Rejected by the Alpha

Chapter Five: The Chosen Luna

Aria was scrubbing blood from the training grounds stones when Lyra found her.

The sun had already set, and the field was nearly empty. Her hands were raw, her knees still aching from hours in the dirt. No one had ordered her to clean the grounds—she had simply been left there.

Lyra stopped a few steps away.

“You’re thorough,” she said lightly. “I like that in servants.”

Aria didn’t look up. “Then you’ll be pleased.”

Lyra’s smile tightened.

She circled slowly, boots crunching softly on gravel. “You surprised me today,” she admitted. “Most omegas would’ve cried. Begged. Broken.”

Aria straightened and finally met her eyes. “I’m still here.”

“Yes,” Lyra agreed. “That’s the problem.”

Her scent shifted suddenly—sharp, probing.

Aria felt it immediately.

Lyra frowned. “Interesting…”

She stepped closer, inhaling deeply.

“What are you doing?” Aria asked.

Lyra’s eyes narrowed. “You smell wrong.”

Aria’s heart skipped.

“Omegas don’t smell like this,” Lyra continued. “Not around Kael.”

A dangerous silence fell between them.

Before Aria could respond, heavy footsteps approached.

Alpha Kael.

He stopped when he saw them together.

Lyra turned instantly, slipping into his arms. “Kael,” she said sweetly, “I was just checking on your… omega.”

Kael’s gaze went straight to Aria.

The bond flared—sharp, possessive, furious.

Lyra stiffened.

She pulled back slowly and looked between them.

“Oh,” she breathed.

Kael’s jaw clenched. “Leave.”

Lyra didn’t move. “You didn’t deny it.”

Aria froze.

“I felt it,” Lyra continued softly. “The pull. The tension. You react to her.”

Kael stepped forward, voice deadly calm. “You are imagining things.”

Lyra laughed—short and cold. “I’m your chosen Luna, Kael. I know you.”

She turned to Aria, eyes glittering. “Congratulations. It seems the Moon Goddess has a sense of humor.”

Aria said nothing.

Lyra leaned closer. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Bonds can be broken.”

Then she walked away.

The moment she was gone, Kael rounded on Aria.

“You will stay away from her.”

Aria’s exhaustion snapped into anger. “I didn’t seek her out.”

He stepped closer, towering over her. “You are a complication I cannot afford.”

She laughed bitterly. “Then you should’ve rejected the marriage.”

Silence.

The bond throbbed painfully between them.

Kael turned away sharply. “This changes nothing.”

But his wolf howled inside him.

And Aria knew the truth.

Everything had already changed.