THE REJECTED LUNA: TWICE MARKED, TWICE BROKEN.

Aurora stood frozen in the middle of the hall, her eyes wide with shock, while her lips were slightly parted. Her beautiful sky-blue dress was drenched in red sticky liquid, which dripped down to the floor. Aurora didn't seem to mind this; she was too busy, fixated on the perpetrator. She didn't want to move; she wanted to make sure she had heard correctly." Mate", the faint voice cried out in her head again, catching her off guard and making her stumble backwards. This time around, she was sure she hadn't heard wrong. She looked up at Rowan with hope and uncertainty in her eyes but was met with a confused and irritated look. Rowan shook his head vigorously as if he were trying to shake out his thoughts. "This can't be!" He roared before smashing his half-filled glass cup on the ground, the other half was on Aurora's dress. Aurora flinched in fear, cowering. This drew the attention of everyone in the hall. "This has to be a joke", Rowan added while laughing dryly."Out of everybody, the moon goddess chooses you to be my fated mate? Are you kidding me?" He yells, drawing more attention to both of them. Aurora just stood there silently, defeated and ashamed. Her eyes were already starting to water. This wasn't the first time that she had been humiliated, but this was the worst. She looked around, searching the faces of the crowd which had gathered, most of whom looked at her with mockery while others watched her with pity but didn't say anything. Rowan looked around in frenzy as though his whole world was under attack. He couldn't imagine that in his wildest dreams, he would end up having someone so weak as his fated mate. Aurora was considered the weakest in the entire Ironfang pack. She was an orphan, and she was also wolfless. Now, here she was, in the middle of the hall, on the day of the full moon celebration, under the watchful eyes of everyone with a disappointed mate who wanted nothing to do with her. "Rowan", she called out in a shaky voice ", you are my mate, the moon goddess herself, destined us to be so". She was about to continue speaking when Rowan burst into unhinged laughter. She was taken aback by his reaction, and this made her face red with embarrassment. "Destined? Did you just say destined?" Rowan asked amidst laughter. At this point, some members of the pack had started to find the situation amusing and entertaining and had started snickering in the background. "Okay, Aurora, I need you to answer a question for me. How did you find out that I am your mate?" He asked, his face twisted in disgust. "I.. I heard a voice", Aurora replied, stuttering. "Well, whose voice was that?" Rowan questioned, making some of the onlookers laugh knowingly. Aurora was overcome by embarrassment. She wanted to run away and cry at the same time. She understood what he meant and why the others were laughing. She knew that the only voice one could hear in one's head was one's wolf, and although she was twenty-one years old, she hadn't shifted into her wolf yet. She tried so hard to blink back the tears, but she wasn't strong enough to do so. Her lips quivered while the tears streamed freely from her eyes. Her sadness didn't faze Rowan, it just annoyed him the more. "Now why the hell are you crying?" He asked, his voice laced with disgust, " I asked a question, and I expect an answer. Whose voice was it?" He said slowly, saying the words one by one as if he were talking to a child. "I don't know", Aurora replied while sobbing violently. The side remarks and laughter resumed in the hall as she broke down. At this point, Aurora had already had enough. She pushed past the crowd and tried to leave the hall. She walked quickly, one hand holding her stained dress and the other wiping her eyes. As she was about to leave the hall, she felt a strong hand grip her tightly, pulling her back into the hall. She turned around to meet Rowan's cold gaze. She was so confused. Wasn't he the one who didn't want her as a mate? Why was he stopping her from leaving now? "Where do you think you're going?" He asked in a dangerously low voice. He didn't even let her speak before adding, "You are trying to leave so that you can go around parading yourself as my mate, right?" Aurora was surprised at this question: why would she want to parade herself as someone's mate when the said mate didn't want her? "No, I don't want to do that. I just want to leave" she said, exhaustion visible on her face. The murmuring in the hall resumed, and everyone watched keenly, anticipating the next action. Aurora tried to release herself from Rowan's hold, but his grip was too strong." Let me go", she pleaded in frustration. The expression of anger and disgust on Rowan's face shifted to something Aurora couldn't quite understand. His eyes flashed with a glint of something sinister, he was enjoying every bit of Aurora's humiliation. "You are so pathetic", he said while wearing a smug smile on his face, which showed his sharp teeth from the corner of his mouth. At this point, a growing sense of fear had started to rile up within Aurora. Her eyes scanned the room for help, but she found none. The people watching were simply doing so for their entertainment, while the others were just carrying on with their day, enjoying the celebration. Rowan gripped Aurora by the chin and forced her to look at him. "You want to be my mate so bad, don't you?" he said to her in a sweet voice." You want to know what it feels like to have a mate. Don't worry, I will grant you your wish." He added while flashing her a sickening smile. Aurora looked at him in confusion, The crowd cheered in excitement while Rowan stood still, plotting. Aurora made one more futile attempt to escape from his strong hold but was shocked at what happened next. In a swift motion, Rowan exchanged his hold from Aurora's arm to her head. He tilted it to the side, leaving the skin of her neck and shoulder exposed before sinking his teeth into it. He was marking her. Aurora screamed in pain while the crowd had mixed reactions. Some people gasped in horror while his friends cheered him on. Rowan finally let her go, and Aurora fell to the ground in exhaustion. Rowan's chest heaved up and down as if he had just run a marathon. He suddenly started to laugh, but this time around, no one joined in. "Oh, Aurora", he called out, still chuckling ", how does it feel to be marked?" He asked. Aurora burst out in tears, she felt so naked and exposed. Rowan's expression darkened, and the look of disgust he had before returned. He walked closer to the crying Aurora, who was still on the ground and lowered himself to meet her gaze. He lifted her head slowly, using two of his fingers while he used the pad of his thumb to wipe her tears. Aurora shuddered under his touch, her body betraying her; his touch sent tingles through her. "Why did her mate have to be such an asshole?" She thought to herself. Her mind was clouded, and her vision was starting to get blurry. Rowan still caressed her face, wiping the tears before he looked her dead in the eyes and said the worst words a mate could ever utter, "I reject you!"