Rejected: Found By Another

Chapter 2

LYANNA'S

I grew up as an orphan in the pack. I had one brother who went rogue years ago, so in a situation like this, I had no one to stand by me. If Lucian wouldn't believe me, then it was over for me.

The only person who always stood behind me in the pack was the alpha, who now believed I had killed his sister.

"I have never seen that dagger in my life, I swear! Lucian, you have to believe me. Kaida and I were attacked by an unknown figure in the forest," I said, tears continuously streaming down my eyes.

“I failed to protect her because I passed out from the hit that this... unknown figure aimed at my head,” I cried out as Lucian continued to stare at me in anger. He gritted his teeth at every word I said.

"Lyanna," Lucian said in pain. His voice was so cold I knew nothing good was going to come out of it.

"You are a shame and an abomination to this pack! Today, Lyanna, I reject you as my mate," Lucian said with a cold tone in front of everyone, and at that moment, my heart stopped. I froze as time passed by.

Tears welled up in my eyes as the full extent of his rejection washed over me. I didn’t quite believe that I heard him right. There was silence in their entire courtroom, making his voice stand out and, in turn, making the humiliation tear me down harder.

"I don't need a killer like you by my side, a ruthless murderer," he continued. "You're not fit to be part of this pack, I reject you!"

My sight blurred out momentarily in shock as I bore the weight of rejection. Murmurs, fingers, and eyes pointed at me from the crowd, mocking and judging me.

“I reject you!” he said again, but this time, he demonstrated how useless I was to him now by giving me a brutal slap that made me fall off my knees. Right there on the floor, tears soaked my clothes, as I imagined what we were like just yesterday when he insisted I slept in his arms because he couldn’t have enough of me.

“Guards!” I heard him call out to my fellow omegas who usually serve as guards in the pack. I lifted my eyes to see what was happening, and to my shock, I saw myself surrounded by three omegas.

“Drag this murderer out of my presence and throw her into the dungeon!” Lucian ordered, and I darted my eyes towards him in a plea.

“Lucian, no, no, please, you can’t do this to me... I beg of you, I am innocent!” I screamed in a plea to be heard, but his heart was fixed. I saw Zarina whispering something into his ears, and then I knew she was trying to add fuel to the fire in Lucian’s heart.

The omegas had dragged me off the ground to my feet and were already taking me away before Lucian called them back.

“Bring her here, I’m not done with her,” Lucian said, and the omegas dragged me until I was in front of him. I wasn’t able to stand properly; my knees were now injured, so I was held up only by the omegas.

“Give me the Ereden dagger,” Lucian ordered Zarina. She did exactly as he had asked. My heart throbbed really quickly when I saw the dagger in Lucian’s hand.

“My fellow wolves!” Lucian announced.

“Tradition must be followed. You kill by a blade, you die by a blade!” Lucian declared, and everyone cheered, and just when the cheer stopped, he plunged the blade into the side of my stomach...

“Ahhh!” I groaned in pain.

“This is for Kaida!”

My breath hitched when he pulled it back out, and I could see satisfaction on his face as my face twisted in pain. I looked down, and I saw blood gushing out of my side.

I was a werewolf and could heal, but that was the essence of using an Ereden dagger made of silver. Werewolves can’t heal from it.

“Now, throw her into the dungeon and let her die a slow and painful death,” Lucian ordered. I was losing so much blood, and my visions began to blur as they dragged me away.

They threw me into the dungeon and locked me up, leaving me to die out of the pain and excessive bleeding.

I was in pain, I was dying, but I could still hear the echoes of the laughter Lucian and I shared last night while we were making love. I could still feel shadows of his lips on mine, all the memories were fresh in my mind.

I remembered how he seized my lips and trailed kisses down my neck. I remembered when he whispered into my ears that he’d always be there to protect me, when he said he’d always listen to me.

Just as I remained there, almost bleeding out, I saw someone’s face through the bars of the cell where I was kept. It took me time with my blurry sight to recognize who it was.

“Hmmm... I never thought you could be this heartless as to kill a 15-year-old. Now tell me, Lyanna, what did the poor girl ever do to you?” Zarina said, a smile tugging at the end of her lips as she obviously found my situation satisfying.

“I thought the only thing you could do was steal people’s men, like you stole the alpha from me,” she added. I was too weak to respond; my eyes were spinning, and sometimes I saw her face in two to three places.

“Now, let’s see how your love story is going to end. Well, I think it has already ended; you’ll die in a few minutes, hmm. I think I should leave you to face your misery,” she said, and she walked out.

My heart was heavy, longing to prove my innocence.

“Moon goddess, if only you could grant me the chance to get out of here, the first thing I would do is find Lucian and make sure he listens to me,” I prayed, as my eyes slowly began to close.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of chains moving violently, and through my blurry vision, I saw someone unlocking the door really quickly.

“Luna,” the omega who walked in said. She called me Luna despite just being rejected by the alpha.

“Mima,” I called out to her as she tried to help me get back on my feet. I wondered what was going on, but it seemed there was no time for her to explain yet.

She quickly took me out of the dungeon and into the corridor which could either lead to the backdoor to Lucian’s mansion or the gate of the entire pack.

“Mima, I- I- I didn’t kill Kaida,” I managed to say, even though I was in pain, and she placed a hand on my lips.

“Luna, I believe you, that is why I am here to help you get out. I am afraid I can’t go any further; the gate isn’t secured tonight. You can easily leave the pack unnoticed,” she said, and I gulped.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, and she sighed. My eyes were so blurry from the pain and losing too much blood.

“I will never forget how you saved me from those bullies from the rival pack a few weeks ago. Remembering that alone, I know you aren’t capable of killing someone more dear to you than I was,” she said and my gaze softened.

“I’m afraid I have to leave now; may the goddess guide you,” she said, hurrying back to her post. I whispered a thank you, which she could barely hear, and she turned to give me a smile, then she vanished.

I knew I needed to escape as fast as I could. I knew that even if I had to prove myself to Lucian, it wouldn’t be that night; it was dangerous. But then, I remembered I left my heirloom in my room at the mansion.

“I need to go back; it is all I have from my unknown parents. I can’t leave it behind,” I said, clutching my bleeding wound as I changed direction from the gates back to the mansion.

Even though I was weak and injured, I walked quickly, and in just about five minutes, I was in my bedroom, which was directly opposite alpha Lucian’s private chamber.

“I came back for you,” I said to my precious heirloom, which I held with so much importance as I picked it up from my bed and kissed it dearly.

Panting in fear of not being caught, I walked out quickly. Just as I closed my door, trying to take a turn, I started hearing sounds.

These were not ordinary sounds; they were moans of intense pleasure coming from Lucian’s chamber, whose door was directly opposite mine and left ajar.

I trudged to the door and peeped in, only to see a sight that shattered my heart like a fragile glass. It was Lucian, in bed with no other girl but Zarina, his ex-girlfriend. They lay there entwined in each other's embrace and completely out of clothes.

Tears streamed down my eyes as I saw how quickly he forgot about the promises he made to always love me and me alone. Zarina’s moans filled my ears, and my heart shattered even further.