Rejected, But Claimed By The Alpha King

Chapter 9: MERCY HAS TEETH

Mercy had a price. I learned it the next morning.

Elder Vark’s exile was supposed to be clean. Strip titles. Send him to the border. Let him live as omega.

Instead, his grandson showed up at the gates before dawn.

“Alpha King!” The boy couldn’t be older than sixteen. Skinny. Furious. Blood on his hands. Not his own. “You exiled my grandfather! He’s the rightful Alpha! Not this rejected trash!”

Darius was already at the gates when I arrived. Black shirt. No crown. Claws out.

“Your grandfather tried to murder my Luna,” Darius said. Voice flat. “Exile was mercy. You should be thanking me.”

“I don’t want mercy!” The boy threw a pouch at Darius’s feet. Coins spilled out. Blackwood crest stamped on every one. “I want blood! The pack wants blood! You let a wolf-less omega live, now every pack thinks Blackwood is weak!”

The word “weak” hit Darius harder than the pouch. His gold eyes went black.

I stepped forward before he could kill the boy. Placed my hand on Darius’s arm.

“Let me handle this,” I whispered. “You said Lunas rule too.”

Darius looked at me. Jaw tight. “Aria, he’s challenging you. If you show weakness—”

“I won’t,” I said. Then turned to the boy. “What’s your name?”

“Toran,” he spat. “Grandson of Elder Vark. Heir to his line.”

“Toran,” I repeated. Walked to him until we were face to face. He was taller, but my wolf made me taller inside. “Your grandfather sent an assassin to kill me. Would you have wanted me to kill him on his knees?”

“Yes!” Toran shouted. “Alpha blood demands blood!”

I shook my head. “Then you’re not ready to be Alpha. Alphas who only know blood lose their packs. My mother taught me that.”

Lie. I never knew my mother. But the lie worked. Toran flinched.

Darius watched me. Not interfering. Testing.

I picked up one of the coins from the ground. Blackwood crest. My crest now. “You want to challenge the Luna? Fine. But not with swords. With duty.”

Toran frowned. “What duty?”

“Today is Mating Day,” Rafe said from behind us. “Young wolves who found mates come for Luna’s blessing. First Luna duty of your reign.”

I nodded. “If I’m weak, if I’m trash, then I can’t bless them. If I fail, Toran, you take my place. If I succeed… you leave Blackwood and never return.”

Darius’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to stop me. I shook my head once. _Trust me._

Toran grinned. Teeth sharp. “Deal. You’ll fail. Omegas can’t bless true mates.”

---

The courtyard was full. Twenty young couples. Wolves holding hands, tails wagging, eyes glowing with new bond.

They’d waited weeks for the Luna’s blessing. Old Luna died with Darius’s father. No one had blessed a mating in five years.

Toran stood to the side, arms crossed. Waiting for me to fail.

Darius sat on the steps behind me. Not interfering. But his presence was a wall. “You don’t have to do this,” he murmured. “I can send him away.”

“No,” I said. “If I’m Luna, I do Luna work. Even if it’s hard.”

First couple stepped forward. Boy and girl. Both 18. Both scared.

“Luna,” the boy said. “Bless our bond. Let the Goddess witness.”

Old Lunas used rituals. Chants. Moonwater. I had none of that. Just me. Just my wolf.

I closed my eyes. Reached through the bond to Darius. He didn’t pull back. His Alpha power flooded me. Warm. Steady. _Use it,_ he whispered in my mind.

I placed my hands on their joined hands. The claiming mark on my shoulder burned silver.

“Goddess,” I whispered. Not loud. But every wolf heard. “You made them. You tied them. I’m just… asking you to remember them.”

Light pulsed from my palms. Not big like the Moonstone. Soft. Gentle. Like moonlight through water.

The couple gasped. Their bond marks flared bright, then settled. Stronger than before.

“Blessed,” the girl breathed. Tears in her eyes. “Luna… it worked.”

One by one, couples came. I blessed each. No chants. No rituals. Just my hands, Darius’s power through our bond, and the truth that I knew what rejection felt like.

Toran’s grin faded with every success.

Last couple stepped up. She-wolf crying. Male wolf angry.

“We fought,” the male said. “She says I’m not strong enough. Pack says she’s too weak for me. Can you even bless broken bonds?”

The courtyard went silent. This wasn’t blessing. This was fixing.

Toran smirked. “Now she fails.”

Darius tensed behind me. Ready to end it.

But my wolf pushed forward. _Broken isn’t trash. Broken just means someone tried._

I looked at the crying girl. Really looked. Saw myself twenty years ago. Mud on my face. Waiting for someone to say I was worth it.

I knelt in front of them. Not on throne. On stone. Eye level. “You fought because you love each other,” I said. “Strength isn’t never falling. Strength is choosing to stand up again. Together.”

I touched their hands. Closed my eyes.

This time I didn’t just ask the Goddess. I told her. _They’re mine. My pack. My responsibility. Don’t let them break._

Silver light exploded. Not gentle this time. Bright. Loud. The couple’s bond marks twisted together and sealed with a sound like thunder.

The male pulled the girl into his arms. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You’re enough.”

The courtyard erupted. Wolves howled. Not for Darius. For me.

“Blessed Luna! Blessed Luna!”

Toran stared. Face pale. “You… you’re not weak.”

“No,” I said. Stood up. Legs shaking but held. “I’m not weak. I’m Luna. And mercy isn’t weakness, Toran. Mercy is choosing not to be like them.”

I turned to Darius. He was on his feet now. Gold eyes burning. Proud. Hungry.

Toran dropped to one knee. Head down. “I… I yield, Luna Aria. I’ll leave Blackwood.”

“Go,” I said. Voice steady. “And remember: your grandfather lost because he chose blood over pack. Don’t make his mistake.”

Guards escorted him out. The courtyard slowly emptied. Couples came to touch my hem, to thank me, to bow.

When the last wolf left, Darius crossed to me in three steps. Grabbed my face with both hands.

“You did it,” he said. Like he couldn’t believe it. “You blessed twenty bonds. No Luna in history did that on her first day.”

“I had help,” I said. Nodded to him. “Your power.”

“My power,” he agreed. Then kissed me. Hard. Desperate. Like he’d been holding back all morning. “You chose mercy. You chose my pack. You chose me.”

I kissed him back. Felt his Alpha aura wrap around me like armor. For once, I wasn’t the one shaking. He was.

“You were scared I’d fail,” I said when we pulled apart.

“I was scared you’d succeed,” Darius admitted. Voice rough. “Because now every Alpha in the territories will hear about the Luna who blesses broken bonds. They’ll come for you. Not to marry you. To steal you.”

My stomach dropped. “Kieran was just the first?”

“Just the first,” Darius confirmed. “You made yourself a target today, Aria. Mercy made you stronger. But it also made you valuable.”

Before I could answer, Rafe ran in. Out of breath. “Alpha! Message from Stormcrest. Kieran’s calling for a Gathering. All Alphas. He says Blackwood’s Luna needs to be ‘examined’ by council of Kings.”

Darius’s expression went blank. Then murderous. “He wants to test you. In public. In front of every Alpha.”

My wolf bared her teeth. “Let them try.”

Darius pulled me to his chest. Held me tight. “They will. And this time, I can’t fight them all. Not without starting war.”

“So what do we do?” I asked.

Darius looked down at me. Gold eyes dark with something I couldn’t name. Fear. Rage. Love.

“We go,” he said. “To the Gathering. And you show every Alpha, every King, every wolf in the territories…” He paused. Thumb on my claiming mark. “That you’re not a prize to be won. You’re a Queen they’ll never touch.”

Outside, drums started beating. Calling all packs. Calling all Alphas.

The price of mercy was due. And war was coming.

- -