Rejected Luna Finds Freedom

The silver-tinged light of dawn filtered through the ancient pines as I ran with the pack, my paws barely making a sound against the soft forest floor. These morning runs used to fill me with joy—the wind in my fur, the connection to my wolf, Selene, the bond with my mate. Now, they were just another reminder of what I'd lost.

Selene stirred within me, her presence weaker than it had been in years. *Something's wrong, Isabella. His scent...*

I slowed, letting the other wolves dash ahead while I focused on what Selene had detected. Marcus bounded ahead, his powerful black form commanding the attention of every wolf in our pack. But beneath his usual musk of pine and dominance was something else—a delicate floral-herbal scent that didn't belong to him.

It wasn't the first time I'd caught the scent of another she-wolf on my mate. It was the ninety-ninth.

*Follow him,* Selene urged, her voice a whisper compared to the confident howl she once possessed.

I shifted back to human form behind a large oak, quickly pulling on the simple dress I'd tied around my ankle before the run. The pack was heading back to the main grounds, but Marcus had veered off toward the eastern border. I knew where he was going before I even began following him.

The sacred mating grounds.

My heart constricted painfully in my chest as I trailed him, keeping to the shadows of the trees. Each step felt like walking through quicksand, my body instinctively resisting the pain I knew awaited me. But I had to see. I had to know.

The mating grounds were a natural clearing encircled by ancient white oaks, their branches creating a cathedral-like canopy above a stone dais where countless generations of Alphas had declared their mates. Where Marcus had once declared me.

I crouched behind a grove of young saplings at the edge of the clearing, my fingers digging into the rough bark as I watched my mate—my Alpha—stride confidently into the sacred space. He wasn't alone.

She was young—perhaps barely twenty—with glossy black hair that cascaded down her back like a midnight waterfall. Her body moved with the fluid grace of a wolf in its prime, her golden skin practically glowing with vitality. Everything I used to be.

"Sophia Chen," Marcus's voice carried across the clearing, deep and rich with an authority that had once made me weak at the knees. "Today I bring you to our most sacred place."

Sophia. The daughter of the Crimson Moon Pack's Beta. I'd heard whispers, but I'd dismissed them as just another in the long line of Marcus's indiscretions.

"Alpha," she purred, her voice carrying a confidence that bordered on disrespect. This wasn't a she-wolf intimidated by standing in another Luna's territory. This was a woman who already considered it her own.

"The pack will know of your position today," Marcus declared, taking her hand and leading her to the stone dais—the very spot where he had once knelt