The Rejected Luan's Chosen Path

Chapter 4: A Fool’s Choice

Lukas

The weight of the moment pressed against my chest as I stood before the mirror, adjusting the cuffs of my tailored black shirt. The reflection staring back at me was calm, controlled—the face of an Alpha. The sleek fabric stretched over my broad frame, emphasizing the strength I had spent years cultivating. Tonight was my night. Tonight, I will be named Alpha of Half Moon.

I had prepared for this moment since I was a child, trained relentlessly under my father’s watchful eye, endured grueling combat, studied pack politics, and sacrificed for the greater good. For my destiny.

Then why did it feel like my chest was tight, like something was pressing down on me?

Inside my head, Triton snarled, his presence more volatile than ever, pacing like a caged animal.

“You did this,” he growled, his voice curling through my mind like a shadow. “You rejected her. You cast her aside.”

I clenched my jaw, forcing him down, shoving the weight of his anger into the darkest part of my mind where I didn’t have to feel it. Triton had been restless since the night I had stood in front of Angelina and told her she wasn’t good enough to be my Luna.

I had done what was necessary.

She had always been beautiful, even as a child, growing into a woman who turned heads without trying. Her dark hair, those piercing eyes, the way she carried herself—elegant, intelligent. Smart.

But she’s not strong enough to be Luna.

She had never shifted. She never showed signs of her wolf. And a Luna had to be strong. It wasn’t enough to be clever, to be strategic—she had to lead beside me, to fight for the pack, to prove she could be the mother of the next generation of warriors.

That was why I had chosen Marissa.

Marissa was everything a Luna was supposed to be. The daughter of an Alpha and strong. She was respected, admired, and powerful—the perfect match for me, the perfect Queen to my King.

Angelina, though… she had been my mate.

At least, that was what I had thought.

I had believed she would accept her place. That she would understand what I was offering her—a position at my side, a life of privilege, of power as long as she remained in the shadows.

She could have been mine.

I stood before her, my voice calm and level, telling her that I would take Marissa as Luna, but she would still belong to me, and I had been so sure she wouldn’t resist the bond. No wolf could resist their mate.

But Angelina had done the unthinkable. She had accepted my rejection without hesitation. She didn’t even beg or fight.

She had walked away from me as if our bond meant nothing and I was just another wolf. I wonder if she ever felt the pull between us.

That was when the c***k had formed inside me, and Triton had turned his back on me.

I had told myself she was being prideful, that she was hurt, and that she needed time. I had watched her, cornered her, and taunted her, testing her resolve and waiting for the moment she would break.

But she never did.

And now, though she is not there, as the voices of the pack hushed beneath the full moon, as my father’s hands pressed heavily on my shoulders, I told myself I had won.

The crowd watched in reverence as I knelt before my father, the man who had raised me, trained me, and made me who I am.

His voice was steady, powerful, unshakable as he spoke.

“Lukas Stral of the Half Moon Pack, you have been chosen to lead, to protect, to uphold the legacy of those before you. Do you accept this burden?”

I lifted my head, my voice firm. “I do.”

The air shook with the howls of my pack, voices rising in celebration. I felt the weight of my new title settle onto my shoulders like a mantle.

Then, a sudden, searing pain ripped through my chest.

I gasped, body locking, breath stolen from my lungs. My vision blurred, my mind reeling. It felt like something inside me had just been ripped apart.

Something was wrong.

Then I felt it.

Or rather—I didn’t.

Angelina was gone.

She had broken the bond with the pack.

For the first time since I had turned eighteen, I couldn’t feel her, and I’m sure no one else in the pack could feel her.

I barely registered my mother whispering to Marissa about becoming Luna. Barely felt the pats on my back, the murmurs of congratulations.

All I could feel was the hollow, aching void where Angelina had once been, and my hands shook.

“No.”

Triton roared, his pain crashing into me, sharp and merciless.

“She left. You let her go. You fool.”

A hand gripped my shoulder—my father’s.

“Lukas,” his voice was sharp, cutting through my haze. “What’s wrong?”

I forced a breath into my lungs, my mind spinning and unraveling as I tried to grasp something solid.

“Nothing,” I lied. “I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t. I wasn’t fine at all.

I left the moment I could, breaking away from the festivities, my legs carrying me toward her house before I could stop them.

By the time I reached her doorstep, dread had already curled deep into my stomach, clawing at my insides.

The house was silent, and the windows were dark.

I looked around to see that the front door was unlocked and swinging slightly in the wind.

Angelina was gone.

I stepped inside, inhaling sharply. Her scent was already fading. The space was empty, furniture covered, and drawers cleared out.

Angelina hadn’t just left. She had planned her escape.

A low, guttural snarl ripped from my throat, rattling the walls as I turned to the guards who had followed me. My voice sharpened as I growled, “Find Angelina.”

The men hesitated, unsure why I was sending them after a woman who left at her recognizance.

My fists clenched, rage boiling beneath my skin as I repeated, “Find her. Now.”

The men scattered into the night.

But even as I stood there, breath sharp, pulse erratic, I knew she had left, and I was the reason why.

The next morning, my father summoned me to his office.

“I hear you’ve sent men to search for Angelina,” he said, his voice cool, unreadable.

I forced my expression to remain neutral. “I heard she was missing. I want to make sure she’s safe.”

My father watched me for a long moment before sighing. “According to your men, Angelina left on her own free will. There is footage of her leaving the pack border with her backpack, and a letter from Angelina was delivered to your mother this morning, stating that she has relinquished her place in the pack. I know it’s a terrible loss, but it was her choice.”

I ground my teeth. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for her.”

Silence reigned for a moment.

Then my father exhaled, rubbing a hand down his face. “That’s exactly what it means, Lukas. It is a shame she wasn’t your mate.”

My breath stilled.

“What? Why?”

He leaned back, crossing his arms. “The Illuminae bloodline is powerful. Having a prestigious wolf from their pack in our family would have been an honor. The girl was also very sweet and giving. I’d always see her around the pack helping our elders and the children at the daycare. She was a hard worker, that one. When her grandmother mated Cooper DeLeon, we were astounded. A low-ranked wolf mated to an Illuminae female was unheard of. But she didn’t care that Cooper was unranked. She loved him fiercely.”

Everything in me froze.

Angelina had been an Illuminae.

And I had thrown her away.

I had rejected one of the most powerful wolves in existence.

“Angelina was an Illuminae? How is that possible?” I whispered.

The next words slipped from my mouth before I could stop them.

“My mate was an Illuminae.”

A thick and suffocating stillness settled over the room. My father, Alpha Gregor, froze, his powerful frame locked in place as if the weight of my confession had physically struck him. His dark eyes, usually sharp with control, darkened with rage, the flickering firelight casting jagged shadows over his face.

“What did you say?”

His voice was low and dangerous—an Alpha’s voice, a leader’s voice, the kind of tone that sent lesser wolves cowering. But I was not a lesser wolf. I was his son, his heir, the new Alpha of Half Moon.

Yet at that moment, standing in the grand living room of the pack house, I felt small.

The room, usually filled with warmth—the scent of burning firewood, the hum of conversation, the soft creak of old wooden floors—had turned into a battleground. The air was thick, charged with a hostility I had never felt directed at me before. The large leather chairs and worn stone hearth, once comforting, now felt like the walls of a cage closing in on me.

I forced myself to meet his eyes, squaring my shoulders even as my fists curled at my sides. “Angelina was my mate. But she wasn’t strong enough to be Luna, so I rejected her,” I said, my voice flat, steady. “She never even shifted. She didn’t have what it took to lead beside me. I needed a Luna who would strengthen our pack, not weaken it.”

The words felt hollow, even to me.

Triton, my wolf, snarled inside me, his rage hot and simmering.

“Liar,” he growled. “You needed her.”

I ignored him.

My father let out a sharp scoff, his grip tightening on the back of one of the leather chairs until his knuckles turned white. His broad chest rose and fell with the force of his barely restrained anger. “And you thought Marissa was a better choice?” His voice was full of disgust, sharp as a blade. “I raised you better than this, Lukas. You rejected your fated mate—the bond the Moon Goddess herself gave you—for what? A presumed stronger bloodline?”

My jaw clenched. “Angelina was weak.”

The c***k of my father’s fist slamming against the oak table split the air like a gunshot, making the entire room jump. A growl rumbled deep in his chest, raw and furious.

“She was from the Illuminae pack, you fool!” he roared. “Do you even understand what you threw away? Do you even know who they are?”

My blood ran cold.

The name alone sent a chill down my spine. It was a bloodline whispered about with awe, respect, and fear: the most elite, the most powerful, the wolves of legend. I had spent years thinking Angelina was just another pack member, assuming she was nothing special—never knowing that she carried one of the rarest bloodlines in existence.

And I had rejected her.

The realization burned, a sharp, acidic weight in my stomach. I forced myself to stay still, to keep my expression blank, to not react. But my father saw it.

He saw the shock, the regret, the flicker of panic I couldn’t quite suppress.

Before I could say anything, a sharp gasp echoed from the archway.

I turned just in time to see my mother, Luna Celeste, standing there, her hand clamped over her mouth, her eyes wide with something worse than anger—horror.

“You rejected your mate?” she whispered, her voice shaking.

I swallowed hard. “Mother—”

She stepped forward, her hands trembling, her entire body trembling, as if she couldn’t comprehend what she had just heard.

“Tell me it isn’t true, Lukas,” she pleaded, her voice cracking. “Tell me you didn’t reject the mate the Goddess herself gave you.”

I said nothing.

My silence was her answer.

My mother closed her eyes, her entire body shaking as if physically pained by my betrayal.

“How could you?” she whispered. “How could you be so… so cruel?”

Something inside me twisted, an uncomfortable weight pressing against my chest. But I pushed it away, buried it deep where it couldn’t reach me.

“I did what was best for the pack,” I snapped, frustration boiling over. “I needed a Luna who could protect our people, who could fight beside me—”

“You needed a mate,” my father cut me off, his voice cold, sharp, unforgiving. “Not a political tool. The Moon Goddess chose Angelina for you. Not Marissa. And you—” he exhaled shakily, shaking his head, disgusted, “—you threw her away like she was nothing?”

I set my jaw, lifting my chin. “Don’t worry. I’ll get her back.”

A sharp, bitter laugh sliced through the room.

Marissa.

I turned just as she stepped into the room, her green eyes blazing, fury rolling off her in waves. Her golden hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, her stance rigid—betrayed.

“What the hell do you mean you’re getting her back? You swore to reject her for me,” she demanded, stalking toward me.

I stiffened. “This doesn’t concern you.”

She let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Doesn’t concern me? Are you insane? I rejected my true mate for you, Lukas! I gave up my fated bond because you said we would be the perfect power couple. And now you’re telling me you’re running after the girl you rejected?”

I exhaled, irritated. “It wouldn’t have come to this if Angelina had just accepted what I offered her.”

Marissa’s breath hitched, her fists clenching at her sides.

“And what did you offer her, Lukas?” she whispered, her voice low, trembling with rage. “What did you offer?”

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t have to.

The moment stretched too long, my silence speaking for me.

And then—horrified silence.

Marissa staggered back as if I had physically struck her.

“You—” My mother let out a hollow, disbelieving laugh. “You wanted her to be your mistress? You really thought she would be with you as your mistress while you made another woman your Luna?”

I exhaled, frustrated. “I wasn’t going to let her go.”

Marissa’s hands shook. “And you expected me to be okay with that? I told you I don’t share, Lukas. I don’t care whether that b***h was your true mate or not.”

Before I could speak, another voice rumbled from the doorway.

“I’m sorry. Did you just say Lukas is not your true mate?”

I turned, my stomach plummeting.

Marissa’s father stood at the entrance, along with several pack members. From the disgusted looks on their faces, they had heard everything.

My father’s voice cut through the silence like a blade.

“You rejected your mate. You planned to keep her as a mistress. And now you want to hunt her down?” His lip curled. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

A thick, suffocating weight settled over me.

I have to find Angelina.