The Heartless Alpha’s Rejected Luna Returns

Walk of Shame

Ömrüm

I didn’t run. I wanted to as everything instinct in me screamed to disappear, to shift, to flee, to vanish into the forest before the weight of their eyes crushed me completely.

But I didn’t run. I walked step by step, back straight. Head high. Even as something inside me was falling apart.

The clearing stretched endlessly before me, the torches burning too bright, the whispers too loud. Every step felt heavier than the last, like the ground itself was trying to drag me down and bury me in the humiliation.

“She really thought it would be her…”

“An omega? Luna?”

“Pathetic.”

“What a delusional lowly girl.”

The words followed me like shadows, clinging, clawing, refusing to let go. My hands curled into fists at my sides. Don’t react. Don’t break. Not here. Not in front of them. Not in front of him.

I could feel his gaze. Even without turning, I knew Lykaios was watching me. Alpha Lykaios Draven, the man who had just shattered me in front of the entire pack.

The man my wolf still… traitorously reached for. The bond hadn’t disappeared. It hadn’t gone quiet but rather it was screaming.

A raw, tearing sensation in my chest, like something was being ripped out piece by piece—but not fast enough to end it. Slow. Painful. Endless.

I pressed a hand lightly against my sternum, trying to steady my breathing. It didn’t help because if anything, the pain sharpened, twisted and changed.

A cold sensation began to spread beneath the agony, creeping through my veins like ice.

No, this is wrong, becasue this wasn’t how a broken bond was supposed to feel. I had heard stories. It was supposed to fade. To weaken. To die. Not this. Never this.

“Ömrüm.”

The voice cut through the noise. Soft, sweet like poison. I stopped. Of course, of course she would come now. Slowly, I turned.

Cordelia stood a few steps behind me, her silver dress shimmering under the firelight like she had been born for this moment. Beautiful. Perfect. Everything a Luna was supposed to be. Everything I wasn’t.

Her lips curved into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she said gently.

The lie slid between us like a blade. I said nothing. What was there to say? She stepped closer, lowering her voice just enough that others would have to lean in to hear, but not enough to keep them from trying.

“You should have known better,” she continued softly. “The Alpha needs strength. Power. Not… this.”

Her gaze flicked over me not even bothering to hide the disdain. My nails dug into my palms. Still, I said nothing. Because if I opened my mouth I might scream. Or worse…

I might break. And I refused to give her that. Something flickered in her expression. That thing called annoyance, afterall I am the lowly omega.

My blood ran cold. I took a step back, claws digging into the soil. She laughed softly, as if my fear delighted her. Then her gaze snapped back to me, sharp and accusing.

"And you," she said coldly. "Standing there, pretending you don't want what's mine."

I stiffened.

"You've always wanted my life, Ömrüm," she went on. "Don't deny it. You've always been jealous. Of me. Of Henry. Of everything."

Jealous?

The word didn't make sense. I had never reached for Lykaios. Never competed. The bond chose me and he?

He had chosen her openly, broken ancient laws for her, damned the consequences without hesitation. I had accepted that long ago. But Cordelia had never believed that. And I was finally beginning to understand that she never would.

She had taken everything from me-love, attention, even space to exist-and still she feared I would steal from her in return. Because to her, that was how the world worked.

"You can't stand it, can you?" she said bitterly. "That I'm getting married. That I'm carrying his child. That I'll be Luna... and you'll be nothing."

I wanted to tell her she was wrong. That I had never wanted her life. That I had only ever wanted peace. Without another word, I turned away from her. But her voice followed me, sharper this time.

“You should be grateful he rejected you,” she called. “At least now you won’t embarrass the pack any further.”

Her eyes gleamed under the moonlight with a dark light.

A few people laughed. The sound echoed in my ears. For a second, just a second, my vision blurred red. The cold inside me surged.

My shadow stretched unnaturally across the ground. And Cordelia's laughter cut off.

A strange silence fell. I froze. My breath caught. The moment snapped as quickly as it came. The atmosphere returned to normal.

The laughter resumed, uncertain this time. That was when I began to wonder if she say it, Did she see that? Did ‘I’ imagine it? No. No, that was real. Something is wrong. No…Something is changing.

My eyes just changed, that was why she held her laughter. Did it scare her? Did I scare them? Is this rejection turning me into a monster?

I forced my legs to move again. One step. Then another. Don’t look back. Don’t stop. Just leave.

The edge of the clearing finally came into view, the darkness of the forest waiting beyond like an open mouth.

Freedom or exile? Maybe both. The pain in my chest twisted again, sharper this time, forcing a quiet gasp from my lips.

My knees almost buckled. Almost, but I kept moving. Because stopping meant collapsing. And collapsing meant weakness. And I was done being weak.

Behind me, the ceremony continued. Like I had never been there at all. Like I had never mattered. Like I had already been erased. A hollow laugh bubbled up in my throat, but I swallowed it down.

Of course, that’s how it works. The weak disappear. The strong remain. And i happen to be among the weakest of all. My foot hit the invisible line marking the edge of pack territory.

The boundary of the pack territory, I hesitated. Just for a second. This was it. Everything I had ever known… ended here. I took a breath, stepped forward, and crossed. The moment my foot touched the other side, something snapped.

Not the bond. No. Something deeper inside of me, that same feeling I had earlier returned, no, am I not going to have peace? Is this rejection going to be my end?

A sharp, searing pain ripped through my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. I stumbled forward, dropping to one knee as my hand flew to my heart. It wasn’t just pain anymore.

It was burning, changing and becoming something. A low sound escaped my throat, half gasp, half something else entirely. My shadow stretched again.

Longer, darker and wrong.

And then…that voice. Soft, Cold, and awake.

‘They cast you out…’

My breath hitched violently.

“No…” I whispered, my fingers digging into the dirt.

But the voice didn’t stop. Didn’t fade. If anything, it grew clearer, stronger. ‘Good.‘

The word sent a chill down my spine. My pulse pounded, uneven, unstable. This isn’t real.

This isn’t happening. But it was.

It was happening. Because something inside me was answering it.

‘Now…’ the voice continued, almost amused,

‘we can finally begin.‘

My head snapped up.The forest stretched before me—dark, endless, unknown. And for the first time since the rejection—

I wasn’t just afraid. I became aware of the power curling beneath my skin which kept burning like wild fire. Everywhere was silent and behind me, the pack which I spend years of my life still existed, they were actually cheering and mocking my pain.

A slow, unsteady breath left my lips. Then another. And slowly, very slowly, I pushed myself back to my feet. I didn’t look back. Not at the pack. Not at him because there was nothing there anymore.

Because whatever I had been, whatever I had lost was already gone.