THE SUPREME ALPHA’S FORBIDDEN LINA

THE REJECTED

My knees slammed into the floor. Pain shot through me so fast, I forgot how to breathe. I pressed both hands to my mating mark—it was like someone had jammed a hot knife under my skin and kept twisting.

“Elara!” Adrian’s voice sounded so distant.

My wolf howled inside me. Not with anger. With fear.

I curled over, fighting to stay awake.

“What did you do?” Adrian dropped down next to me.

I shoved his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

“Elara, you’re burning up.”

“Stay away.”

He stopped moving. I could barely see him, tears blurring everything in front of me. The mark on my neck beat beneath my fingers—once, then again, a third time. Each pulse sent pain rolling right through me.

My wolf had always been gentle. She’d never fought Adrian, never questioned him. She took him as our mate from the moment our bond snapped into place.

Now she was clawing at the bond, desperate to get away.

None of it made sense.

Adrian tried to touch me again, but I didn’t have any strength left. He grabbed my shoulder.

“Elara, look at me.”

I managed to look up. His face had gone pale. For a second, he almost looked scared—not for himself. For me. That hint of concern almost cracked the wall I’d built up.

“Adrian…” My voice broke. “I don’t understand.”

He swallowed. “I know.”

“You said the Moon Goddess made a mistake.”

“I know what I said.”

“Then why does it hurt so much?”

He stared at my mark and said softly, “I don’t know.”

That scared me even more. Adrian was supposed to know. He was supposed to protect me. He promised nothing would ever come between us.

I reached for his hand. He looked surprised. I hated myself for it, but love doesn’t just vanish because you saw him with your sister. Not in a night. Not in one breath.

I needed to ask him, one last thing.

“Adrian.” I waited until he met my eyes. “If I let you go…” My throat tightened, but I pushed through. “If I let you go, will you ever regret this?”

He changed—something inside him shifted. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. I waited—one second, two, three.

He looked away.

That was my answer.

I let go of his hand.

“All right.”

“Elara—”

“No.” I rubbed away tears. “You don’t have to say anything else.”

I tried to stand, but my legs buckled. Adrian caught me.

“Let me help you.”

I pushed at his chest. “I said no.”

“You can’t stand.”

“I’ll stand.” My voice wobbled. “But I won’t let you carry me.”

He watched me. “Elara, you’re hurt.”

“I know.”

“You need help.”

“I know.”

“Then stop fighting me!”

I looked right at him. “I’m not fighting you. I’m trying to survive you.”

He went silent. I heard Lena crying behind him, but I couldn’t look at her. If I did, I’d fall apart.

Adrian finally let go. I braced against the wall, one shaking hand, then the other. My legs nearly gave out, but I forced myself up. Almost collapsed, but didn’t.

I stood—barely.

Adrian looked at me with something I didn’t want to name. Guilt. Maybe pity. I didn’t want either.

I straightened. “I’m leaving.”

He asked, “Where will you go?”

I managed a tired little smile. “Somewhere you aren’t.”

One step. Pain flared. I kept going—step, step—to the door.

My fingers closed on the handle.

“Elara.” His voice followed.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t turn. “I’m sorry,” he said.

I almost laughed. Sorry? That word meant nothing now.

“Keep it.”

And I left.

—

The hallway felt so much colder. Or maybe that was just me. My whole body felt empty. The bond that used to fill my chest with warmth? Gone. Or almost gone. A thread still there—thin, painful, refusing to let go.

Why wasn’t it gone? Adrian rejected me. Shouldn’t the bond have snapped, just disappeared?

My wolf was barely present, curled up deep inside, trembling.

I’m here, I whispered to her.

She didn’t answer.

Propped up against the wall, I made myself keep moving.

Halfway down, I heard footsteps behind me. I knew who it was. I kept walking.

“Please, Elara.”

Lena. My sister. Her voice used to make me feel safe. Now it just made my stomach twist.

“Go away.”

She stopped. “I just want to talk.”

“I don’t.”

“I know you’re angry.”

That got me to turn. “Angry?” She flinched. “Is that what you think this is?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Then why did you?” I stared her down.

She looked at the floor. “I tried to stay away from him.”

“How long?”

No answer.

I laughed, but it was bitter and small. “Exactly.”

“Elara, I swear—”

“Don’t.” I wiped my face. “You don’t get to make promises to me anymore.”

She reached out, taking a slow step forward. I stepped back.

“Please.”

“No.”

She froze, and we just stood there, staring. I saw her as a child—hiding behind me from our parents, crawling into my bed after nightmares, calling me her favorite person. I thought that bond could weather anything.

I was wrong.

She whispered, “I love him.”

There it was. Plain and simple. And cruel.

I met her gaze and nodded. “I know.”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“You keep saying that.”

She sobbed. “I can’t stop loving him.”

I wanted to scream. Instead, I whispered, “Then don’t.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Love him.” My voice was flat. “Choose him.”

Tears kept rolling down her face. “You already did.”

I turned to go. She caught my wrist.

“Please don’t hate me.”

I looked at her hand on my arm, then at her face. “I don’t know what I feel yet.”

She let go.

And I walked away.

I didn’t hate her—not yet. That almost made it worse. Because hate would be easy.

—

By the time I reached the stairs, everything was fuzzy. I gripped the railing, dragging myself down, step by step. My body felt heavier with every movement. I never realized how much strength the bond gave me, until it started to leave.

My wolf was weak. My muscles were weak. Even breathing was hard work.

But I didn’t sit down. I didn’t cry in front of anyone. I wasn’t going to.

At the bottom of the stairs, a few servants glanced away. One whispered something, another one stared at my neck. Word spread fast around here. Too fast.

I knew what they were saying—Adrian rejected her. Adrian picked Lena. She’s not going to be Luna.

I hung my head and kept moving. I just wanted to disappear.

But there it was—the pack hall, right ahead. The place where the Moon Ceremony was supposed to happen. Where Adrian and I were supposed to stand side by side tonight. Where everyone was waiting.

I stopped at the doors. My heart hammered. Inside, voices—so many voices. Hundreds.

I closed my eyes. For a second, I imagined running into the forest. Just never coming back. But really, where would I go? What would I do? My whole life was here. My patients, my work, my world. Even my dreams.

I couldn’t let Adrian choosing Lena ruin all that.

I opened my eyes.

The doors to the hall were cracked open. I heard the voices: murmurs, whispers, laughter.

Then—someone said my name.

“Elara has already been rejected.”

My stomach plummeted.

Someone else replied, “Everyone knows.”

“How embarrassing.”

“Imagine losing your mate to your own sister.”

Laughter.

My hand crunched into the edge of the door. They already knew. Of course they did. News like this—nobody kept it quiet.

I glanced down the hall. Empty. Someone wanted the pack to know.

I swallowed hard, hand pressed to my aching mark. Under all the pain, there was something else—a weird humming, like a ghost of the bond.

Then the doors swung wider. Everything got quiet. Heads turned. Dozens. Then hundreds.

Every eye landed on me—my ruined dress, my bloody mark, the girl who walked into the ceremony thinking she’d become Luna and just walked out alone.

Someone whispered, “She came.”

Another: “Look at her.”

My legs wobbled, but I kept my balance. I had to.

I lifted my chin and walked into the hall.

The whispers followed me, crawling after me in the dark.

Then I saw someone in front, smiling—mocking, not kind.

And that’s when I finally understood. They hadn’t come to celebrate my future.

They came to watch me lose everything.