THE ALPHA'S REJECTED MATE

BOOK 5CHAPTER 11: THE WEDDING EVE

CHAPTER 11: THE WEDDING EVE

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow I was supposed to marry him.

The mansion was chaos.

Flowers. Guards. Seamstresses.

And me. Hiding in the library with a book I wasn’t reading.

My arm still throbbed. The poison was gone, but the memory wasn’t.

The door opened.

Luna Selene.

Alone.

She closed it behind her. No guards. No smile.

"Can we talk?" she said.

I closed the book. "If you’re here to threaten me, save it. I’ve heard it all."

She actually laughed. Tired. "I’m too old for threats, girl."

She sat across from me. Two enemies. No audience.

"Do you love him?" she asked. Blunt.

The question knocked the air out of me.

"That’s none of your business."

"It is," she said. "Because if you don’t, I can still stop this. If you do... then god help us all."

I looked at her. Really looked.

The lines on her face. The exhaustion.

This wasn’t the cruel Luna from chapter 4. This was a mother.

"I don’t know," I whispered. Truth. "I hate him. I need him. I want him. All at once."

She nodded. "That’s how it starts."

Silence.

"Damian was 8 when his father was killed," she said suddenly. "By a rogue pack. Right in front of him. He hasn’t slept through the night since."

My heart squeezed.

"He became Alpha at 20," she continued. "Too young. Too scared. So he built walls. And when the council told him to reject you... he did. Because he thought it would keep you safe."

"Safe?" I snapped. "From what?"

"From this." She gestured around. "From being Luna. From being a target. Ava, do you know why the Moonbane was in the water?"

I went cold.

"Because someone wants the Blackwood bloodline erased," she said. "Starting with the Alpha. Then his mate. Then his pups."

The word "pups" hit me like a truck.

"That’s why I fought you," she said. "Not because you’re weak. Because you’re in danger just by standing next to him."

The library door burst open.

Damian. Face panicked. "Mother. What are you—"

"Leaving," she said, standing. "I came to tell your bride that the wedding is off."

"What?" Damian and I said at the same time.

Luna Selene looked at me. "I was wrong about you. You’re not weak. But you’re going to die if you marry him tomorrow."

She walked to the door. Paused.

"There’s another way," she said over her shoulder. "A blood ritual. Old magic. It can sever the mate bond. Save her life. Save the pack."

She left.

The room was silent.

Damian turned to me. Slow. Like I might shatter.

"She’s lying," he said. "There’s no ritual."

"Isn’t there?" I asked. "Or are you just scared to lose me again?"

He flinched.

"Ava, listen to me." He dropped to his knees in front of me. Again. "I don’t care about the pack. I don’t care about being Alpha. If it means keeping you alive, I’ll burn this whole place down."

"Don’t say that," I whispered.

"It’s true." He took my hands. "Tell me what you want. The wedding. The ritual. Running away. I’ll do anything."

I stared at him. At the man who was choosing me over everything.

And then the lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Out.

Darkness.

A whisper in my ear. Not Damian’s voice.

Female. Cold. Familiar.

"The wedding will happen, Luna," the voice said. "But not to him."

A blade pressed to my throat.

Damian roared. "AVA!"

Pain.

And then nothing.

END OF CHAPTER 11

Word Count: ~1320

CLIFFHANGER: kidn*pped ON WEDDING EVE. VOICE SAID "NOT TO HIM". WHO TOOK HER?? IS THE RITUAL REAL?? BUY CHAPTER 12 NOW.