After My Mate Publicly Rejected His Luna

I felt it before I saw her—a disturbance in the air, like the moment before lightning strikes. The hairs on my arms stood on end as I arranged flowers in the pack house dining room, preparing for tonight's full moon ceremony.

"Luna, have you heard?" Ellie whispered, her omega status evident in her hunched shoulders as she hurried toward me. "The European Lycan Council delegation has arrived, and—"

The main doors burst open before she could finish. A wave of murmurs swept through the room as a group of wolves entered, but my eyes locked on only one—a woman with flowing auburn hair and piercing green eyes that scanned the room like a predator.

Sophia Blake.

My fingers tightened around the vase I was holding. My wolf, usually so quiet and submissive, growled deep within my mind.

Five years. It had been five years since Dominic had rejected her, choosing me instead. Five years of me trying to be the perfect Luna, supporting him, loving him, abandoning my dreams of becoming a healer to stand by his side. Five years of believing I was enough.

And now she was back.

"Luna Winters," Sophia's voice carried across the room as she approached, her smile sharp as a blade. "How... quaint to see you still arranging flowers. Some things never change, do they?"

I forced myself to stand tall, though my wolf cowered. "Welcome to Silver Moon territory, Miss Blake. The Alpha Council will be pleased to have the European delegation's input."

"Oh, I'm sure they will." Her eyes glinted. "Especially since I've brought such... intimate knowledge of your pack's leadership."

Before I could respond, the air shifted again. Dominic entered the room, his powerful aura washing over everyone present. My heart swelled with pride and relief at the sight of my mate.

But then I saw his eyes.

They weren't looking at me. They were fixed on Sophia, wide with something I'd never seen before—a hunger, a recognition that made my stomach twist into knots.

"Sophia," he breathed, his voice carrying a reverence I'd only heard in our most private moments.

She tilted her head, exposing her neck in a gesture that was anything but submissive. "Alpha Stone. It's been too long."

My wolf whimpered as something passed between them—something primal and electric that excluded everyone else in the room, especially me.

---

The full moon hung heavy in the night sky, bathing the sacred ritual grounds in silver light. Pack members gathered in a circle around the ancient stone altar, their excited whispers filling the air. As Luna, I should have been at the center of the ceremony beside my Alpha, but Dominic had asked me to oversee the preparations instead.

"It's a diplomatic matter," he'd explained that morning, not quite meeting my eyes. "The European delegation has requested a traditional blood-binding ritual to strengthen our alliance."

Now I stood at the edge of the circle, watching as Dominic and Sophia approached the altar together. My heart hammered against my ribs as Elder Mira began the sacred chant, her weathered hands lifting a ceremonial dagger that gleamed in the moonlight.

"The blood speaks, the moon witnesses," she intoned.

Dominic extended his palm, and Sophia did the same. The blade sliced across their skin, and their blood mingled in the stone basin.

But this wasn't just a diplomatic ritual. I could see it in the way Sophia's eyes locked with Dominic's, in the way their wolves seemed to reach for each other across the space between them. This was intimate—sacred in a way that made my presence feel like a violation.

"The bond remembers what the mind forgets," Elder Mira continued, and Sophia smiled, a secret, victorious curve of her lips.

My wolf, usually so docile, suddenly surged forward with a rage I'd never felt before. Before I could stop myself, I was moving toward the altar, my vision blurred with tears.

"Luna, don't—" someone whispered, but it was too late.

My hands connected with the ancient artifacts arranged on the altar's edge—ceremonial bowls, carved totems, symbols of our pack's history—sending them crashing to the ground. The shattering sound echoed through the sudden silence, fragments of pottery and stone scattering across the sacred earth.

Dominic's head snapped toward me, his eyes flashing with fury. "ENOUGH!" His Alpha tone hit me like a physical blow, forcing me to my knees. "You will show respect to our guests and to this ceremony."

Sophia's laugh was soft, musical. "Perhaps your Luna needs a reminder of her place, Alpha Stone."

"Submit," Dominic commanded, his voice cold and unfamiliar. "Submit to Sophia now, before all the pack."

Gasps rippled through the gathered wolves. This was beyond humiliation—it was a public declaration that I was lesser, that my position as Luna meant nothing.

With my wolf howling in anguish, I lowered my head to the ground at Sophia's feet, feeling the weight of dozens of stares burning into my back. Through tear-blurred eyes, I could see her delicate hand reaching down to stroke my hair, a gesture of false comfort that felt like acid on my skin.

"Good girl," she murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. "I always knew you were nothing but a placeholder."