Not because I was weak. Because wolves hear everything. And I wanted them to hear me coming.

The room went silent. Whispers died mid-breath.

Damien was already seated at the head of the table, jaw tight, eyes stormy. He didn’t look at me. Smart. If he did, everyone would see the bond snapping between us like live wire.

Elder Mara was the first to speak. Of course it was her. She was the one who told me three years ago that "some wolves aren’t meant to be chosen."

"Luna," she said, the word dripping like poison. "You’re late."

I didn’t sit in the empty chair beside Damien. I walked straight to the center of the circle. Where challengers stood. Where rogues were judged.

"I’m not late," I said, voice clear. "You started without the Luna. That’s disrespect."

A few elders shifted. Kade, the young one in the corner, almost smiled.

Damien finally looked at me. His eyes were gold. The curse was pulling again. Making him want to claim me in front of everyone just to shut me up.

I met his gaze and didn’t flinch. _Not this time._

Elder Mara scoffed. "You’re not Luna yet. The ceremony isn’t complete. Until the moon blesses the bond, you’re just-"

"Just what?" I cut her off. "The woman your Alpha was forced to claim? The woman the curse chose?"

I let the silence hang.

Then I dropped the folder on the table. It landed with a c***k that made two elders jump.

"Or maybe I’m just the woman who’s been tracking your pack’s finances for the last 6 months."

Damien sat up straighter. "What?"

I opened the folder. Paper after paper. Ledgers. Bank transfers. Photos.

"Elder Mara," I said sweetly. "Care to explain why 40,000 gold was transferred from the pack treasury to an account in the Northern Rogue Territory last month?"

The room exploded.

"What? That’s a lie!"

"Who gave her access to those records?"

"This is treason!"

"Treason?" I laughed. Once. Sharp. "Treason is stealing from your own pack while you call me unworthy."

Mara’s face went white. "I don’t know what this is-"

"Don’t you?" I pulled out the last paper. A signature. Hers. "Because the rogue Alpha I captured last night was very talkative. He said you’ve been feeding him information for a year. In exchange for money. And protection when the curse breaks."

Someone gasped.

Damien stood up so fast his chair screeched. "Is this true, Mara?"

Mara looked cornered. Like a rat. "He forced me! The curse, it made me do-"

"The curse didn’t make you sign this," I said. I walked to her. Close. Close enough to smell her fear. "I did."

Three years ago, she’d slapped me in the hallway after the rejection. Called me a stray.

Today, I grabbed her wrist and twisted. She cried out.

"By the authority given to me as Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack," I said loud enough for every guard outside to hear, "I sentence Elder Mara to exile. Effective immediately. All titles, land, and votes are stripped."

"You can’t do that!" she screeched.

"I just did." I shoved her toward the doors. Two guards grabbed her. "And if anyone else in this room has been talking to rogues, stealing from the pack, or thinking I’m weak because Damien rejected me once... you’re next."

The doors slammed shut behind her.

Silence.

Twelve elders. Now eleven. All staring at me like I was a stranger. Good. I was.

Damien was still standing. His chest was rising and falling hard. The bond was burning.

"You didn’t tell me," he said quietly. Only for me.

"You didn’t ask," I replied, just as quiet.

He stepped down from the head chair. Walked to me. The whole council watched as the Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack stopped in front of the girl he’d rejected.

He didn’t touch me. But his voice dropped to a growl.

"The council is dismissed."

No one moved.

"NOW," he roared.

Chairs scraped. Feet ran. In 10 seconds the room was empty except for us.

The moment the doors closed, Damien grabbed my arms. Not rough. Desperate.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "You could’ve gotten yourself killed."

"I didn’t," I said. "Because I’m not the girl you left behind."

His eyes flashed gold. "You think this changes anything? The curse is still-"

"I don’t care about the curse," I lied. "I care about this pack. And right now, it’s rotting from the inside."

He stared at me. Really stared. Like he was seeing me for the first time.

Then he did something I didn’t expect.

He bowed his head. Just an inch.

"Acknowledged, Luna."

The word hit me harder than the slap three years ago.

Before I could answer, the doors burst open. A young guard, panting.

"Alpha! Luna! Rogue attack on the east border. They’re saying... they’re saying they came for her."

They pointed at me.

Damien’s expression went cold. Lethal.

He looked at me. And for the first time in three years, he didn’t see the girl he rejected.

He saw his Luna.

"Arm up," he said. "We have a war to fight."

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