Chapter 2: The Public Rejection
709 Words
Every single eye in the courtyard turned to look at Elena. The whispers started instantly, buzzing through the crowd like a swarm of angry bees.
"Is he serious? Elena is his mate?"
"The future Alpha and a wolfless b***h? No way."
Elena stood frozen in the shadows, her face burning. Killian was still glaring at her from the stage, his chest heaving with anger. He looked like he wanted to rip her throat out just for breathing his air.
Tanya pushed her way through the crowd, pointing and laughing loudly. "Oh my god! The Moon Goddess must be playing a sick joke! Killian, you can't be serious. You're going to let this cripple lead our pack?"
Killian didn't even look at Tanya. He kept his deadly gaze locked on Elena. He stepped down from the platform, the crowd parting for him like the Red Sea. His heavy Alpha aura slammed into Elena, making her knees tremble.
"Get out here," Killian growled, his voice vibrating with absolute malice.
Elena swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her ears. She forced her shaky legs to move, stepping out of the dark shadows into the bright light of the bonfire. "Killian... the bond... it's real," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Shut up!" Killian snapped, his eyes flashing a dangerous, dominant gold. "Don't you dare say my name with that pathetic mouth. You think I’d ever accept a defective, wolfless piece of trash like you as my Luna? You’re a joke."
Tears pricked the corners of Elena’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "The Moon Goddess chose us."
"I don't care who chose what," Killian snarled, stepping right into her face. He smelled like ash and anger. "A pack needs a strong Alpha female. Not a useless maid who scrubs my floors and cries in the cellar. You're nothing but a parasite, Elena."
The crowd started jeering, throwing insults at her from all sides.
"Yeah, get her out of here!"
"She's a curse to the pack!"
Killian raised his chin, his expression turning cold and ruthless. He raised his voice so everyone in the territory could hear him.
"I, Future Alpha Killian of the BloodMoon Pack, officially reject you, Elena, as my mate and my Luna. You are nothing to me."
CRACK.
It felt like a physical whip snapped across Elena’s chest. The rejection bond ripped through her soul, a burning, agonizing pain that made her gasp for air. She stumbled back, clutching her chest. Her skin felt like it was on fire.
Killian smirked, completely unaffected by her pain. "And effective immediately, you are banished. If I see your pathetic face in my territory by sunrise, I’ll hunt you down myself."
Tanya stepped up next to Killian, wrapping her arm around his waist with a smug grin. "You heard him, b***h. Pack your trash and get out. You don't belong here."
Elena looked at Killian, then at Tanya, and then at the hundreds of wolves who had watched her grow up, all of them laughing at her pain. The agony in her chest suddenly hardened into something else. Pure, cold fury.
"You're making a mistake, Killian," Elena said, her voice surprisingly steady despite the pain searing through her body. "You think strength is just about teeth and claws. You're an idiot."
Killian’s eyes narrowed. "What did you say to me?"
"You heard me," Elena spat, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "Enjoy your perfect pack. Let's see how long you survive without the trash you just threw away."
Before Killian could react and shift into his wolf to attack her, Elena turned on her heel and sprinted away. She didn't go back to her cellar room. She didn't grab her mother's clothes. She just ran straight past the pack boundaries and plunged headfirst into the pitch-black darkness of the Forbidden Forest.
The thorns tore at her emerald dress, and the branches scratched her face, but she didn't stop. Behind her, the howls of the BloodMoon Pack grew faint.
She was completely alone, bleeding, and running into the territory of the deadly rogues. But as the freezing wind whipped against her face, Elena knew one thing for certain: she would rather die out here than
ever let them see her beg.
- Writer
