After My Alpha Rejected Me for a Fake Luna

The grip on my arms was bruising, a stark reminder of my new reality. I wasn't the cherished daughter of Alpha Garrett anymore; I was the broken thing that had ruined the Alpha's ceremony. The guards dragged me toward the exit, their fingers digging into my flesh like iron claws. The humiliation burned hotter than the tears streaming down my face, but beneath the shame was a primal, screaming panic.

"Let me go!" I shrieked, my voice cracking.

One of the guards, a burly Delta from Isaac's pack, sneered. "Alpha said to get you out of his sight. Stop fighting, Omega."

Omega. The demotion hit me like a physical blow. But as we neared the heavy oak doors, the burning pain in my chest—the severing of the mate bond—flared into an inferno. It was too much. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't be touched.

With a surge of adrenaline born from pure terror, I stomped hard on the Delta's instep. He grunted, his grip loosening for a fraction of a second. It was all I needed. I wrenched my arm free, stumbling sideways, and bolted. I didn't run toward my father’s car. I didn't run toward safety. I just ran away. Away from the laughter, away from Isaac’s cold eyes, and away from the woman wearing my life around her neck.

The cool night air hit my tear-streaked face as I sprinted into the neutral territory woods bordering the Dark Claw estate. The pristine white ceremonial dress, now stained with vomit and dirt, snagged on briars, tearing with sickening rips. My lungs burned, but I pushed harder, desperate to put distance between myself and the rejection that had shattered my soul.

*Shift,* I begged my inner wolf. *Please, just shift. Help me.*

Silence. Just the hollow, echoing void where she should have been. I was human, weak, and alone.

A gnarled root caught the toe of my heel. I cried out as my ankle twisted with a sickening pop, sending me crashing onto the damp earth. Pain shot up my leg, blinding and white-hot. I scrambled backward, clutching my throbbing ankle, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

Then, the smell hit me.

It wasn't the clean scent of pine or rain. It was rancid—like wet dog, stale tobacco, and rotting meat. My stomach clenched. I knew that scent. It was the scent of my nightmares.

Three shadows detached themselves from the darkness of the trees. Their eyes reflected the moonlight, glowing with predatory hunger. Rogues.

"Well, well," a raspy voice drawled from the largest shadow. A man stepped forward, his clothes tattered, his teeth yellowed in a grin that made my blood freeze. "Look what the Alpha threw away."

I couldn't move. The old terror, the paralysis that had ruled my life for three years, seized my muscles. My throat closed up. I tried to scream, but only a whimper escaped.

"Please," I whispered, pressing my back against the rough bark of a tree.

"Don't worry, little Luna," another rogue snickered, circling to my left. He reached out, his dirty fingernails grazing the exposed skin of my shoulder. I flinched violently, nausea rolling over me. "The Boss said we can't kill you. Not yet. She wants you scared first."

*The Boss?* The words floated through my panic, making no sense.

The first rogue lunged, grabbing the hem of my ruined dress. He yanked hard, the fabric shrieking as it tore away, leaving my leg exposed to the biting cold. "Let's hear you scream. I bet you sound just like you did three years ago."

Flashbacks assaulted me. The dark room. The rough hands. The helplessness. I curled into a ball, covering my head with my arms, shaking so violently my teeth chattered. They were going to hurt me. They were going to finish what they started.

A low, thunderous growl vibrated through the ground, shaking the leaves on the trees.

The rogues froze. The leader sniffed the air, his eyes widening in terror. "Alpha!"

A massive black wolf burst through the underbrush, a blur of shadow and fury. He collided with the leader, snapping his jaws with a bone-crushing sound. The rogue didn't even have time to scream before he was thrown into a tree, limp. The other two didn't wait; they turned tail and scrambled into the darkness, yelping as the black wolf snapped at their heels.

Isaac.

The black wolf shimmered, bones cracking and reshaping until Isaac stood there in his human form, his chest heaving, his ceremonial suit torn. He looked wild, dangerous... and safe.

"Isaac," I sobbed, the relief so overwhelming it nearly made me pass out. Despite everything—the rejection, Alison, the pain—my heart still recognized him as my protector. "You came."

I reached out to him, my trembling hand grasping for his arm, needing the comfort of his skin, the anchor of his presence.

But before my fingers could graze his sleeve, he recoiled. He jumped back as if I were covered in acid, his face twisting in a mixture of horror and revulsion.

"Don't touch me!" he roared, his Alpha voice slamming into me.

I froze, my hand hovering in the air. "Isaac? They... they were going to..."

Suddenly, Isaac stiffened. His eyes glazed over, losing focus as he entered a mind-link. His face went pale, draining of all color. He staggered back, clutching his head, a guttural sound of agony ripping from his throat.

"No... No! Alison!"

He dropped to his knees, gasping for air, tears instantly welling in his eyes. When he looked up at me, the cold indifference from the ceremony was gone. In its place was a hatred so pure, so volatile, it terrified me more than the rogues ever could.

"What did you do?" he whispered, his voice trembling with rage.

"I... I didn't do anything," I stammered, confused. "I was just running..."

"Liar!" He scrambled to his feet, looming over me. "Alison just linked me. She's in pain. She's bleeding."

My confusion deepened. "I don't understand..."

"She says she can feel it," Isaac spat, pacing frantically, running his hands through his hair. "Dark magic. Witchcraft. It’s draining the life from our pup! She says it’s tied to you—that you cursed her the moment you touched her dress!"

"That's not true!" I cried, trying to stand on my injured ankle but collapsing back down. "Isaac, please, she's lying! I don't know any magic!"

"She's losing the baby, Luna!" Isaac screamed, the sound echoing through the woods. He looked at me as if I were a monster. "You couldn't accept the rejection, so you decided to kill my heir?"

"No!" I sobbed, shaking my head. "I would never..."

"Save your tears," he growled, his eyes flashing gold. He didn't offer me a hand. He didn't check my injuries. He just stared at me with icy contempt. "If my child dies tonight, Luna, you will wish the rogues had killed you."