My Alpha Rejected Me for a Luna Who Poisoned Me

I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped into the ceremonial clearing. My legs trembled beneath me, and not just from nerves. For weeks now, I'd been feeling off—dizzy spells, weakness that settled into my bones like winter frost. Jennifer kept insisting it was just stress, pressing those herbal teas into my hands with her practiced smile. "Drink up, dear. You need your strength for the ceremony."

The ceremony. My mating ceremony.

The Blood Moon Pack had gathered in a wide circle around the ancient stone altar, their faces lit by torchlight. I was Olivia Moore, daughter of the Beta bloodline of Silvercrest Pack, and tonight I would finally meet my fated mate. The Moon Goddess had chosen him for me before I was even born.

Then the scent hit me.

Pine and leather, sharp and commanding. It cut through the smoke and the crowd like a blade, and my wolf—silent for so long I'd almost forgotten her voice—stirred weakly inside me. *Mate.* The word echoed in the hollow space where she used to be strong.

David Gilbert stepped forward. Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. Powerful. Respected. Feared.

Mine.

I moved toward him on instinct, my body responding to the pull even as my vision swam. The bond crackled between us, electric and undeniable. I could feel it wrapping around my ribs, tightening with each step.

But David wasn't looking at me the way an Alpha looks at his fated mate.

He was looking at me like I was broken.

His gaze swept over my pale face, my trembling hands, the way I had to lock my knees to stay upright. Then his eyes shifted past me, landing on Brittany. My half-sister stood at the edge of the circle, her chin lifted, her smile sharp as glass. She looked radiant. Strong. Everything I wasn't.

"No." David's voice cut through the clearing, and the pack fell silent. "I can't do this."

The words didn't make sense at first. I stood there, swaying, waiting for him to explain. Waiting for him to reach for me.

Instead, he took a step back.

"I, David Gilbert, Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack—" His voice shifted into that tone, the one that made wolves drop to their knees. The Alpha command. "—reject you, Olivia Moore, as my fated mate."

The bond snapped.

I'd heard about rejection before. Whispered stories of wolves who couldn't bear the pain, who went feral or died from the severing. But nothing prepared me for the reality of it. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and ripped out my spine. I collapsed, my knees hitting the dirt hard enough to bruise.

"Your weakness endangers this pack," David continued, his words falling like stones. "Your family's treasonous blood—your grandfather's betrayal—I will not tie myself to that legacy. This pack needs a Luna who can stand beside me. Not someone who can barely stand at all."

He turned to Brittany, extending his hand. She took it, her fingers