Rejected Mate's Stand

The familiar scent of pine and morning dew should have felt like coming home. Instead, as I stood at the edge of Moonstone Pack territory after two grueling years in the northern wastelands, something felt wrong. The air carried unfamiliar undertones—perfume I didn't recognize, laughter that didn't belong.

My fingers unconsciously brushed against the hearing aid tucked behind my left ear, a constant reminder of the rogue ambush that had nearly killed me six months ago. The device picked up sounds differently now, making everything feel slightly off-kilter. But what I was seeing through the main hall's floor-to-ceiling windows wasn't a problem with my hearing.

Clark—my mate, my Alpha—had his arms wrapped around a woman with flowing auburn hair. Luna Kennedy. My best friend.

The world tilted sideways as I watched him press his lips to her temple, his hand resting protectively on her rounded belly. She was pregnant. The intimate gesture, so tender and possessive, sent ice through my veins. Around them, visiting Alphas from neighboring packs nodded respectfully, their conversations carrying through the open windows.

"Luna Kennedy has done exceptional work managing the pack's resources," one Alpha was saying. "You're fortunate to have such a capable mate, Clark."

Luna. They were calling her Luna.

My legs nearly gave out. Two years. Two years I'd spent in frozen hell, fighting rogues with my bare hands, establishing border defenses that had saved this pack from extinction. Two years of Clark's voice in my mind through our mate bond, promising over and over: "I'll bring you home, Ava. Just hold on."

The last communication had been eight months ago, right before the ambush that damaged my hearing and nearly severed my connection to my wolf. I'd assumed the silence was due to the trauma, that our bond had been weakened but not broken.

Now I understood. He'd simply stopped trying to reach me.

Luna threw her head back and laughed at something Clark whispered in her ear, and the sound was like claws down my spine. She looked radiant, glowing with pregnancy and contentment, wearing a flowing blue dress that complemented her curves. Around her throat gleamed something that made my breath catch—the moonstone pendant. The sacred stone Clark had given me during our mating ceremony, carved with ancient pack symbols and blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.

She was wearing my necklace.

I stumbled backward, my scarred hands shaking as I tried to process what I was seeing. Pack members moved around the couple with easy familiarity, as if this was normal. As if Luna had always been their Luna. As if I had never existed.

"Two years," I whispered to the empty forest. "I gave them two years of my life."

My wolf stirred weakly in the back of my mind, a shadow of her former strength. Even she seemed confused by the betrayal, whimpering softly as she tried to understand why our mate's scent was intertwined with another's.

I forced myself to move toward the pack house, my