Rejected Luna: The Moonborn Returns

The bell rang three times, and the whole pack went quiet. I stood at the very end of the line of unmated wolves, where they always put me. Last row. Last in line. Last to be noticed. "Try not to faint, Quinn," someone whispered behind me. A few girls laughed. I kept my eyes on the Moon Stone. It sat in the middle of the clearing, a huge slab of pale rock, and tonight the full moon hung right above it like a lantern. Once a year, the Moon Goddess was said to show every wolf their fated mate. Most people had stopped believing in it. I hadn't. I couldn't. It was the only hope I had. I was twenty years old, an omega with no rank and no family. My wolf was so quiet that I sometimes forgot she was there. I scrubbed the training hall floors and carried trays in the pack kitchen. People stepped around me like I was a puddle. But tonight, maybe, someone would look at me and see a person. "Step forward," the elder called. "Let the moon choose." One by one, the wolves walked to the stone. Silver light poured over them. A girl gasped and ran into the arms of a boy from the border patrol. A man laughed and lifted his mate off the ground. The pack cheered every time. Then it was my turn. My legs felt like water. I stepped onto the grass in front of the stone, and the light touched my skin. Nothing happened. Someone snickered. "Told you." I almost turned around. I almost walked away and let them have their joke. Then my wolf woke up. She didn't stir. She surged. Heat burst through my chest, so fast it made me stumble. A scent hit me. Pine smoke, cold rain, and something warm underneath. Mine. The word wasn't mine. It was hers, and it was shaking me from the inside. Mate. I turned. I didn't decide to. My eyes went straight across the clearing to the front row, where the Alpha stood beside his mother. Kael Draven. Tall, black-haired, with golden-brown eyes that had never once looked at me in three years of living in his pack. He was looking at me now. The color drained from his face. His hands closed into fists, like he was holding himself back from something. A whisper ran through the crowd. "The Alpha's mate is..." "No. Not her." But I felt it in every bone. The bond pulled tight between us like a rope. He took one step toward me. Then another. My heart was pounding so hard I thought everyone could hear it. I let myself imagine it. His arms around me. His voice saying my name like it mattered. A home. A place at the table. Maybe I would never be last again. He stopped an arm's length away. Up close, his eyes were bright gold, and his jaw was clenched hard. "Kael," I whispered. His gaze dropped to my face, and his eyes closed for half a second. Just half a second. Behind him, Selene Draven stood in a silver gown, her pale blue eyes fixed on her son like a blade at his back. When Kael opened his eyes again, the gold was gone. His face was cold. "Elara Quinn," he said, loud enough for the whole clearing. My name sounded strange in his mouth. "I am Kael Draven, Alpha of Blackthorn." His voice didn't shake. It was hollow. "And I reject you as my mate." The world stopped. Then the pain came. It felt like someone had driven a hot iron through my ribs and twisted. I heard a thin cry and realized it came from me. My knees hit the grass. The bond snapped. I felt it tear, one thread at a time. Silence. Then laughter started somewhere in the back and spread like fire. "Did she really think…" "An omega? As Luna?" "Poor thing. She actually hoped." I stared up at him. I couldn't help it. "Why?" My voice cracked. "Kael, why?" He didn't answer right away. A muscle jumped in his jaw. His fist was shaking at his side. For one second, he looked like a man standing at the edge of a cliff. "Because you're nothing," he said. "And Blackthorn needs a Luna who is something." The words hit harder than the rejection. Selene's lips curved, just slightly. I could have begged. Part of me wanted to. The old Elara, the one who apologized for taking up space, would have crawled across that grass to him. But everyone was watching. And somewhere deep down, a small stubborn voice said: Not in front of them. So I stood. My legs were shaking, but I stood. I lifted my chin and looked him straight in the eye. "I accept your rejection, Alpha Draven." My voice came out steady. I don't know how. "I hope your pack is worth it." Something flickered across his face. Pain. Real pain. It was gone before I could be sure. I turned and walked away. Nobody stopped me. Nobody called my name. The crowd parted like I was something dirty. I made it past the last tent. Past the edge of the torchlight. Past the trees. Then I ran. I ran until my lungs burned and the sound of the ceremony faded. The river waited at the bottom of the hill, black and wide, silver where the moon touched it. I dropped to my knees on the bank and pressed both hands against my chest. It felt like there was a hole there. A real one. "Please," I whispered to no one. "Please make it stop." The moon didn't answer. But something inside me did. A warmth rolled up my spine. Then a burn, like fire under my skin. I looked down and my hands were glowing, a soft silver light running through my veins like water through cracks. I gasped. The river rippled. Every ripple moved away from me, as if the water was afraid. On the surface, my reflection stared back. My eyes weren't silver-grey anymore. They were violet. "What... what is this?" A twig snapped behind me. I started to turn. "I'm sorry," a man's voice said. It sounded almost kind. Pain exploded in my back. Cold. Sharp. Wrong. A hand shoved me forward. I fell into the black water, and the last thing I saw was my own hands glowing violet as the river swallowed me whole.