Rejected Luna Of The Cursed Alpha

Master's Order

She stepped forward.

"Being the Alpha of this pack does not give you the sole right to make such decisions without consulting the Moon Goddess. After all, we were all here when the Moon Goddess approved her to become the Alpha's wife and the mother of the future Alpha."

She slowly looked around the hall.

Whispers erupted immediately.

People murmured among themselves, some in agreement, others in disagreement.

"In times like this, we have the Custodian of the Moonstone, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself, to help relay the will of the Goddess," Pack Mother Mira concluded.

Elder Klaus stepped forward. "Mother Kiran," he called. "Please consult the Moon Goddess."

The Custodian of the Moonstone stepped into the center of the hall, the moonstone resting carefully in both hands. She closed her eyes and began whispering words too ancient for me to understand.

The entire hall watched in silence.

I found myself holding my breath.

My eyes drifted to Kael. His face was as hard as stone.

Then I looked at Serena. There was a strange smile on her lips.

A smile that made me uneasy.

My gaze returned to Mother Kiran. Her eyes slowly opened.

They settled on Serena.

At first, I thought it meant the Moon Goddess had favored Serena.

But when I looked closer...

I realized that wasn't what I was seeing, there was a form of communication between the both of them.

Then, all of a sudden, the Moonstone darkened.

A collective gasp swept through the hall.

Mother Kiran's hands trembled around the stone. Sweat rolled down her temple as though the weight of the words she was about to speak threatened to crush her. "The Moon Goddess sends her greetings," she declared, her voice echoing through the ceremonial hall.

She paused, her eyes lingering on Serena for the briefest moment before returning to the stone. "She says... the order established by the Goddess must not be overturned. Those born to serve must remain in their place, and she does not raise a maid above those she has already chosen."

Silence reigned in the ritual hall. For a couple of seconds, no one made any sound, but then the murmurs started.

"They were right…"

"A human was never supposed to turn into Luna."

"I suspected something like that."

"So it turns out that Serena was Luna all along."

Some people stared at me with pity.

While others weren't ashamed of revealing their happiness.

I froze on the spot.

All the words Mother Kiran had said reverberated in my mind.

Born to serve, you shall remain in your place.

Is that how the Moon Goddess sees me?

Was I naïve enough to expect that someday I'd be able to achieve something greater than being a maidservant?

My hands mechanically went to the moonstone necklace on my chest. The necklace that Kael put on me with his own hands. The necklace, which had belonged to his mother.

A couple of hours ago, I wore it with pride.

But now…

It weighed on me like iron.

Slowly, I pulled it over my head.

My shaking hands almost dropped it two times before they managed to undo the clasp. I stepped towards Kael.

He stared at me.

For the first time during this nightmare, our eyes truly met.

There was guilt in his.

There was nothing left in mine.

Without a sound, I slipped the necklace into his hand.

His hands automatically closed around it.

"Congratulations," I mouthed, forcing a smile that even I knew was broken. "I hope she makes you happy in ways I never have."

His mouth opened slightly. "Aria..."

I didn't give myself time to listen further, there was nothing more I needed to know. I turned around and started descending the stairs.

The people automatically made space for me.

No one stopped me.

No one called out my name.

No one followed me.

Every step became heavier but I fought off my tears.

Not now.

Not in front of these people.

Not in front of the maids who were my colleagues once.

I'd already lost all my dignity.

I wasn't losing my pride as well.

As I walked through the crowd, a dull pressure settled inside my head. For one impossible second...It wasn't just my own grief I felt.

Fear.

Confusion.

Pity.

Satisfaction.

They crashed into me all at once.

I stumbled.

Then, just as suddenly as it came, everything disappeared.

I rubbed my temple.

"Pull yourself together, Aria," I whispered to myself as I saw my baby in the nurse’s hand, and then I understood why she was there. I paused a bit in her presence.

No, I wasn't looking at her, I was looking at my baby. If only I could disappear, I would just snatch him and disappear to the ends of the earth, where no one would know the humiliation I had just gotten, where no one would be able to collect my baby or want to snatch him away.

But I moved past him.

I see no reason I should request for my baby, because I know there was no way my wishes would be granted.

I moved forward.

I could see the big ceremonial doors in front of me. Even as I approached them, Leo's scream rang out across the hall.

I froze.

All my instincts screamed at me.

They told me to go back.

To run to Leo.

To hold my baby in my arms.

To reassure him that his mother wasn't leaving him.

But I knew I couldn't.

My vision blurred.

I tightened my fists until my nails dug into my palms.

Then, without looking back...

I walked out of the ceremonial hall.

The doors closed behind me with a loud thud.

And with them...

The life I had believed was mine came to an end.

The second I left that room, all the tears that had been building up were now free to run, they ran and did not stop.

I did not stop because I could not.

If I stopped, I would crumble.

The road leading back to our mansion was before me.

To our mansion.

No…

Not ours anymore.

Mine. Kael's. Leo's.

This is what I thought all along, but now I knew the truth.

It wasn't mine any more.

It belonged to them.

The realization struck harder than the rejection itself.

All the events of the past week ran through my mind, each memory one after another. Serena bossing the maids around like it was her house. Changing the paintings. Moving around the furniture. The flowers… replacing the flowers with the ones Kael preferred.

It wasn't her redecorating.

She had been making way for herself to move into her own home.

And I…

I was just naive enough to miss that.

Maybe I didn't miss it, I was just hoping.

A bitter laugh tore through me before another tear fell.

I swiped at my tears with my hand and continued on.

I had nowhere to go.

I could not find myself wanting anyone to be with, except for Leo, but even he was taken away from me.

I did not know how long I kept walking.

The sounds from the ceremony had vanished behind me, replaced with the sound of rustling leaves and birds chirping. I did not even realize that I had ventured deep within the woods around the Valemont territory.

It was when I heard a snap of a twig that I stopped.

My heart stopped. "Who's there?" I asked, my voice trembling.

Silence.

I swallowed hard and made another step forward.

A low growl met me.

It was behind me.

Then another.

This time from the left.

My hair raised at the nape of my neck.

Slowly I turned.

Two rogues had come out of the bushes, staring at me with the hungry glints in their eyes.

One cracked his neck.

Another one sniffed the air.

"Well..." one of them smirked. "Since the Alpha has already thrown his human away, we can finally carry out our master's orders.”

The other one took a step closer, his claws coming out. "There is no one who would come to your rescue now."

I stepped back.

My foot slipped against the root.

I fell

The two rogues lunged.