After My Alpha Rejected Me for My Mother’s Killer

The moment my hands reached for Andie's throat, a powerful grip seized my arm, yanking me backward with such force that I stumbled. Dexter's fingers dug painfully into my flesh as he dragged me away from the Omega, his face a mask of cold fury.

"Enough!" he roared, his voice echoing through the hallway.

I struggled against his iron grip. "Let me go! She confessed, Dexter! She killed my mother!"

"Silence!" His eyes flashed dangerously as he pulled me through the corridors, my heels scraping against the polished floors.

Pack members emerged from doorways, their faces blurring as Dexter hauled me past them. My heart pounded wildly against my ribs as he shoved open the heavy doors leading to the pack courtyard.

"Everyone out!" he commanded, his Alpha voice carrying across the grounds.

Wolves of all ranks hurried from their duties, gathering in a wide circle around us. I could feel their stares burning into me—some confused, others curious, a few pitying. My cheeks flamed with humiliation as Dexter forced me to stand before them all.

"Kneel," he ordered, his voice dropping to that terrifying Alpha tone.

I stiffened, resisting the command. "No."

His eyes narrowed. "I said kneel."

The weight of his Alpha aura crashed down upon me like a physical force. My knees buckled despite my resistance. Aria howled in protest within me, fighting against the unnatural compulsion.

*Don't you dare,* she snarled. *We are Luna! We do not bow to him!*

But my body betrayed us both. I fell to my knees in the dirt, my hands braced against the cold ground to keep from collapsing entirely. Tears of rage and frustration burned behind my eyes.

"Look at me," Dexter commanded.

I raised my chin, refusing to let the tears fall. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you have harassed an innocent pack member with your delusions." His voice carried to every corner of the courtyard. "Andie has served this pack faithfully, yet you accuse her of murder based on nothing but your grief."

From the edge of the circle, Andie stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with triumph. Around her neck, my mother's emerald pendant caught the sunlight. Beside her stood Zyaire, his young face impassive as he watched his mother's humiliation.

"Apologize," Dexter demanded, looming over me. "Now."

I swallowed hard, my throat constricting with unshed tears. "I'm sorry," I forced out, the words tasting like ash.

"Louder," he insisted. "So everyone can hear your submission."

The pack watched in silence as I knelt there, dirt staining my clothes, my dignity in tatters. Some looked away in discomfort. Others—those loyal to Dexter—nodded in approval.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, my voice breaking. "I apologize for harassing Andie."

Dexter's lips curved into a cold smile. He reached down and gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. The crowd fell silent, sensing what was coming.

"But we both know that's not enough, don't we, Sierra?" he whispered, for my ears alone.

My heart stuttered. "Dexter, please—"

"Enough," he said, straightening to his full height. His voice rang out across the courtyard, formal and terrible. "I have made my decision."

A hush fell over the gathering. Even the birds seemed to cease their singing.

"I, Alpha Dexter West of the Crescent Moon Pack," he began, his voice resonating with power, "reject you, Sierra Matthews, as my mate and Luna."

The words hit me like physical blows. Each syllable tore through me, ripping at the bond that had connected us for years.

"I reject the bond forced upon us by circumstance. I reject your claims upon me, my position, and my pack."

Something inside me shattered. The mate bond—that sacred connection that had been part of me since the day we met—began to tear.

"No," I gasped, clutching at my chest as white-hot pain erupted beneath my ribs. "Dexter, don't—"

"I reject you now and forever," he continued mercilessly. "From this moment forward, you are no longer my mate. You are no longer Luna of this pack."

The final thread of our bond snapped with an almost audible crack. Agony unlike anything I'd ever experienced ripped through me, stealing my breath and my strength. I doubled over, a scream tearing from my throat as I collapsed fully to the ground.

Inside me, Aria howled in anguish, her very essence bleeding from the wound of our severed bond.

*Mine,* she whimpered, her voice growing fainter. *Our mate...*

"He's not ours anymore," I choked out, my words barely audible through the pain.

Through tear-blurred eyes, I saw Dexter turn away, Andie at his side, her hand possessively on his arm. My son—my beautiful boy—stood watching, his face betraying no emotion as his mother writhed in agony before him.

The pack dispersed slowly, leaving me alone on the cold ground, my body convulsing with waves of excruciating pain as the mate bond continued to tear itself apart inside me.