Rejected Luna’s Vegas Redemption

Anniversary The door to my bedroom clicked shut, muffling the echo of Alpha Archie’s voice: “You’re a burden, Amber.” Vivian’s sharp laugh lingered in my mind, her smirk flashing from the hallway where she’d stood beside him. Their words weren’t new, I’d heard worse over the past year but each one stabbed deeper, leaving my heart bruised. I sank onto the bed, the mattress creaking under me, and stared at a glass of red wine on the nightstand. Its bitter scent curled into the air, reminding me of everything I’d lost. This room used to be ours. In the early days of our marriage, Archie’s laughter filled it, his touch warm and promising. Now, it was a cold, empty space, a graveyard for the love I’d poured into him. I reached for the wine, my hand shaking. I hated its taste, but I sipped anyway, hoping it would numb the ache in my chest. Archie was probably in a meeting or worse, with her. Vivian, his cousin, who seemed to thrive on unraveling our bond. My wolf stirred, her growl low in my mind. He’s our mate. Why do you let her win? The mate bond was supposed to be sacred, a tie of soul and spirit that no one could break. I’d been a nobody, an orphan who’d watched Archie from the edges of the pack, my heart racing at his every glance. When he married me, I thought it was fate. When I told him he was my fated mate, I believed he’d love me forever. But then Vivian arrived, moving into the packhouse, and I faded into the background. Invisible. Unwanted. Tomorrow was our one-year anniversary. The thought twisted my stomach, not with joy but with dread. I set the wine down, untouched after that first sip, and curled into the bed’s cold sheets. My wolf whimpered, sensing the truth I didn’t want to face: Archie didn’t love me. Maybe he never had. The alarm’s shrill buzz woke me at dawn. I groaned, stretching stiff limbs, and glanced at the calendar. One year. The weight of it pressed on my chest. I should’ve felt excitement, but all I felt was a heavy fog. Dragging myself out of bed, I shuffled to the kitchen, my bare feet cold on the hardwood floor. Cooking for the pack was a habit I couldn’t break, even though it left me hollow. Serving Archie, pretending to be the perfect Luna was all I had left, even if he barely noticed me. The kitchen hummed with morning chatter, the smell of coffee and sizzling bacon thick in the air. Pack members milled around, their voices a low buzz. Vivian leaned against the counter, her blonde hair catching the light, her fingers tapping impatiently. “Took you long enough,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. I ignored her, focusing on the stove. I cracked an egg into a pan, its sizzle drowning out her taunts. My wolf bristled, urging me to snap back. She’s nothing to us, she growled. But I bit my lip. Confronting Vivian always backfired, Archie made sure of that. A sudden shout cut through the noise. “Help!” A young pack member, Lila, stumbled back as a pot of boiling water tipped off the stove. Scalding droplets splashed across my arms, and I gasped, pain searing my skin. Vivian shrieked, clutching her wrist where the water had grazed her. The kitchen fell silent, all eyes on us. I stepped toward her, instinct overriding my anger. “Are you okay?” “Don’t touch her!” Archie’s voice boomed as he stormed in, his broad frame filling the doorway. In a heartbeat, he was at Vivian’s side, pulling her close. Her eyes glistened with tears, her expression pitiful as she pressed herself against him. “Amber,” Vivian said, her voice soft but venomous, “I know you’re jealous of me and Archie. Why did you push that pot?” My jaw dropped. “I didn’t! I was across the room!” My arms throbbed, red bruises forming, but Archie didn’t look at them. His glare pinned me, cold and unyielding. My wolf howled in my mind. She’s lying! Tell him! I tried, my voice shaking. “Archie, I didn’t touch the pot. Look at my burns, I'm hurt too.” His lip curled. “Why would she lie, Amber? Stop it.” His words were sharp, final, slicing through me. The mate bond pulsed in my chest, a dull ache that mirrored my heartbreak. This wasn’t the first time Vivian had framed me. She’d done it for months, twisting every mistake into proof I was unfit as Luna. And Archie always believed her. I’d tried everything, cooking his favorite meals, treating Vivian like family, enduring their insults hoping they’d see my worth. But they didn’t. Rumors had spread that Archie loved Vivian, that he’d only married me because pack law forbade rejecting a fated mate. Watching him hold her now, his hand gentle on her back, I wondered if the rumors were true. Sam, Archie’s beta, appeared beside me. “Come on,” he said softly, guiding me out. My burns stung, but the pain in my heart was worse. “Thanks,” I whispered as we headed to the infirmary. Sam’s eyes were kind, but he stayed silent. He’d seen how Archie treated me, how Vivian manipulated everyone. As beta, he couldn’t challenge his alpha. As an orphan, I had no one to turn to. Leaving the pack wasn’t an option packless wolves were weak, easy prey for rogues. I was trapped. In the infirmary, a healer wrapped my arms in cool bandages. Across the room, Archie sat by Vivian’s cot, his voice low as he comforted her. Their closeness felt wrong, too intimate for cousins. My wolf growled, sensing something I couldn’t name. Today was our anniversary, yet I was nothing to him. “Amber,” Archie said, his voice like ice, “you’re banned from tonight’s pack celebration. That’s your punishment for hurting Vivian.” Tears stung my eyes. “You can’t do this. I’m your Luna. I didn’t hurt her, Archie. Please.” He met my gaze, his eyes hard. “Stay in your room.” Turning to Sam, he added, “Make sure she doesn’t leave.” Sam’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. I stood, legs shaky, and walked to my room, refusing to let them see me break. The party’s music drifted through the walls, laughter, clinking glasses, joy I wasn’t part of. I curled up on my bed, tears soaking the pillow. I’d spent the last year trying to be enough for Archie, for the pack. But I wasn’t. Hours passed, and I forced myself to stop crying. I wouldn’t let them destroy me. Thirst burned my throat. The water pitcher in my room was empty, and Sam was probably at the party by now. I crept to the door, easing it open. The hallway was dark, the packhouse quiet except for the distant music. I stepped forward, my bare feet silent on the floor. But a sharp pain stabbed my chest, so intense I clutched my heart. My wolf whimpered. Something’s wrong. The pain grew, pulling me down the hall toward a closed door. I’d felt this agony before sudden, unexplained stabs that woke me in the night, that left me gasping. I’d begged Archie to explain, to stop whatever caused it, but he’d dismissed me. Now, the mate bond screamed, warning me of betrayal. My hand trembled as I reached for the knob. The door creaked open, and my breath caught. Archie was on the bed, his body moving with another’s, their forms tangled in the dim light. Blonde hair spilled across the pillow, it was Vivian's hair. My legs buckled, the bond’s pain roaring through me as I took in their interlaced scents. Every ache I’d felt, every tearful night it was this. My mate, my husband, was betraying me with his cousin. But then I froze. A faint glow pulsed from Vivian’s wrist, where her burn had been. It wasn’t a bandage, it was a mark, a swirling rune that shimmered like moonlight. My wolf snarled, her instincts sharper than mine. That’s no ordinary mark. Vivian’s eyes flicked to mine, and for a moment, they glinted with something unnatural, something that wasn’t human. “Archie,” I whispered, my voice breaking. He didn’t hear me. But Vivian did. She smiled, slow and cruel, and the rune flared brighter.