He Rejected Me, So I Let His Pack Fall

The crimson light of the Blood Moon bathed the clearing in a bloody hue. I stood at the center of the ceremonial altar, the cold stone seeping through my thin shoes.

Alpha Damon strode up the steps. His presence commanded the attention of every Silver Thorn Pack member encircling us.

"Are you ready?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

He didn't reach for my hand. He didn't even look at my face.

"Stand back, Selina," Damon ordered.

My eyebrows pulled together. "The ceremony is starting. We have to complete the binding."

"There will be no binding for us," he announced, his voice carrying over the silent crowd.

I froze. "What did you just say?"

Damon finally turned his gaze to me. His eyes held nothing but disgust. "I said, we are not completing the bond."

"You're joking," I whispered. "The elders are watching."

"I don't care who is watching," he shot back. He faced the hundreds of wolves below the altar.

"Look at her," Damon shouted, gesturing toward me. "Look at the mate the Moon Goddess supposedly destined for your Alpha."

Whispers broke out among the pack.

"She is eighteen years old," Damon continued, his voice harsh. "Eighteen, and she has never shifted. She possesses no wolf, no strength, and no power."

"Damon, stop," I said, stepping forward. "This is pack business, not a spectacle."

"You are the spectacle, Selina!" he snapped, turning back to me. "A weak, pathetic Omega who thinks she can sit at my side and rule the Silver Thorn Pack."

"I am your fated mate," I reminded him, my voice steady. I refused to cry. I gave a short, hollow laugh instead. "You can't just ignore the Goddess's will."

"I can, and I will." Damon took a step closer, towering over me. "I need a warrior, not a pet."

"I have served this pack my entire life," I argued. "I know the laws, the trade routes, the alliances. I can lead."

"Leading requires respect," Damon said, his lip curling. "No one in this pack respects you. They pity you."

"Because you let them!" I yelled, finally losing my composure. "You are the Alpha. If you stood by me, they would follow."

"Why would I stand by a cripple?" he asked.

The word hit me like a physical blow. "A cripple?"

"You are broken, Selina. The Moon Goddess made a mistake."

"The Goddess doesn't make mistakes," I whispered.

"Then she is punishing me," Damon replied cold and flat. "And I refuse to accept her punishment."

"So you're just going to throw me away?"

"I am fixing a mistake," Damon said. "I, Alpha Damon, reject you, Selina, as my mate and Luna."

The words struck me physically. A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my chest, severing the invisible thread that connected my soul to his. I stumbled back, clutching my shirt, but forced my knees to stay locked.

"You're rejecting me because I haven't shifted," I stated. It wasn't a question.

"I am rejecting you because you are a liability," Damon corrected. "A Luna fights for her people. You can't even defend yourself against a rogue pup."

"So power is all that matters to you."

"Survival is what matters to me," he said.

A female voice echoed from the front row. "He's right, Selina. The pack needs a real leader."

The crowd parted. Mia walked up the altar steps. She wore an elegant crimson dress that matched the moon above us.

"Mia," I muttered.

Damon reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to his side. "Mia shifted at sixteen. She is the strongest female in this pack. She is the Luna I choose."

Mia offered me a pitying smile. "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Selina. Step down gracefully."

"Gracefully?" I spat. "You've been plotting this. Both of you."

"We did what was necessary," Damon said.

"You sneaked around behind my back," I accused. "You shared his bed while I prepared for the binding ceremony."

"I shared his bed because he needed a real woman," Mia said, her tone laced with arrogance. "He needed someone who doesn't cower at the sight of blood."

"You stole my place," I told Mia.

"I earned it," she fired back. "You were just a placeholder."

"You think sleeping with the Alpha makes you a Luna?" I asked, my tone sharp.

Mia's eyes flashed gold. "I am a true wolf. You are barely human. Do not test me, Omega."

"Test you?" I laughed, the sound bitter and dry. "I don't need to test you. You're a thief."

"Watch your mouth," Damon warned, stepping in front of Mia. "You are speaking to your future Luna."

"She is nothing to me," I said.

"Let her speak, Damon," Mia interrupted, a cruel smirk on her lips. "Let the pack see exactly why she is unfit to rule."

The pack erupted into mocking laughter.

"Look at the human!" a warrior yelled from the back.

"She doesn't even have fangs!" another taunted.

"Put her in the kitchens where she belongs!" a third voice chimed in.

I scanned the faces of the people I had grown up with. None of them held an ounce of sympathy. My gaze landed on Elder Kael, the oldest and wisest wolf in the pack.

"Elder Kael," I called out over the jeers. "The ancient laws dictate the fated mate takes the title. Will you allow this?"

The old man leaned heavily on his wooden staff. He walked slowly toward the base of the altar.

"The laws were written for wolves, Selina," Kael said, his voice raspy but clear. "You are an Omega who cannot shift."

"I am still a member of this pack," I insisted.

"You carry no wolf spirit," Kael continued, ignoring my interruption. "To place a shiftless girl on the Luna's throne would invite our enemies to slaughter us."

"So you support him."

"I support the survival of the Silver Thorn Pack," Kael answered. "Alpha Damon has chosen a capable mate. The elders stand with him."

"Even if it means breaking sacred traditions?" I challenged.

"Traditions change when survival demands it," Kael said. "Go in peace, Selina. Accept your fate."

"My fate was to be Luna," I said.

"Your fate is whatever the Alpha decides," Kael retorted, turning his back on me.

I nodded once. The betrayal stung worse than the rejection.

"Fine," I said, my voice cutting through the remaining laughter. "Keep your title, Damon. Keep Mia. If I am so useless to you all, I will pack my things and move to the Omega quarters."

"You misunderstand," Damon said, his tone dropping an octave.

I narrowed my eyes. "Misunderstand what?"

"You aren't staying."

My heart slammed against my ribs. "What?"

"You are a disgrace to my bloodline and my pack," Damon declared, his voice booming again. "I strip you of your rank. I strip you of your pack name. You are banished from Silver Thorn territory."

"You can't do that," I said, my fists clenching. "I have nowhere to go."

"That is not my problem," Damon sneered. "You have until sunrise to cross the borders."

"I have no money, no supplies," I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

"You have two legs," Damon said. "Walk."

"And if I refuse?"

"If my patrols find you on our land tomorrow, they will kill you on sight."

"You would really order my death?" I asked, staring into the eyes of the man I had loved for years.

"Without hesitation," he answered.

Mia leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's a mercy, Selina. Go live with the humans. You belong with them anyway."

"Don't pretend you care about my safety," I shot back.

"I don't," Mia replied smoothly. "I just don't want your corpse rotting in our woods."

I looked at Damon one last time. "You will regret this."

"The only thing I regret is waiting this long to get rid of you," he replied.

"Remember this night," I told him, my voice dangerously calm. "Remember what you threw away."

"I'm throwing away trash," Damon said. "Now get out of my sight."

I turned around and walked down the steps. The crowd shoved me as I passed. Claws scraped against my arms. Someone kicked the back of my knee, but I caught my balance before I could fall.

"Get out, freak!"

"Go cry to the humans!"

"Don't let us catch you tomorrow!"

I kept my chin raised and walked straight into the dark forest, leaving the only home I had ever known.

The shadows of the trees swallowed me whole. The jeers of the pack faded into the distance.

But as I crossed the final tree line marking the border, a strange, burning sensation ignited in my veins.

A heat I had never felt before in my eighteen years of life surged through my blood.

My bones began to crack.