Rejected Luna, Vampire Queen

chapter 17

I stared down at the mysterious letter resting on the cold, unforgiving stone floor. My first instinct was to be the obedient girl I had always been taught to be. I hesitated, my hand hovering in the air, thinking that perhaps I should simply pick it up and hand it over to the guards stationed by the heavy oak doors. But then, my eyes caught the ink on the front of the parchment. My heart stopped dead in my chest, a cold chill running down my spine. There, written in bold, dark, and elegant letters, was my own name.

Amanda.

I felt a sudden jolt of panic. I stole a quick, frantic glance around the hallway. The guards were standing as still as statues, their gazes fixed firmly on the far walls. Their faces were carved from stone, set in that same angry, permanent scowl they always wore. I often wondered why they looked so miserable, as if the very act of standing there was a punishment. Luckily for me, their boredom was my shield. They didn't notice me move. With a burst of adrenaline, I snatched the letter from the floor and shoved it deep inside the layers of my clothes, pressing it flat against my skin. I didn't dare touch it again, even to check if it was still there, until I had walked all the way out of the Alpha’s castle and felt the fresh air on my face.

Once I was far enough away to feel safe, I found a massive tree with wide, drooping branches that offered a thick patch of shadow. I leaned against the rough bark, my fingers trembling so violently I could barely grip the paper. I pulled it out and slowly unfolded it. It was a short message, only a few lines, but every single word hit me with the force of a physical punch to the gut.

Hey Princess, it began. Everything is going exactly as we planned. Keep your head down and stay quiet until the big day. It is not very far away now.

I stared at the paper until the words began to blur. "Wait... Princess?" I whispered under my breath, looking up at the rustling leaves as if they had the answers. My head started to swim with a dizzy, sickening feeling. Why on earth did this letter have my name on it but address me as a princess? I wasn't royalty. I was a nobody—just a girl from a small pack who had been sold for money like a piece of property. I racked my brain, trying to find a grain of sense in the message. Maybe it was a mistake? Maybe there was another girl named Amanda in this massive, sprawling pack? But a deep, heavy feeling in my gut told me exactly what I didn't want to hear: this was meant for me. And that realization was absolutely terrifying.

I was still spiraling, my mind trapped on that word "Princess," when I caught movement in the distance. Someone was sprinting toward me, their arms waving wildly in the air. It was Ava, and she was wearing a massive, mischievous grin. I didn't think twice; I crumpled the letter and shoved it back into the hidden pocket of my dress before she could get a good look at it.

"I couldn't wait another second!" Ava shouted, her voice booming across the field as she reached me. she was gasping for air, her chest heaving from the long run. "You have to tell me everything right now! What happened in that room? Did you guys... you know... do the deed? Give me the dirty details, Luna!"

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks, my face turning a shade of red that probably rivaled a sunset. "Calm down, Ava! Seriously, chill out!" I hissed, looking around to make sure no one heard her. "It wasn't anything like that at all. It was just a massage. I gave him a massage, and that was it. Nothing more."

Ava narrowed one eye, her expression shifting into one of pure disbelief. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned in closer. "Hmm. Are you sure about that? Just a massage? You expect me to believe that?" She shook her head, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Think about it! He invited you into his private, personal bathroom. That has to mean he likes you. He has never, in all the years I’ve worked in this castle, invited a single girl in there. Not once. You're the first."

I remembered the way his voice had turned into shards of ice at the very end of our talk. "He doesn't like me, Ava. Trust me on that. He has a literal religion against love and all that 'bullshit' as he calls it. He thinks love is a weakness that gets people killed."

"Well, you must be the lucky one then," Ava said, her smile fading into something a bit more thoughtful. She sighed and looked out toward the horizon. "Because I’m telling you, every single girl in this pack who doesn't have that Serpent Mark on their skin is head-over-heels for him. They would literally kill to be standing in your shoes right now."

I went still, my breath catching in my throat. Something she said triggered a alarm bell in my brain. "Wait... what did you just say?" I grabbed her arm, my eyes searching hers. "What is the disadvantage of having this mark? Why do the girls without the mark love him more? What do they know that I don't?"

The playful light in Ava’s eyes vanished instantly. She looked over both shoulders, her posture tensing as she made sure there was no one hiding in the tall grass to overhear us. "I don't really know the full story, Amanda," she whispered, her voice dropping so low I had to lean in. "There are rumors... dark, scary rumors that people only whisper at night. They say the mark is a curse. They say the girls who are branded with it don't stay around the pack for very long. But I don't know the truth of it. Nobody does. It’s a secret the Alpha keeps buried deep in the dark."

We started walking again, heading toward the training grounds, but my mind was a chaotic mess of static. A princess? A curse? A secret? My life was turning into a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.

Before long, we reached the edge of a massive, dusty field where the pack members were gathered for their daily training. We leaned against the wooden fence and watched the scene. It was brutal and bloody. Wolves were snarling, hitting each other with terrifying strength, and shifting into their beast forms in clouds of dust and fur. Right in the center of all the chaos, I spotted Mary.

She looked like a monster. We watched in silence as she moved through the crowd, beating every single pack member who was brave—or stupid—enough to challenge her. She was incredibly fast, her movements mean and calculated. Every time she sent someone crashing into the dirt, the crowd of wolves watching from the sidelines would erupt into cheers, chanting her name over and over again.

"She... she looks like a monster," I remarked, a small, hard lump of fear forming in my throat just from watching her fight. "She’s terrifying."

"She is," Ava replied, her voice sounding uncharacteristically sad. "She is the strongest, most skilled fighter in the entire pack. No one can touch her."

"No wonder she acts so arrogant and mean," I said, a flash of anger cutting through my fear. I could still feel the phantom pull of her hands on my dress from when she tore it in the hallway. "I hate her. She’s nothing but a bully who likes to hurt people smaller than her."

"Yeah," Ava whispered, her eyes fixed on the field. "A lot of people in the pack used to think she was going to be the next Luna. She certainly expected it. She thought she would be the one standing on the platform next to Alpha Damon."

"Oh," I breathed out. I felt a weird, sharp sting of jealousy poke at my heart, which confused me. "Then why isn't she? If she’s a strong wolf and a great fighter, why did he pick a human like me instead of someone like her?"

"Like I said, I don't know," Ava said, shrugging her shoulders. "Nobody knows what goes on inside the Alpha’s head. Maybe he didn't choose her for a very good reason. Maybe he saw something dark in her that even he didn't like."

We were still talking when the fighting in the center of the field suddenly stopped. Mary wiped a streak of sweat and dirt from her forehead with the back of her hand and scanned the crowd. Her sharp, predatory eyes locked onto mine instantly, like a hawk finding a mouse. She didn't hesitate. She started marching across the field toward us, her heavy combat boots kicking up clouds of brown dust with every step.

She reached the fence and stopped, looming over us. She looked me up and down, a nasty, cruel smile spreading across her face.

"Hello, Amanda," Mary sneered, her voice dripping with pure, unadulterated hate. "Have you finally come down here so I can kick your ass in

front of the whole pack?"