The Rejected Princess

CHAPTER1

Luna Monica woke knowing, before she even opened her eyes, that something was terribly wrong.

A lingering ache spread through her body, and for a while she kept her eyes closed, breathing through the pain and reminding herself that it was only the aftermath of childbirth, just as the healer had told her. But it was not the pain that frightened her. It was the words that had followed her into sleep.

The child has no wolf.

Alpha Mario had said them himself, only hours ago. He had confirmed it, and then confirmed it again, his voice growing colder each time, until there was nothing left in it but certainty. Then he walked out of the room without looking at the daughter in her arms. Monica had begged him for time. He had never answered her.

Now a strange, hollow feeling pulled at her chest, and her eyes flew open. Her first thought was of her baby.

She glanced at the cot, expecting to find her little one sleeping peacefully, but it was empty. Her heart stopped. For a moment, she could only stare, frozen in disbelief. The blanket was still folded. But the place where her daughter should have been was cold, and still, empty, and something inside Luna cracked. Panic surged through her, and she hurried out of the room.

“My Luna!” her maidens called after her, but their voices sounded distant. She barely heard them as she rushed through the palace corridors, breathing heavily, her heart pounding with one terrifying thought: Where was her baby?

The moment she reached the east corridor, she froze. Mario stood beside a burning fire, holding their baby in his arms, his face twisted with hatred and disdain. A cold dread washed over her as she realized what he had decided to do while she slept.

“Please, my Alpha,” she pleaded, rushing toward him, her voice trembling. “Calm down. Please, whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it.”

He slowly looked into her tear-filled eyes, his expression cold and unmoved. “Let me end this shame,” he said bitterly. “This baby is human. I have confirmed it myself. She has no wolf in her.”

“No!” the Luna cried, her body shaking with terror. “Please, stop! She’s our child. She’s your daughter too. Please!”

Mario looked at her for a long moment, and something in his face shifted. Not softened. Shifted. As though he was deciding how to make her understand.

“Monica,” he said, his voice dropping into a chilling calm. He held the baby up slightly, his eyes burning with disgust. “Look at her. Really look at her. There is no wolf in her blood. Nothing.” His jaw tightened. “Do you understand what this means? This baby is cursed.”

He stepped closer, his voice growing harder. “And once the other packs hear about it, they will smell weakness. They will come for us. They will tear this pack apart to prove that the mighty Alpha’s bloodline has finally fallen.”

Monica shook her head violently. “Please, she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

His eyes remained cold. “Wrong? Her very existence is a threat to everything I have built. Now get away from me, and let me put an end to this curse before it spreads.”

Luna Monica stared at the man she had loved her whole life, the man she had stood beside through everything, and she understood, with a clarity that shattered her heart, that he would not stop until the baby was dead.

Rage surged through her, hot and uncontrollable, drowning out her fear and heartbreak. Her entire body trembled as a fierce growl tore from her throat. At that moment, she was no longer looking at her husband. She was looking at the man threatening her child. With a furious roar, she transformed into a huge white wolf, snatched the baby from his arms, and bolted into the woods.

“Monica! Stop this madness and give me the baby!” Mario roared behind her.

She refused to look back. Her paws pounded against the forest floor as she raced deeper into the woods, keeping her baby close. Every instinct in her screamed to run. She knew he was coming after her, but she could not stop. Not when her child’s life was at stake.

Mario shifted into his wolf and gave chase. He was faster, steadily closing the distance between them. “Stop!” he growled. “Hand over the baby!”

Monica ran harder, but just as she thought she might escape, he caught up with her. His claws raked across her back, and a sharp jolt of pain shot through her body. She stumbled and cried out, and the force of the blow broke her transformation. She shifted back into her human form and fell to the ground, the baby still cradled safely in her arms.

“Give her to me!” Mario demanded as he approached.

Monica clutched the baby tighter against her chest and shook her head. “No... please. Don’t take her.”

He reached for the child, but Monica refused to let go. Desperation filled her eyes as she fought to protect her baby. Finally, he wrenched the child from her arms, shoving Monica to the ground in the process.

She gasped for air, her body trembling as she struggled to lift herself. Slowly, she looked up at him. Tears covered her face, but it was not fear he saw in her eyes. It was betrayal. She stared at the man who had been her husband, her protector, her home.

“Please...” Her voice was barely a whisper, fragile beneath the weight of her pain. “Don’t kill my baby.” Her gaze lingered on him for one last moment before her eyes slowly closed, and her trembling body went still.

Mario froze. “Monica?” His voice cracked as he stared at her lifeless body. For several seconds, he could not move. Then the truth struck him with devastating force. The Luna was dead, and their baby was still in his arms.

“No!” A raw, agonizing scream tore from his throat and echoed through the forest. He dropped to his knees, clutching the baby tightly as his entire body shook. “MONICA!” he roared again, his voice breaking beneath the weight of his grief.

Then, just as the grief threatened to consume him, a woman emerged silently from the darkness behind him. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and slowly patted his back, whispering words of comfort he did not hear. Her voice was soft. Her touch was tender.

But her lips curled into a faint, sinister smile, because the Luna’s place beside the Alpha had just fallen empty, and she

knew exactly who would fill it.