The Exiled Luna: Rejected By Adoptive Brother, Mated to His Best Friend

Chapter 1: Return to Pack Territory (Elara's POV) The air was thick with nostalgia as I stepped out of the car and into the familiar Crescent Moon territory. The towering pine trees, the wildflowers lining the paths, the faint scent of the nearby river... Everything was just as I remembered. But I wasn’t the same. Five years had passed since I left. Five long years. Lumi, my wolf, stirred beneath my skin. She was always restless now, her energy vibrating through me. She had awakened not long ago, during my second year abroad, and nothing had been the same since. Even now, as I stood outside Frost Hospital, her heightened senses picked up every sound and scent around us. But none of it could distract from my purpose here. Iris needed me. Pushing through the heavy hospital doors, I was hit with the sharp tang of antiseptic mixed with the faint scent of distressed wolves. The smell was overwhelming, a harsh reminder of how much my senses had changed since my wolf emerged. I blinked against the fluorescent lights and hurried down the hallway, my boots clicking against the polished floors. When I reached Iris’s room, my chest tightened. She looked frail, her usually bright face pale and drained. Her thin frame, once filled with strength, now looked impossibly fragile under the hospital blankets. “Elara,” she greeted me with a tired smile, her voice barely above a whisper. The effort it took her to speak was painfully obvious. “I’m here,” I said softly, rushing to her bedside. I took her cold hand into mine, my heart breaking at the sight of her. "You should have told me sooner. This…” I swallowed, my throat tight. “This should not have gotten this bad before I knew about it.” Iris shook her head weakly. “You were building your life overseas. I didn’t want to pull you away.” “Well, I’m here now,” I said firmly. My voice barely wavered, though Lumi growled low within me. My wolf hated seeing one of my packmates like this, hated the helplessness that came with it. Iris’s gaze dropped slightly. “It’s worse than I thought,” she admitted, her voice tinged with despair. Tears glistened in her eyes, and she looked away. “My wolf… She’s fading. The doctors think I might lose her entirely. And after what Derek did…” Anger flared inside me. Not just anger—fury, hot and unbearable. Lumi’s growl grew louder. “What did he do?” Iris bit her lip, her voice trembling as she continued. “He left. Derek took all the money from our pack’s funds. All the research we had on wolf blood disorders—gone. Took everything and vanished.” I couldn’t hold back the snarl that escaped my lips. “That bastard.” Iris’s eyes widened slightly, startled by the sound, but then she smiled weakly. “It’s… It’s fine. I just need to focus on what’s next.” “No, it’s not fine.” I felt heat rush to my face as my heart pounded with frustration. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and pulled up my banking app. “How much do you need? For the hospital bills, for restarting the research? Iris, tell me. I’ll handle it.” “Elara, I can’t… I-” “Hush,” I interrupted, my tone leaving no room for argument. “I’m doing this for you. You helped me when I needed someone, when I wasn’t sure I had a home here. Let me do the same for you.” I didn’t wait for her response before transferring a significant sum to her account. When the confirmation sound chimed, I exhaled. "Done." Her lips trembled, forming words she couldn’t quite say. Before she could argue further, Lumi stiffened inside me. The hair along my arms prickled as I caught the faintest trace of a scent—pine, leather, and something warm. My breath hitched. I knew that scent anywhere. Elian. My adoptive brother. The one I have loved for over ten years. --- (Elian's POV) "She's back." Damon's voice cut through my thoughts like an arrow, sharp and filled with mischief. I tightened my grip on the phone, staying calm even as my wolf stirred. “Where did you hear that?” The smirk in his tone was evident even over the line. “Elara’s return isn’t exactly a secret. She’s at Frost Hospital. Something about her friend Iris needing help.” Damon and his gossip knew no boundaries. “What are you really calling me about?” I asked stiffly, trying to mask the unease gnawing at me. “Calm down,” he teased. “No need to bite my head off. Relax, future Alpha. Your... sister is just back in town. Thought you’d want to greet her properly.” Before he could say anything else, I ended the call. Damon wasn’t wrong, though. I needed to see her. Grabbing my phone, I made a split-second decision. Mindlinking her might reveal too much of my own emotions. No, a simple phone call would have to do. (Elara's POV) When my phone buzzed in my pocket, I didn’t even need to check the screen. I answered it, already knowing who was on the other end. “Elara,” Elian’s voice carried a calm, measured tone. It was a voice I hadn’t heard directly in far too long. “What are you doing at the hospital?” “Iris…” My voice faltered slightly. “She’s not doing well.” There was silence on the line, heavy and contemplative. “I’ll send someone to help,” he finally said, though there was hesitation in his voice. “Stay there.” “Don’t bother,” I replied. “I’m already handling it.” But mere minutes later, the door to Iris’s room opened, and there he was. Artemis, his wolf, hummed softly beneath my skin, a presence I’d grown so used to through our years together. Elian hadn’t changed much. Still broad-shouldered, still confident in the way he carried himself. His brown eyes, once so reassuring, seemed to pierce right through me now. “Elara,” he said softly, his expression unreadable. “Little Moon.” The familiar nickname sent a wave of emotions crashing into me. My human heart was overwhelmed, tightening at the warmth I felt for him. But Lumi was… silent. She watched him, restrained and distant, as if carefully observing. “Hi, Elian,” I managed to say. My voice was steady, even as my emotions swirled in chaos. “Let’s go,” he said simply, his tone leaving no room for debate. The drive to the pack house was quiet. He focused on the road, his features stoic. I stole glances at him now and then, searching for something familiar, but everything felt… off. He wasn’t exactly the Elian I had grown up with. Or maybe I wasn’t the Elara he remembered. When we arrived at the pack house, Luna Eleanor and Alpha Caleb greeted me warmly. Eleanor pulled me into an embrace, yet I caught the flicker of hesitation in her eyes when she saw me. “Elara,” she said, her voice soft and motherly. “You’re home.” But was I? That warmth faded during dinner. The room was filled with quiet conversation as we carefully danced around sensitive topics. Elian brought up Iris’s condition, offering support that carried the weight of his authority as the Crescent Moon’s future Alpha. Afterward, Eleanor led me upstairs. “Your old room is just as you left it,” she said. The emotional weight of her words hit me as I pushed open the door. It was like stepping back in time. Everything in the room was preserved—my books, my photos, even the quilt I’d had since I was a child. Yet my wolf picked up something else. Elian. His scent clung faintly to the space, a sign that he’d been in here often. Lumi stirred but didn’t react otherwise. Later in the night, as exhaustion tugged at me, I heard hushed voices from downstairs. “Her sudden return complicates things,” Eleanor said quietly. “She has every right to come back,” Elian replied, his tone sharper than usual. “But the rumors,” Eleanor pressed. “The ones from years ago about—” “That was years ago,” Elian interrupted. “She’s family.” Caleb’s low voice added to the conversation. “Now her wolf is awake. Things are delicate.” I didn’t need to hear more. I retreated back into my room as Lumi let out a soft whine. Both of us felt it. Old wounds, ones I’d thought buried, were being reopened. Some things in Crescent Moon never changed.