Rejected Luna: The Alpha’s Cruelest Mistake

Mirael’s POV: I stood in front of the mirror and adjusted my gown one last time. The fabric felt heavier than usual or maybe it was just me. My hands were steady as I smoothed the skirt, but my heart was not. The Moon Festival is tonight and the entire Eclipse Pack would be there. Most importantly, Riven would be there. I told myself not to hope. I had spent five years learning how to stop hoping. He sent a message through one of the warriors this morning. He wanted me beside him during the ceremony and told me to wear something nice. It was such a small thing and most people would not have thought twice about it. But for me, after years of being ignored, it felt like something. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and a face that had learned how to stay calm no matter what stared back at me. Then something strange happened. For a second my eyes looked almost black in the mirror. The silver disappeared completely. I blinked hard and when I looked again, they were normal. I told myself it was just the light. I picked up the small silver pin I always wore and fixed it near my collarbone. The same pin I had worn every Moon Festival for the past five years. I took a deep breath and left the room. The path to the grand hall was already filled with pack members. Lanterns hung from the trees and music drifted through the air. People greeted me with fake smiles that never reached their eyes and I returned them the same way. Riven was already there when I entered the hall. He stood by the edge, speaking with a group of elders. Liora Kane was beside him, as usual. She looked up when she saw me and gave me a small nod. I walked toward them. Riven glanced at me once. “You’re here.” “You asked me to be,” I said. He didn’t answer. He simply turned back to the elders. I took my place beside him the way I had been trained to do. Close enough to look like a proper Luna but far enough that no one would think we were actually close. The ceremony began. Elder Harlan spoke about unity and strength. About the importance of bonds that held the pack together. I listened the way I always did, with my hands folded and my expression calm. I had done this so many times that the words barely registered anymore. Then Riven stepped forward and the hall became quiet. He looked out over the crowd. For a moment I thought he was going to speak about the festival. About the alliance. About the future of the pack. Instead he turned slightly toward me. “Mirael.” My heart jumped. I stepped closer, thinking he wanted me beside him for whatever he was about to say. He didn’t. “I have something to say,” Riven announced. His voice carried easily through the hall. “Something that should have been said a long time ago.” The silence that followed was heavy. I felt every eye turn toward us. Riven continued. “This marriage was never what the pack needed. It was a political arrangement that has done nothing but create weakness. I’m ending it tonight.” My breath caught. He looked directly at me. “I reject you, Mirael Lockwood, as my Luna. Our marriage is over and the divorce proceedings will begin immediately.” The words hit harder than I expected. Not because I hadn’t known he didn’t want me. But because he chose tonight. In front of everyone. On the one night I had allowed myself to hope, even a little. Someone in the crowd whispered. Someone else laughed quietly. I kept my face still. “Why tonight?” Riven’s expression didn’t change. “It doesn’t matter.” “It matters to me.” He looked away. “The decision has been made.” I stood there while the hall erupted in low conversations. Pack members watched me with a mix of pity and satisfaction. Liora remained silent, but I could feel her presence like a shadow beside him. I forced my voice to stay even. “You could have done this privately.” “I wanted the pack to hear it.” That was all he said. I turned and walked away before anyone could see my hands shaking. The emerald gown brushed against my legs with every step. I could still feel the weight of their eyes on my back. “Liora will certainly be pleased,” One of the pack members said. The night air outside the hall was cold. I walked toward the edge of the grounds, away from the lights and the noise. My chest felt tight. Not just from the rejection. Something else was moving under my skin. I stopped near a cluster of trees and pressed a hand against the rough bark. That was when it happened. The moonlight seemed to grow brighter and my vision blurred for a second. A voice whispered close to my ear. “They will try to break you.” I spun around but no one was there. My wolf stirred restlessly inside me, more agitated than I had ever felt her. A sharp pulse moved through my body spreading from my chest outward. It didn’t feel like ordinary pain. It felt like I was being burnt inside out. Then the real pain hit. A sudden, violent cramp tore through my lower abdomen. I gasped and bent forward, one hand clutching my stomach. The world tilted and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I forced myself to stay upright. The pain tore through me again, stronger this time. Something was wrong. Not just with my marriage. With me. I looked back toward the brightly lit hall. Riven was still inside. The pack was still celebrating. No one had followed me. I pressed both hands against my stomach and tried to steady my breathing. The voice came again, softer this time. “Blood remembers.” I didn’t understand what it meant. I only knew that whatever had just started inside me was not going to stop. And for the first time in five years, the man who had just thrown me away was the least of my problems.