The Rejected Luna Rises

The wolf inside me screamed for blood. Fury throbbed in every nerve, coiled tight and volatile, ready to snap the fragile leash I’d kept wound around it for so long. My hands trembled at my sides, fingers twitching with the primal urge to strike—to rip out Helen’s throat and end her cruelty once and for all. But I held back.

Not now.

Not yet.

So instead, I exhaled softly and curled my lips into a small, almost innocent smile. A faint giggle passed my lips, as light as a feather and twice as hollow. I tilted my head in false curiosity, wide-eyed and silent like the naive little fool they all believed me to be. Let her think I still lived in silence. Let her believe I hadn’t heard her words.

Helen’s brow lifted slightly at my reaction, her smirk deepening in smug satisfaction. “Honestly,” she sighed, shaking her head with exaggerated pity, “it’s almost sad. You really are as dumb as you look, aren’t you?”

She gave her swollen belly another long, deliberate stroke, her fingers moving in slow, theatrical circles. Then, as though bored of the game, she pivoted toward the door, eager to rejoin the others—no doubt planning to slide into the seat beside Daniel like the victor she believed herself to be.

Something in me snapped loose.

My body surged forward before reason could restrain me. My hands shoved her hard, fueled by a rage I could no longer contain.

Helen stumbled back with a startled gasp, her heels slipping on the polished marble. Her body hit the floor with a harsh crack that echoed off the bathroom walls. A shriek followed—sharp and piercing like a wounded animal. My breath caught as the sound ricocheted around us, impossibly loud, deafening in its clarity.

I froze. Heart pounding.

Then, I dropped into character.

My eyes widened in mock horror. I slapped a trembling hand to my lips, taking an uncertain step forward as if consumed by remorse. My hand reached out, hesitating in the air while I watched her writhe in exaggerated pain. My gaze darted to the door with feigned confusion, lips parting in silent alarm.

Footsteps thundered down the hallway—fast and many.

The door slammed open.

Gasps filled the air, followed swiftly by a chorus of mutters and murmurs. My father stood among them, his face twisted with fury. I barely had time to process his glare before his hand lashed out, striking me across the cheek with brutal force.

Pain exploded through the side of my face. My skin stung, hot and raw, the impact sending me staggering sideways.

“You shameless girl!” he bellowed, his voice cold and venomous. “What madness possesses you?”

I blinked through the haze of pain and humiliation, my cheek pulsing with each frantic beat of my heart. I barely had time to react before Daniel barreled past me, not sparing me even a fraction of attention. His arms swept Helen up from the floor, cradling her like a broken treasure.

“Are you alright?” he murmured, his voice thick with concern. He scanned her face, his expression unreadable except for the panic lining his eyes.

Helen whimpered softly, clutching her belly with one hand while pressing the other against his chest. “My baby…” she whispered dramatically.

Daniel’s gaze shot to mine, his eyes burning with fury. “If anything happens to this child,” he hissed—no signing, just low, deliberate words—“you’ll answer for it, Maurice. I swear it.”

His child.

I froze. My mind whirled.

His… child?

The implication struck harder than my father’s slap. I had known she was pregnant, of course. I’d seen her flaunt the bump, rub it like a trophy. But I had never imagined—not for one moment—that Daniel was the father.

My mate.

My chest tightened painfully. My thoughts spun out of control, the edges of my vision tunneling as realization settled in like ice water in my veins.

I kept my face blank, allowing only a hint of confusion to play across my features. I glanced around slowly, seeing the pack’s stares closing in like blades.

“She’s completely unhinged,” someone muttered near the back.

“She tried to harm a child,” another added with a sneer. “Her Luna title should be stripped.”

“She’s a threat. Deaf or not.”

“No wonder the goddess never gave her a child. She would’ve destroyed it too.”

The words pierced deep, carving into wounds that had barely begun to scar. I clenched my fists at my sides, willing myself not to flinch. Not to scream. Not to let them see me fall apart.

I turned my eyes to Daniel, desperate for something—anything—that might contradict this nightmare. But there was nothing in him for me. No pity, no doubt. Only fury and a wall of protectiveness aimed at someone else.

At her.

His grip on Helen tightened as he turned away, shielding her from me as though I were some cursed thing. Some danger that needed to be kept away from what was his.

Then they left.

Daniel. My father. The entire pack.

One by one, they turned their backs and walked out, their footsteps receding into silence, leaving me surrounded by nothing but the fading echo of their disdain.

And the cold.

The silence roared.

I stood alone, motionless, the weight of their rejection bearing down on me like a landslide. My jaw locked. My fingernails dug into my palms. My lungs refused to draw a full breath.

But beneath the pain, another emotion began to rise—quiet at first, but steady.

Not sorrow.

Not grief.

Resolve.

It whispered through me like steel in the dark, curling into the places where hope had once lived.

They had humiliated me. Betrayed me. Cast me aside.

But they had no idea what I truly was.

And what I would become.