LUNA BY MISTAKE

Chapter 4: REJECT BOND

KING ANTONIE THONEMUS POV

The mating ceremony was almost over, and from where I stood on the stage, I watched the wolves move across the hall, drawn toward their destined partners by the invisible pull of the Moon Goddess.

I remained completely still, because none of this concerned me.

This entire ceremony was nothing more than a political ritual to satisfy the traditions of the werewolves. My purpose here was the fake alliance, not their mating customs.

Because they’re all bunches of cunning foxes.

Beside me, Alpha Nathan’s daughter, Tamara, who he had told me a lot of good things about, not like I cared anyway. All I saw was a leader who is as greedy as his old foxy father.

She stood proudly with her head lifted high, her eyes constantly drifting toward me as if she expected something to happen between us.

I ignored it.

Strangely, Abinio, my Lycan was restless tonight, but not because of the woman standing beside me. It was something else.

Something about this place felt strange. The scents inside the hall were overwhelming, but beneath all of them there was something faint… something unfamiliar.

Then suddenly, Abinio slammed violently against my mind. A sharp painful force struck my chest as if an invisible chain had wrapped around my heart and pulled hard.

I froze, as the surrounding air shifted. My senses sharpened instantly as the scent that had been hiding beneath the crowd suddenly became clear.

It was sweet, wild, and was dangerously intoxicating.

What is happening to me?

Abinio used all his strength to roar inside my head, “Mate!” The word echoed through my mind with absolute certainty.

This can't be happening. Not here, not among these betrayals. My mate shouldn't be among them.

My breathing slowed as my eyes began scanning the hall. The bond was real, and I could feel it pulling at me like a powerful thread tied around my soul. Every instinct in my body demanded that I find her.

My gaze moved across the crowd slowly, studying every face, every scent, every movement. Then I finally saw her.

At the far end of the hall, standing near the door. She had just turned slightly, her hand resting against the iron frame as if she was about to leave.

The moment my eyes landed on her, the bond tightened violently, pulling more aggressively in my chest. There was no mistake.

“My mate.”Abinio whispered, looking straight into her eyes.

The hall suddenly fell silent, I hadn’t even realized the word had already left my mouth.

“Mate.” The sound of my voice echoed through the massive hall like a command.

“What?” Gasps erupted everywhere, everyone exchanged a shocking glance, as they all wondered who I was talking to.

Beside me, Tamara suddenly straightened, her entire face lighting up as if she believed the word had been meant for her and she stepped forward confidently.

But my attention had already moved past her, my shoulder brushing her aside, my eyes glued to the young girl on the door, who was as confused as everyone.

I stormed down from the stage, and the crowd instinctively moved aside as I walked through them.

“Where is he going?” people whispered.

“Why did he walk past the princess?” Their whispers spread rapidly through the hall.

My eyes never left the girl near the door.

She looked lost, and frightened, as if she had no idea what had just happened. As if she didn't feel the pull too.

When I finally reached her, the scent of the bond became even stronger.

“Mate!” Abinio surged forward again, desperate and possessive.

However, something else caught my attention. I noticed she was dressed in the same outfit as the princess on stage, yet, I didn't see her anywhere close to the royal.

The faint scent of work and smoke clinging to her like a second skin, and the way the people around her were staring with disgust. Not with respect. With contempt.

Whispers quickly began to reach my ears.

“I hope he's not choosing a maid…”

“What will become of the princess, if this bastard steals the Lycan King?”

“Why would the Moon Goddess choose her?”

I quickly took a step back, as my jaw tightened slowly, my face twisted in disguise, like she was a smelling piece of s**t.

A servant?

My mate… was a servant?

“Still my mate!” My wolf growled angrily inside my mind, but pride rose just as quickly within me.

I was the Lycan King, and the ruler of the most powerful Lycans alive, and fate chose to bind me to a girl who stood in this hall like someone who didn’t even belong among her own people?

“Accept mate!” Abinio urged impatiently, as the bond tugged again, strongly demanding.

But my expression slowly turned cold.

I looked down at her trembling form and spoke clearly enough for the entire hall to hear.

“I, Antonio Thonemus, reject you as my mate.” I roared to everyone's hearing.

The hall froze silent. Every wolf, every Lycan, every servant, their eyes wide in disbelief.

I was expecting her to feel on her knees due to the painful severity of the mate bond. However, the girl in front of me acted indifferent. She only stared at me with no expression, which was almost unreadable. Her gaze remained cold and unwavering. No tears, no wailing like every other girl would when being rejected.

“He rejected his mate?’ Whispers shot through the crowd like wildfire.

‘Why is the bond not broken.’ My brows furrowed in confusion.

“Amirata!” Tamara gasped, stepping forward, her hands trembling slightly. She stood in front of the girl, her hand grabbing her shoulder. “I'm sorry about the rejection. But you need to accept it, Amirata,” she said, pained lance in her voice.

She glanced at me—well, the girl I had rejected, and something twisted in me.

I was curious about her reaction. My eyes stayed locked on Amirata's. The bond between us pulsed like a living thing, each heartbeat of hers sending waves of tension and heat straight through me.

“Mate!" My wolf snarled silently, frustrated at the refusal, frustrated at the chaos of human pride interfering with primal truth.

Amirata’s lips trembled. Her hands gripped the edge of the doorway, knuckles white, body shaking. She looked as if she wanted to run… or scream.

I could smell the storm inside her,.fear, confusion, and something deeper, a simmering defiance that made the wolf inside me roar in admiration and rage all at once.

Tamara stepped closer to her, the sisterly pride shifting into something sharp and manipulative. “Rata… you can’t let him reject you,” she hissed under her breath, leaning so close her words brushed Amirata's ear. “You have to reject him too.”

Amirata froze, her chest heaving, her eyes suddenly softened toward me as if seeking help—but what help could there be when the Alpha of Lycans himself had already cast his judgment?

Then a sudden commotion from the side of the stage drew every eye. Luna Meredith stepped forward, her presence sharp as a knife.

The crowd parted instinctively; even Uncle Nathan flinched slightly. She was livid. Her gaze locked onto Amirata, fiery with wrath. And then, in a single movement that shocked everyone, she grabbed the ceremonial dress Amirata had worn and ripped it from her body, leaving her in just her underwear.

She held it high above the girl, displaying it like a trophy in front of everyone.

“How dare you steal my daughter's mate?!” Luna’s voice thundered. “Reject him, now!”

Amirata’s face paled, tears threatening to spill freely. Her hands flinched toward her naked body, to cover up some private parts, while her other hand stretched forward to the dress the Luna was holding.

Luna Meredith yanked it away. The silence that followed was deafening; all eyes were on them, on the little girl who had dared to resist.

I felt the bond tighten again, insistent, demanding. My wolf roared in my chest, hungry and furious. That girl, my mate, was trembling, being forced into submission, yet there was a fire in her eyes that no one could crush. No one.

Then Amirata did the unthinkable. With trembling lips and a shaky voice, she spoke. “I, Amirata Hartford, I reject you, King Antonio Thonemus, as my mate,” she said.

Every head in the hall turned, jaws dropping. Gasps echoed like thunder.

“The Lycan King had been rejected by his mate.” Those words spread around.

I stood straight, waiting for the bond to break. However, the bond… the bond refused to weaken. I could feel it. Tight. Binding. Immovable.

Her face twisted in confusion, as she turned to Tamara. “The bond is not breaking.” She shrieked, her eyes darting around Tamara’s face as if she could be of any help.

“Impossible!” Tamara whispered, looking away.

It was hers, as much as it was mine, regardless of pride, politics, or fear. I froze, my piercing eyes locking with hers. For a heartbeat, the world stopped. Every wolf, every Lycan, every noble in the hall was utterly still.

The bond pulsed again, insistent and impossible to ignore. “Mate!” My wolf snarled low in my chest, frustrated, longing, and furious all at once.

I had rejected her… yet my entire being screamed that she was mine. That she always would be, and that’s when I realized, the real game had only just begun.

“Prepare yourself, we are departing to Lycan city immediately,” I ordered and stormed out of the hall in pure fury.