The return of the rejected Luna

The rejection

The world stopped spinning.

Selena stood in the center of the stones wearing a silver dress that shone in the moonlight, her hand clasped in Damon's as though she belonged there.

"What..." The word barely made it past my lips.

Elder Cain looked confused. "Alpha Damon, the ceremony….

"I know what the ceremony requires." Damon's voice cut through the air. "I'm the Alpha and I make my own choices."

A few wolves murmured agreement while Others watched quietly

Lyra pushed through the crowd but Marcus grabbed her arm and held her in place

"Damon, please." My voice cracked as I called his name . "You said... earlier you told me to be prepared. Did you mean this? Did you know you were going to….."

"Abital." He finally looked at me and I saw a flicker of pity before being replaced with a cold gaze . "This isn't personal."

Isn't personal.

Those two words carved themselves into my ribs.

"Then what is it?" I heard myself ask even though part of me didn't want to know, didn't want to hear whatever he was about to say.

Selena gave a sinister grin , "Should I tell her or do you want to?"

"Selena." Damon's tone held a warning but she ignored it.

"The pack needs a strong Luna," she said, addressing the crowd more than me. "Someone who can fight, who can lead, who can actually shift into their wolf form." Her eyes slid to me, cold and victorious. "Not someone broken."

The word hit me like a physical blow.

Broken.

"I'm not broken," I said but my voice sounded small, unconvincing even to my own ears.

"Aren't you though?" Gamma Ruth stepped forward, her grey hair pulled back tight, with her face as hard as stone "Nineteen years old and never shifted. The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes, child."

The crowd was watching, waiting, and anticipating what next

Damon shifted his weight. "Ruth, enough."

"Is it?" She turned to face him. "You're the Alpha now. Your father have always chose strength, always

Damon's jaw clenched but he didn't defend me.

He just stood there holding Selena's hand.

"The Moon Goddess pairs mates for a reason," Elder Cain said slowly, his voice carrying that weight of years and wisdom. "If Abital is your true mate, Alpha, rejecting her could have consequences. The bond….

"There is no bond." Damon's jaw clenched. "I don't feel anything for her."

The lie was obvious. We both knew he felt the pull between us, the way his eyes found mine across rooms, the way he'd started protecting me.

That meant something.

"Damon," I tried one more time. "Please don't do this."

He looked at me and for a second I thought maybe he'd change his mind.

But then Selena whispered something in his ear and his expression hardened.

"I, Damon Blackthorn, Alpha of Silverwood Pack, formally reject Abital Storm as my mate."

The bond snapped.

It tore apart and it was as if something vital was ripped from my chest, and the pain was immediate and excruciating. My knees buckled and I grabbed at my chest, gasping, because it felt like my heart was being stabbed.

"Abital!" Lyra's called out desperate

But I couldn't answer, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything except feel this agony tearing through me. Heat flooded my veins like fire. My vision blurred and I didn't know if it was from tears or from whatever was happening to my body.

"Stand up, Abital." Ruth's voice cut through my pain. "You're embarrassing yourself."

I tried but my legs wouldn't cooperate.

"She's weak," someone in the crowd said. "She can't even handle a rejection without falling apart."

Laughter rippled through some wolves though not all of them. Some looked away, but most of them laughed that made me want to disappear .

"I choose Selena Winters as my mate and future Luna," Damon continued. "She is strong where strength is needed."

Selena beamed.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Elder Cain looked troubled but he didn't protest, and neither did he try to stop what was going on . He just stepped back and watch everything unfold, watched how Damon humiliated me.

"The Moon Goddess will not be pleased," he said quietly, meant for Damon's ears but I heard it anyway.

"The Moon Goddess will understand," Damon replied. "I'm doing what's best for the pack."

What's best for the pack.

Not what's best for me.

Not what's true or right or fair.

Just what made him look strong.

When I finally got to my feet, ,my whole body was swaying and trembling. The pain dulled to a constant ache.

"Abital." Lyra broke free and ran to me, catching my arm. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Wait." Damon's voice stopped us.

I turned, some stupid part of me still hoping he'd changed his mind, that he'd realized his mistake.

But his face was cold, closed off. "You're still a member of this pack, Abital. You'll continue your duties as before. Serving in the kitchens, helping with the preparations, doing the work you've always done."

Serving.

He wanted me to stay and serve him. Serve them. Serve the pack that just watched him tear me apart.

"You want me to stay?" The words came out hollow.

"Where else would you go?" He said it like it was obvious, like I had no other options. "You're not strong enough to survive on your own."

Selena's smile widened.

"No," I heard myself say.

Damon frowned. "No?"

"I'm not staying here." My voice grew stronger. "I'm not serving you. I'm not going to watch you with her while you all whisper about how broken I am."

"You have nowhere else to go," Ruth said.

"Then I'll find somewhere."

Lyra's grip on my arm tightened. "Abital, wait, think about this……."

"I have thought about it." I pulled free from her, stumbling slightly but staying upright. "I've thought about it my whole life. Thought maybe if I was good enough, quiet enough, useful enough, you'd all see me as something other than broken. But you never will."

I looked at Damon one last time.

"You're right about one thing," I said. "I am weak. But staying here, letting you treat me like I'm nothing? That would make me pathetic too."

His jaw tightened. "If you leave pack lands, you're rogue. You won't have protection, you won't have the bond to the territory. Do you understand what that means?"

"It means I'm free of you."

I turned and walked toward the edge of the clearing. My legs felt shaky and weak but I kept moving.

"Let her go," Selena said. "She won't last a day out there."

Maybe she was right. Maybe I would die in the forest, alone and scared.

But at least I wouldn't die here.

The crowd parted to let me through. Lyra tried to follow but Marcus held her back.

"I'm sorry," she called out. "Abital, I'm so sorry."

I didn't answer. I just kept walking until the forest swallowed me whole.

The trees were dark and the weather was cold . My white dress caught on branches. I yanked it loose, in the process the fabric tore , even the flowers on my hair have start to fall off.

A sob broke free and then another, until I was crying as I walked. My foot caught on a root and I fell down hard.

I knelt there sobbing, letting the pain wash through me.

"Why?" I whispered to the Moon Goddess. "What did I do wrong?"

The forest didn't answer.

I was completely alone.

My hands dug into the dirt. The pain in my chest flared again, sharp and vicious.

A branch snapped somewhere to my left.

I froze, my breath catching.

Another snap, closer this time.

Something was moving through the trees, something big enough to break branches.

"Who's there?" My voice came out weak, frightened.

No response.

Just the sound of heavy footsteps circling around me.

I scrambled to my feet, trying to see through the darkness, trying to figure out which direction to run.

But there was nowhere to run.

The footsteps stopped.

And then a voice spoke from the shadows, deep and rough and definitely not human.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

Two glowing golden eyes appeared in the darkness ahead of me.

"A little wolf," the voice continued, "running through my forest all alone."

The eyes moved closer and I saw him step into a patch of moonlight that had broken through the clouds.

Tall, impossibly tall, with broad shoulders and dark hair. But it was his eyes that made my heart stutter, his eyes were glowing like embers in the night.

He's definitely not a wolf but something else

"Please," I whispered, taking a step backward. "I don't want any trouble."

He tilted his head, studying me with those burning eyes. "Too late for that, little wolf."

He moved faster than anything I could ever think of closing the distance between us in a heartbeat.

His hand caught my chin, tilting my face up to the moonlight.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, his thumb brushing away a tear from my cheek.

I couldn't answer, couldn't breathe, couldn't think past the terror freezing me in place.

He leaned closer and inhaled deeply, like he was breathing me in.

Then he went completely still.

"Impossible," he breathed.

"What?" The word barely made it out.

His eyes met mine, blazing with something between shock and hunger.

"You," he said slowly, his grip on my chin tightening just slightly. "You're mine.”