Purple Crescent Moon

Chapter 2. Head Held High

Rey POV

My mate glares at Sasha, practically gyrating on me, and smirks. She leans forward and inhales my scent as if she is committing it to memory. She stands tall, focusing on my eyes with her triple irises as they turn a deep amber red with specks of gold flashing in them.

"I, Anya Negra, Queen of Lycans, reject you Alpha Rey Gold as my Mate and King. We are nothing from this day forward, never to love, mate, or produce heirs." She declares with power

As the words leave her mouth, I feel Jax howl in agony. I bend over in pain, clutching my chest. I feel my heart break into a thousand pieces. I begin to sweat profusely, and the air around me becomes humid and thick with my anxiety; my blood boils from the rejection. I peer up at my beautiful mate as a soundless scream escapes my mouth; she starts to turn around but stops and looks at me from her side.

"I hope never to see your face again, Rey...Accept my rejection before you mark…her" She spits the last words out while glaring at Sasha. She flares her Aura out dangerously, causing a gust of wind to rush around her, billowing out into the crowd. The action causes all attendees to fall to their knees and angle their necks in submission. Sasha whimpers at the involuntary movement of her neck as she tries to resist it. My mate's power caresses my body and whispers for me to submit to her. As an Alpha, I submit to no one, but I feel I must to this power. My wolf Jax whines at his mate's undeniable power and submits, forcing my neck to expose to her. Anya's tri-colored eyes fall on me once more before she turns away with a swirl of her white gown. As humiliating as it is to be rejected by my mate, I never thought it would be like this. My world abruptly becomes dark. I growl, fighting not to pass out from her power and the pain of the rejection. As Anya leaves, her power recedes; the crowd parts and bows at her as she floats away…

My mate is the Queen of all f*****g Lycans, THE Anya Negra… and I couldn't do a damn thing about it as I watched her figure leave me.

Anya POV

My wolf, Athena, howls in anguish at the rejection. The pain of us rejecting our mate also pains her, but we've always been in sync; I know she understands why I did it. I block out her cries as I continue to act unphased by what happened. When I reach the huge 20 ft glass doors, the muscular, tall guards dressed in all black bow their heads and open them without me having to wait. I quickly walked to the black Mercedes-Benz S 500 waiting for me. I had mind-linked my Beta Shayla to bring it around a few seconds ago.

The chauffeur opens the door for me; I slide in and stop a trembling whimper from escaping from my mouth… I grab at my chest again and imagine my mate. He was so beautiful.

6'7, taller than most werewolves and Lycans, he has tanned skin with wavy inky black hair that stops at the nape of his neck. His eyes were a piercing glacial green that flickered between gold and emerald from his emotions with dark thick lashes. He has a solid upturned nose that's above beautiful thick fleshy lips. A strong angled jaw with a wide neck leads to massive shoulders, like a f*****g Greek God.

I think back to a few moments ago…The scent led me to him; My Mate smelled like the forest that calls to all of our wolves. He smelled like blooms, fallen leaves, and pine; it clung to him like an expensive cologne. His scent instantly made me wet with anticipation of his dominance. When I eventually stopped drooling over his perfect face, I saw his huge biceps and long arms. He had a tight waist with the promise of an 8-pack under his tux. You could even see his quads popping through the pants he wore. Honestly, he looked like a King… My King..or so I thought.

The reality is that my life is not what it appears to be. My name is actually Rani, and I woke up a week ago as Queen Anya. I still seem like myself, but everyone believes I'm The Queen of Lycans; I acquired the Queen's memories and still have some of my past life even though I can't truly remember how I died. I have accepted this new world; I have no other answers as to how I got here... My recent memories let me know that Queen Anya refused to take a chosen mate, expecting to find her true mate eventually. I agree with the sentiments; even in my past life, I was a virgin and declined many chosen mate requests from unmated wolves. Finding Rey was supposed to be the best thing that's ever happened to me…

A true Mate is more important than life. No wolf nor Lycan would ever just throw that away. When I saw the puny little she-wolf clinging onto his arm and practically gyrating her teeny breast on him, I was confused but mostly just pissed off. Athena had tried to push my claws then seeing this b***h touching what was ours. Athena had growled "MINE!" ferociously at the she-wolf, but of course, the b***h couldn't hear that; only I could. Hearing him confirm that not only was she his chosen, but he planned to mark her felt like a knife stabbed into my already fragile heart. But I'd be damned if I let them see it. I'd instead reject the coward before feeling them consummate the union through our mate bond.

I know I made the right decision when Rey didn't sweep me off my feet instantly like most would have done. The mate bond is usually strong enough to tear chosen apart within minutes of meeting their true mates. This is why selecting a chosen is frowned upon unless both wolves' true mate has died or there is a perfect reason they can't be together... He didn't do that; he chose her…

I gazed out at the Gold estate's castle back in the car; it was colossal, with huge windows flickering with soft lights illuminating it from the ground up. The castle was gray with an old English ambiance but with a modern twist. Truly a beautiful piece of architecture. I chuckled, thinking of last week when I woke up as The Queen, confused about how I got into the lavish 1000 sq ft bedroom. A week ago, I remembered living as an Omega with my Mother, cleaning the packhouse daily. Somehow, the Moon Goddess, I assume, reincarnated me into the real Anya's body, and within seven days, I was invited to the Gold Mate ceremony, meeting my mate that I never had in my past life. It was indeed a f****d up turn of events. I tore my gaze from the castle and called to the driver.

"I'm ready."

The driver put the car into gear just as the front door was torn open. My mate, ex-mate Rey, ran from the front door to the vehicle with emerald glowing eyes. I could tell it was his wolf in control now. My wolf Athena howled, and my claws started to push out. I squeezed my thighs so hard that the claws pierced through my white dress, leaving bloody marks.

"Drive, NOW!"

The car pulled off as Rey slammed into my window, screaming, "Stop!!!"

I kept my face forward and didn't even spare him a glance. He ran with the car beating on my window until he could no longer keep up. I turned to peek out the back window. He was on his knees, howling the most somber howl, the howl of a wolf in pain. It ached my heart to its core… I turned my head back as one tear started to fall.

Rey POV

My knees melted to the floor as the black Mercedes sped off, becoming smaller and smaller. I was heaving breaths out, not just from running as fast as possible but from the pain I felt from the rejection. I hung my head down in grief…