The Rejected Mate Became the Lycan Queen

Your's POV ( Elowen ) You stand in the center of the royal palace, surrounded by nobles and Alphas. The suffocating stench of raw meat, blood, and expensive liquor fills the air, making your stomach churn. You fight back the urge to throw up. The moment you lift your head, several men shamelessly stare at you, making your skin crawl. Then you see Lucian walking toward you, and relief instantly floods your chest. You rush to him and grab his arm. “Where have you been?” “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Without even looking at you, he pulls his arm away and walks onto the stage. Taking the microphone, he says, “Good evening, everyone. As you all know, tonight’s banquet is held to celebrate my mating ceremony. Now, I’d like to introduce my Luna.” A smile blooms across your face as you step toward the stage, but then he says, “Please welcome… my Luna, Aurora.” You freeze. Aurora gracefully walks toward Lucian, slips her hand into his, and stands proudly beside him as thunderous applause erupts across the palace. Your heart drops. You march onto the stage and stare at Lucian, “No, Lucian I’m your mate!” A cruel laugh escapes his lips. “You? My mate?” he says, looking at you with pure disgust. “Don’t make me laugh. You’re not worthy of standing beside me. You have no status, no talent, and no grace. If I walked into a royal gathering with you, people would think I brought my maid instead of my Luna.” His lips curl into a merciless smirk. “So today, in front of everyone, I reject you as my mate.” The palace explodes with laughter. You stare at him in disbelief. “This isn’t possible!” you cry. “The Moon Goddess chose me. I’m your true mate!” Aurora steps forward with a smug smile. “The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake,” she says before shoving you. You stumble, and the crowd laughs louder. Before you can recover, Aurora pours wine over your head. Cold liquid runs through your hair and down your dress as laughter fills the hall. “Look at you,” Aurora says mockingly. “You don’t even deserve to stand on the same stage as us. You should be grateful we even let you into this palace.” You wipe the wine from your face and desperately search the crowd for someone who still believes you. Then you see your stepmother. Hope flickers inside your shattered heart as you rush to her. “Mom… you believed Lucian would never betray me. Look at what he’s done,” you plead. She looks at you with disgust and says, “He did nothing wrong. You were never worthy of becoming a Luna. You’ve always been nothing but a burden. You bring misfortune wherever you go. Everything bad that happened to me started with you.” Her words leave you breathless. “You’re cursed,” she adds coldly. “An abandoned, unlucky girl no one truly wants.” Your eyes fill with tears. This is the woman you spent years trying to please—the woman you called Mom. Yet even now, she refuses to choose you. A slow clap echoes through the hall as Lucian approaches with a satisfied smile. “Well… if even your own family thinks you’re unwanted, why should I keep you around?” he says coldly. You stare at him, unable to believe the man you trusted with your entire future could treat you like this. “No, Lucian… please don’t do this,” you beg. “I have nowhere to go. I have no one left except you.” He merely watches you with an icy expression. You take another hesitant step toward him. “You sold every piece of jewelry my parents left me,” “You told me we needed the money for our future. I trusted you. I signed every document because I believed you would never betray me. You took my house too. You promised your home would become our home. I gave up everything for you, Lucian—my dreams, my friends, my freedom, my inheritance, my entire future. I did everything you asked. Please don’t throw me away like this. I have no money, no home, and nowhere to go. Please tell me where I’m supposed to go.” “That sounds like your problem,” he says coldly. Your eyes slowly turn toward your stepmother. “What about Mom?” you ask desperately. “She’ll come with me, right? She won’t leave me alone.” Your stepmother smiles. “Oh, don’t worry about me. Lucian has already given me permission to continue living in the mansion.” Your eyes widen. “What?” you whisper. She folds her arms and says, “Didn’t he tell you? The mansion legally belongs to Lucian now. You signed every transfer paper yourself. He was generous enough to let me stay there. But you are never allowed to step inside that house again.” “Mom, you can’t do this,” you plead. “I did everything I could to earn your approval. Please, don’t abandon me too.” Her expression hardens. “Stop calling me Mom. I was never your mother. I simply tolerated your existence. You were nothing but an unwanted burden dumped into my life.” Aurora laughs softly as she holds Lucian’s arm. “This is embarrassing. She’s still begging, Does she really think anyone here feels sorry for her?” The surrounding nobles laugh again. Lucian steps closer and says, “Didn’t you hear them? Nobody wants you. Nobody needs you. And after tonight, nobody will even remember you.” Your shoulders shake as you lower your head. “I’ll disappear,” you whisper. “I swear I’ll leave this kingdom forever. You’ll never have to see me again. I won’t tell anyone what happened tonight. I’ll just leave. Please… let me go.” Lucian’s smile disappears. His face hardens as he says, “Unfortunately, I don’t trust loose ends. You’ve seen too much. You know too much.” He raises one hand and coldly orders, “Take her away.” The entire hall falls silent. Four enormous guards step forward, and you desperately look around the palace. “N-No… please,” you whisper. One guard moves closer and says, “Forgive us. We’re simply following orders.” You step backward, your heart pounding, when suddenly all four guards stop. You run toward the forest, your footsteps hurried as you leave the palace behind. The moment you reach the trees, you slip between the tall grass and hide among the dense bushes, trying to keep yourself completely still. You hear the guards approaching, their voices growing closer as they search through the forest. “Spread out! She can’t have gone far!” one of them shouts. You hold your breath as their footsteps move between the trees. Then a guard suddenly spots you. “There!” he yells, rushing toward you. You scramble backward, but there is nowhere left to run. Just as the guards close in, you suddenly feel a strange shadow fall over you. You freeze. The guards stop too. Their expressions change as they slowly look past you. They stare at something behind your back, and all the confidence drains from their faces. “W-What…?” one guard whispers. You turn around slowly, your heart pounding. The moment you see what is standing behind you, your eyes widen in complete shock. To Be Continue...