Rejected beneath the full moon

The night I was exposed as wolfless the moon was full . It hung high above the Blackfang pack like a mocking eye, silver and merciless watching my as my life split open in front of everyone who had ever sworn to protect me. I stood at the center of the ceremonial grounds, barefoot on cold stone, my white Luna gown clinging to my skin as whispers rippled through the crowd. “Why hasn’t she shifted yet?” “She’s twenty.” “She’s the alpha’s daughter this makes no sense.” My fingers curled into fists. nail’s biting into my palms. I kept my head bowed, not because I was weak but because I could no longer bear the pity in their eyes. Or worse the suspicion. “Luna Elara,” the Elder called, his voice sharp enough to slice through the murmurs. “Step forward.” I obeyed. Every step felt like walking toward my execution. Tonight was supposed to be my ascension , my public confirmation as the future Luna of Blackfang , mate to Alpha heir Kael Nighthowl. Instead my wolf stayed silent. Dead. Or worse never there at all. “Shift,” the Elder commanded. The word echoed. I closed my eyes and reached inward, searching for something anything. I begged the moon. I begged the Goddess. I begged the void inside me to answer. Nothing. A full minute passed. Then another Gasped erupted. “She can’t…” “No wolf?” “That’s impossible.” The Elder’s eyes hardened. “Luna Elara has failed to answer the moon.” Silence slammed into the crowd like a blade. My heart cracked. “No,” my father barked, stepping forward. Alpha Ronan’s presence pressed against the grounds, his power flaring. “She just needs time.” Time. I’d had twenty years. Kael finally moved. My mate. The man I had loved since childhood. He stood tall, dark hair falling into his eyes, his gaze locked on me not with concern , not with love But with calculation. “Do it again,” Kael said coldly. The words cut deeper than the Elder’s. I swallowed and tried. Again, nothing. The moon didn’t answer. Kael turned away from me. And just like that, the bond between us shattered. “I, Kael Nighthowl,” he announced his voice ringing through the grounds, “reject Elara of Blackfang as my mate. The world exploded. The pain hit instantly sharp, vicious, unforgiving. I screamed as the bond tore out of my chest , dropping to my knees as fire ripped through my veins. I tasted blood. Rejected. Publicly. Brutally. Gasps turned into outrage. “She’s wolfless!” “She deceived us !” “A wolfless Luna is a curse!” I lifted my head, tears streaming, vision blurred. Kael didn’t look back. Instead he extended his hand toward another woman standing among the elites Selene. Powerful. Smiling. “She ,” Kael said, “will be my Luna.” That night, the moon watched as I lost everything.