The Luna He Left Behind

Never Meant to Be

They told me to choose someone obedient. Silent. Pretty enough to stand beside me, but never bold enough to challenge me.

Instead, I chose Pearl.

And every day since, I’ve questioned whether that was a brilliant decision… or a terrible mistake.

“You chose her?” Elder Thorne asked, glaring over his glasses.

“She’s exactly what this pack needs,” I replied.

A lie.

Because the truth?

I didn’t choose her for the pack.

I chose her for me.

Pearl wasn’t the safe choice. She was the girl I left behind — the one I rejected to protect, back when I was still trying to be noble.

Now I’m Alpha. And noble is overrated.

But she hasn’t made this easy. She looks at me like I’m a stranger. She walks the halls like a queen who doesn’t want a crown. And every time she talks back, I want to drag her into the shadows and remind her whose wolf claimed her first.

Pearl

The dress clung to me like silk and smoke — silver, sleek, too tight to breathe. The makeup artist whispered about how radiant I looked. But I didn’t feel radiant.

I felt like a fraud.

Tonight was the official introduction — the Luna presentation. The pack would cheer, and the Elders would nod, and Ezra would stand beside me like he hadn’t broken me years ago.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

“You were never supposed to be Luna,” I whispered.

But you are, my wolf answered, her voice fierce and clear. You were always meant for more.

Ezra

She walked into the ballroom and the entire room paused.

Not because she was beautiful — though she was. No, they stared because she looked untouchable. Untamed.

“That’s the girl you rejected?” someone muttered behind me.

“She doesn’t look like she begged,” said another.

“She didn’t,” I said flatly. “And she never will.”

When she reached me, I offered my arm.

She took it. But her fingers didn’t curl into mine.

She was here — beside me. But not with me.

And I hated that I cared so damn much.