Rejected Luna, Claimed By The Lycan King

Chapter 4: The bond

Aria POV

"Mate."

The word echoed across the ceremonial grounds, then silence followed. Nobody moved or spoke. Hundreds of wolves stood frozen beneath the lantern light. Including me, I stared at the beautiful blonde unfamiliar woman standing at the entrance.

For one ridiculous second, I almost laughed. Because this had to be some kind of misunderstanding. My gaze shifted toward Damon, waiting for him to laugh and deny it, to say she was wrong. Instead, he did not move.

My stomach tightened.

"Damon?"

My voice came out softer than intended. He didn't answer.

The stranger's blue eyes remained locked on him. The expression on her face sent a chill through me, because she wasn't confused. She looked absolutely sure.

Mate.

The word seemed to hang in the air. Refusing to disappear.

"Damon."

This time I spoke louder, and his head snapped toward me. Relief flooded through me. There he was; the man I'd loved for five years. And the father of my child. Everything would be fine, I reassured myself, then I saw the conflict in his eyes. And my relief shattered. I had never seen that expression before.

Recognition.

My wolf whimpered. A small broken sound inside my head.

No.

"Damon?" the blonde woman whispered.

His body went rigid. The stranger took a step forward, but Damon didn't stop her. The realization hit harder than a physical blow. If some random woman had interrupted a ceremony claiming to be his mate, Damon should have stopped her immediately and denied it. Defending me, instead he looked trapped. Like he was fighting something powerful he couldn't control.

Nora appeared beside me. I did not see her move, her wrapped around mine tightly. I squeezed back. Because suddenly I couldn't feel my legs.

The blonde woman continued walking slowly as if she were approaching a wild animal or a dream she was afraid to wake from. When she finally stopped several feet away from Damon, her voice trembled.

"I've been searching for years."

Nobody spoke.

Not even the elders, the entire pack watched.

Damon swallowed hard. The movement looked painful, and his wolf was close. I could see it; every werewolf there could. The tension beneath his skin and the battle raging inside him. For the first time in five years, I felt afraid of something I couldn't see.

The mate bond.

The sacred connection blessed by the Moon Goddess that every wolf dreamed of finding. Every wolf believed it was the strongest bond in existence. And standing in the middle of the ceremonial grounds, I suddenly hated it. Because it was looking at my mate. And my mate was looking back.

"Damon."

The blonde woman spoke his name softly.

Like it belonged to her.

My wolf snarled.

The sound echoed through my head.

Mine.

I wanted to scream it, but I stood frozen. Hoping that Damon would choose me. Damon's chest rose and fell sharply. His hands were clenched into fists. The veins in his neck stood out visibly; the bond was affecting him. His wolf was fighting. And for one brief moment, hope returned. Because if he was fighting it didn't that mean he didn't want it? The thought gave me something to hold onto.

Then the blonde woman smiled. And everything changed. As though she had finally found something she had lost. The expression made the situation feel real.

"Damon," she whispered again.

His eyes closed. Only for a second but it felt like an eternity. When they opened, they weren't looking at me but at her. The crowd erupted into whispers.

"Impossible."

"Second chance, mate?"

"Moon Goddess..."

"Poor Luna."

The words cut deeper than they should have. Because suddenly everyone was looking at me. Not with respect but with pity. And I hated it. Nora stepped closer, shielding me from some of the stares. The gesture nearly made me cry. Not because I was weak but because I suddenly felt very, very alone.

An elder finally stepped forward. His voice sounded strained.

"Alpha Damon."

The title seemed to break the spell. Damon blinked.

As if remembering where he was. For the first time since the stranger arrived, guilt flashed across his face. My heart broke. Because guilt meant one thing, and he believed it too. The elder continued carefully.

"Do you know this woman?"

The entire pack waited, so did I.

The answer. The moment everything changed.

Damon looked at her, then at me. His voice emerged. Barely above a whisper.

"No."

Relief exploded inside me.

Thank the Goddess.

"But..."

That single word destroyed every bit of hope.

Damon's expression twisted. Like he hated what he was about to say. Then he looked directly at the stranger. And whispered

"I can feel her."

The crowd gasped.

Nora's grip tightened painfully around my hand. I didn't notice. Because my entire world had just cracked down the middle. The beginning of the end. I already knew things would never be the same again. The blonde woman eyes filled with tears, as if she were the one suffering. The sight made something dark twist inside me.

I didn't hate her.

But I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for her either. Not when she was standing in the middle of my future, looking at my mate.

"Damon."

Her voice trembled.

And this time, he took a step forward. But it felt like watching him walk away from me. My wolf whimpered, and Nora cursed under her breath. And Damon stopped as if realizing what he had done. Because he understood too. One step toward her and not me. That was all it had taken. His gaze shot to mine, filled with pain. I saw all of it, but none of it mattered.

Because for the first time since I'd met Damon Ashford, I wasn't certain I was the person he would choose, and that terrified me more than anything. The blonde woman lips parted.

A faint smile touched her face.

Then Damon whispered two words. Two words that made the entire pack fall silent.

"Moon Goddess..."

And suddenly, I knew this nightmare was only beginning.