Rejected by the Alpha: His Secret Luna’s Return

Seven years, seven years I carried the hate, the agony and stigma in my chest, living through the heartache and trying not to end my own life. Two times, I almost lost the only thing that brought me the littlest sense of joy I could feel. Who would have thought it would hurt this much? All my life I loved what I was, having to be a different species of creature, to run on all fours, tasting the wind in my tongue as my wolf form carried me, but nobody told me the severance of a mate bond would break my soul. A lot of times I wish I didn't exist, a lot of times I wish I was human, maybe then the heartbreak wouldn't have hurt so much, then I wouldn't be a rogue. “Mummy, I'm hungry.” The little voice of my six years old daughter seeped through my ear, bringing back to the grasp of the present. “Sure baby, what would you like to have?” I asked her with a doting smile on my face, blinking away the sadness from my eyes. My little bundle of joy stared at me with a heart crushing grin, showing her incomplete set of teeth before mouthing ‘Candy.’ “No, definitely not. It's too early to eat candies.” “Please mummy.” Who would say no to such puppy eyes? I raised my hand up in defeat, giving in to her demands. “Fine, just this once.” She jumped up for joy, hastingly moving towards me and placing a deep kiss on my cheeks.” “I love you.” She said before racing towards where the jar of candies sat. I watched her eat the candies with joy after I had given her a little portion. Staring at her again, I couldn't help but think about him. I had a 3 year old daughter who was the carbon copy of the man who shattered my soul without batting an eye. “Mummy, I think I'm in love.” She said in the manner of children. Did I just hear correctly? “You're in love?” I asked in disbelief as I watched her stuff more candies into her mouth. “Yeah.” “And who's this lucky guy?” “No!” “No?” The frown of confusion on my face was evident, but she didn't mind me and just continued eating her candies. “I won't tell you who he is.” “And why is that?” “You'll steal him from me.” “What?” I couldn't stop the laughter that escaped my mouth. She held my gaze with a serious look on her face, which almost made me burst into another round of laughter. “Why do you think mummy would steal your crush?” “Because you don’t have one.” For the past three years, no words have broken me like the last word of rejection that left his mouth, but this, this was on par with it. As the words fell from her mouth, my expression took a drastic fall. If it had come from someone else, I would have been able to ignore the pain, but it came from my daughter who I was trying to hide my pain from, but still noticed. “Mummy….” “Yes, darling.” “Did I say something wrong? Did I hurt you?” “No, love, you could never hurt me. Now be quick with your treat, you'll be late for school.” I walked out of the kitchen, stopping the tears from falling. I didn't want her to see that part of me, she was just too young to feel my pain. Taking deep breaths, I tried to stabilize my emotions as I cleaned the tears off my face. As if on cue, she bounced back into the living room. I took her lunch bag and other school things as she held onto my hand with her little ones. We headed out with her grinning happily about meeting her crush again, and me with a forced smile, trying to push back the panging pain in my chest. The day was like every other normal day. I wake up, take Liora to school and resume my work as a waitress in a restaurant, after which I work till it was time to go pick Liora from school, while I work through the day, trying to forget what led to the drastic turn of events that is now my life. I mostly kept to myself, and I loved my solitude, but it was a little difficult to live that way since everybody literally loved Liora. “Hi, good day. What would you like to have?” I asked, forcing a professional smile on my face as I got to the first table I was to wait for that day. “Macaroni and cheese please, with a glass of cranberry juice.” I nodded with a smile on my face, before writing down the order and moving to another table. I was about to walk towards the kitchen after taking the orders, when the sight of a person caught my attention. My heart threatened to beat out of my ribcage as I took cautious steps towards the person. I'm dreaming. Yes! I'm hallucinating! It can't be real. I chanted these words in my head, trying to convince myself that the world wasn't that small. Slowly, I finally got to the table and rounded it up to the front. “Is there any problem?” She asked, staring at me with a frown on her face. “None at all. I'm sorry ma'am.” Not the one. I let out the breath I was holding and went back to work, thanking the moon goddess it wasn't who I thought it was. The hours went by in a blur, and it was soon time to go pick Liora from school, which happened to also be the end of my shift. “I hope I get to see Liora next time.” Harper, one of my coworkers said as I bade her farewell. Hitching a cab ride in the city during the middle of the day was a bit of a hassle, so I spent a while waiting for a cab. I breathed out in relief when I was finally settled in and we were heading off to Liora's school. “Mummy!!” Liora jumped for joy on seeing me from the entrance. A proud smile escaped my lips as I prepared for her crushing embrace. “You're late.” She said after she pulled away from the hug. “But I didn't mind since I had to spend more time with Aldrich.” “Is that his name?” “Oops, I forgot I wasn't supposed to tell you about him.” She said with her hand over her mouth. I gave a short laugh as I watched her run forward, getting lost in the crowd of school kids. Panic immediately started coursing through me as I tried to keep my gaze on her little form, but I soon lost sight of her. “Liora!!” I called for her as I navigated my way out of the school gate, at the same time using my eyes to search for her. I called and called, but I didn't hear my little angel's voice in response. I was on the verge of tears when I saw her standing in front of someone who was crouched to her height. I couldn't see the person's face since she was in the way, but I couldn't care, I was just relieved I had found her. “Liora, what are…” The words caught in my throat as she turned back and the face of the person came into view. The world suddenly stopped spinning and the breath caught in my throat as my body suddenly went pale.