Chapter 1
Elara pov
“I, Lucian Draven, Alpha of Moonfang pack, reject you, Elara, as my mate and Luna,” he declares. I close my eyes, inhaling sharply as the sharp pain grips me. Holding my chest in agony, I stare at him in disbelief, unable to believe the words that have just been uttered.
Reject? I must have heard it wrong. I shake my head and try to delude myself, but the pain that shoots through me is proof that this is real and isn’t just a bad dream that I want to wake up from. My mate is really rejecting me. I close my eyes and wrap my arms protectively around my stomach, looking at the floor.
“Say it back, Elara” His voice comes out cold, sending chills through me, but here I am, in a trance, my eyes still fixed on the marble floor, unable to register or comprehend what’s happening. My brain has completely shut down.
I always had a feeling that this day would come, but it came sooner than I expected. Lucian never loved me despite being with him for five years now, and it’s all because I am not his fated mate. His mate is my half–sister, Liora.
On the day of their wedding, she had eloped with someone else, leaving only a letter stating she wanted nothing to do with the Alpha of our pack because she had fallen in love with another. But the Alpha needed a Luna, and to avoid angering him, my father, an elder of the pack, made me marry him in her place. For five years, even when I knew Lucian wasn’t satisfied with me, I believed I could make him love me. I did everything to be the perfect Luna, quit my job at the hospital, and stopped doing everything I loved. I made no mistakes to make him happy.
Yet I had always lived in the shadow of my sister. His true love and his fated mate.
“Elara!” The yell seems to snap me out of my thoughts, and I open my eyes to look into his, but all that meets mine is a look completely devoid of any feeling.
“W–why are you doing this?” I finally manage to speak, but my words emerge as nothing more than a faint whisper.
Lucian sighs, running his hand through his hair, a habit he does when he’s frustrated. “Because she is back.”
It’s just a simple sentence, but I understand it too well. Tears cloud my vision, and it feels like I’ve forgotten how to breathe at that moment. Liora had returned a month ago, and we were all happy to have her back. She apologized for her decision and said she had learned her lesson. She was forgiven. But that was when he began to change. I saw him less, he found fault in every little thing I did, and he didn’t even want to touch me
anymore.
I should have known it’s all because of his first love, the perfect Liora, who isn’t wolf–less like me.
“So you want to reject me because of my sister! You want to break our mate bond because of Liora? E–everything we’ve been through for five years, you want to throw it out the window because of someone who wasn’t with you when you needed it!” I clench my fist and scream. The betrayal is too much to take in. This can’t be happening to me. Please let this be a bad dream–a joke even. But don’t do this, Lucian.
“Watch your tone, Elara,” he cuts me off, and his eyes darken, making him look dangerous. “I am still your Alpha. Do not forget who you’re addressing,” he warns and walks toward me with slow steps, making me move back until I’m backed against the wall with no space between us.
I can smell his scent, and I almost drown in it. The scent of the woods. It’s peaceful. It always made me feel safe. But then the harsh reality hits me hard when he holds me by the chin, forcing me to stare into his green eyes.
“Say it back and accept the rejection. I need Liora. My wolf needs her. We can be stronger if she’s ours, so let’s end it here peacefully and not drag this on longer than necessary.”
Peacefully? Rejecting me on a whim was peaceful?
A laugh escapes my lips, and I throw my head back, not caring anymore. The paper in my hand has been crumpled into a ball at this point, and the happiness from earlier has long vanished. I am tired. I am really fed up with this. This stupid constant battle to fight for his love and win him over. I was such a fool to think that a man as powerful and ruthless as Lucian would ever want a useless omega like me.
It takes me a few seconds to stop laughing, and when I look at him, I see a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but it’s quickly gone. He tightens his hold on my chin, and he’s about to say something, but I beat him to it.
“I will accept your rejection, Lucian. If that’s what will make you finally happy, then I will do you the favor. That will be my final act of kindness to you,” I say, trying to stop the tears that are threatening to spill.
Don’t cry in front of him. Give up. Enough is enough, Elara.
He loosens his grip on my chin and groans, taking a small step back. I watch as the color of his eyes flashes from green to black, as if Theron, his wolf, has been fighting for control, resisting him. Lucian growls and closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them again, they’re back to their original color–green.
1/2
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Chapter 1
“Say it,” he grunts with a frown as he awaits my acceptance.
I suck in a breath and feel my heart shatter into pieces. I am really nothing to him. The five years we spent together are nothing to him.
*I, Elara, the current Luna of Moonfang pack, accept your rejection and renounce my title as the Luna.” A small whimper escapes my lips as I feel the unbearable pain that courses through my veins with every breath. My heart aches like it’s being torn in two with a knife, and I feel myself losing my consciousness. But before I can fall, his hand grabs me, bringing me close to his chest, and the familiar warmth I once loved envelopes me. But this time, I no longer want it. Not anymore.
I weakly bring my hands to his chest to push him back. I do not want his sympathy.
“Elara-” He calls out my name, and I can hear a bit of worry in his voice, but I know better than to believe he cares.
“We weren’t meant to be together,” I whisper the words, refusing to meet his gaze for fear that I would break down in tears. “I do not regret the years we spent together, but you do not deserve me during those years. I hope that you live a happy life with the one you love, Alpha.” I hear him take a harsh breath at the word “Alpha.”
“Alpha,” he repeats, running his hand through his hair. I can see the slight hurt in his eyes, and for a moment, his icy gaze softens, but he swiftly regains composure and steps away from me.
“Don’t hate or blame your sister. This isn’t her fault. She is my mate, and she feels bad already, so I hope we can all get along well in this pack,” he states casually, but there’s a clear hint of threat in his tone. I look down at the paper clutched in my trembling hand, and a sad smile curves my lips as I hold back the tears.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Do you need anything else?” I ask, and after a few moments of silence, he shakes his head.
“Goodbye, Alpha Lucian.” I bow slightly before walking out of the study. My legs are heavy, and I can hear my footsteps in the hallway as I make my way to the room we share–the room they are now going to share.
The whispers and stares of the maids make the air feel suffocating, and I feel lightheaded. When I enter the room, I rush to the bathroom and double over, retching and losing everything I’ve eaten. Tears come crashing down, and my sobs fill the room as I weep uncontrollably.
I inhale sharply and wipe my eyes, but the tears continue to fall despite my attempt to stop them. It’s really over. He rejected me like I meant nothing to him. My shoulders shake as I let the tears flow. Glancing at the pregnancy report in my hand, I can feel my heart shatter as his rejection echoes in my ears. Tears blur my vision as I rip the paper into pieces before throwing it in the bin.
It is really over.
2/2
