It All Started With A Rejection

Emily’s POV

I always knew Luke didn’t love me, at least not the way a mate should. I’d tried convincing myself for years that maybe I wasn’t enough—too quiet, too different. But deep down, I knew the truth: it was never about me.

Then I found out why.

Ayla.

The cursed wolf from Luke’s past wasn’t just an old pack mate. She was his first love. The one who disappeared years ago, leaving him hollow. She came back, twisted by a curse, but he didn’t care. He was still obsessed with her.

She’d gone abroad to seek help, hoping to lift the curse that haunted her family. But she came back just as cursed, with no solution and no future. Luke didn’t care. To him, she was still the perfect, beautiful girl who had once held his heart. Whenever Ayla called, he’d drop everything for her, like I didn’t even exist.

For years, I had stayed by his side, loyal, foolishly hoping things would change. But Luke was always somewhere else—his mind, his heart, with her. And when Ayla needed him again, he gave her everything.

I watched him, dedicating himself to finding a cure for her, sacrificing everything, including us. He was still trying to save someone who didn’t even care about him.

I was done waiting for him to realize I existed.

Tonight, I was going to confront him. No more pretending. No more avoiding the truth.

I waited at the village square, watching the moonlight flicker through the trees. It was quiet except for the crackling of the fire nearby. Luke’s parents had already gone inside, unaware of the storm about to hit.

Then, I saw him. Luke, walking toward me, his expression hard and distant. The same face I had seen for years, closed off from me.

“Emily, what’s this about?” he asked, stopping a few feet away.

I stared at him, not saying anything for a moment. I didn’t even feel anger anymore. Just... emptiness. The air felt thick between us, charged with all the unspoken words and lingering feelings that had built up over the years.

“Why?” I finally asked, my voice low but steady.

He frowned, confusion flickering across his face. “Why what?”

“Why do you keep pretending I matter to you?” I said, my voice growing sharper with each word. “You’re never here, Luke. You’re always running after her. Ayla.” Her name tasted bitter on my tongue, like a poison I couldn’t swallow.

He shifted, uncomfortable, and I could see the tension in his shoulders. “You don’t understand—”

“I understand perfectly,” I cut him off, my heart racing as I stepped closer. “I know you love her. You’ve never stopped loving her. But what about me? I’ve been standing here, waiting for you to see me for years.”

The silence that followed felt like a weight pressing down on us. His gaze dropped to the ground, jaw clenched tight as if my words physically pained him. “It’s complicated,” he murmured, the words barely escaping his lips.

“No, it’s not!” I said, frustration bubbling up inside me. I took another step forward, my heart pounding. “It’s simple. You love her, not me. You’ve been stringing me along because you don’t want to let go of the past. But I can’t live like this anymore, Luke. I won’t.”

His eyes snapped back to mine, and for a moment, I saw the Alpha I fell in love with—a flicker of vulnerability before it hardened into something defensive. “I never asked you to stay. You chose to. You knew what this was.”

The words stung, but they didn’t surprise me. I had always known deep down. I opened my mouth to argue, to plead for some recognition of the pain I felt, but I was struck by the truth of his words. I had chosen this life, but that didn’t mean it was right.

“Maybe I did,” I said quietly, forcing the words through a tight throat. “But that doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to treat me like I’m second choice.”

He stood there, frozen, as if my words had paralyzed him.

“You have to decide, Luke. Is it me or her?”