Banished by My Pack, Chosen as the True Luna

The moment I stepped onto the Moon Goddess platform, something felt wrong.

Ryder wouldn't look at me.

Not once.

Hundreds of wolves surrounded the ceremony grounds.

Tonight was supposed to be our Luna Ceremony.

The night I would finally become Luna of the Silver Fang Pack.

Instead, Ryder looked like a man walking toward an execution.

The High Priestess stood between us.

"Alpha Ryder."

She nodded.

"It is time."

The crowd erupted into cheers.

I smiled nervously.

Then Ryder took a step forward.

His voice echoed across the entire square.

"I reject Olivia Blackwood as my Luna."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

For a second I thought I had heard him wrong.

"What?"

The word escaped my mouth before I could stop it.

Ryder didn't look at me.

"I reject her."

The crowd exploded.

Gasps.

Whispers.

Shouting.

I couldn't hear any of it.

Because something inside my chest snapped.

Pain tore through my body.

I stumbled backward.

The mate bond.

The connection between us felt like it was being ripped apart with bare hands.

"Ryder..."

My knees hit the ground.

I couldn't breathe.

"Why?"

He finally looked at me.

His expression was cold.

Almost detached.

"I'm sorry."

Sorry?

Sorry?

That was all?

After twenty years?

After my parents died protecting him?

After every promise he'd ever made?

"Why?" I repeated.

The High Priestess looked away.

The Elders remained silent.

Nobody answered.

Pain spread through every inch of my body.

Then everything went black.

________________

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in the pack hospital.

The room smelled like herbs and disinfectant.

My chest still hurt.

Every breath felt wrong.

A chair scraped against the floor.

I turned my head.

Ryder was sitting beside the bed.

For a moment hope flared inside me.

Maybe this was a misunderstanding.

Maybe—

"You finally woke up."

The hope died immediately.

His voice sounded businesslike.

Like we were discussing pack finances.

Not the destruction of my life.

I looked at him.

"Why?"

He sighed.

"The High Priestess discovered something before the ceremony."

I waited.

"You don't have a wolf."

I froze.

"What?"

"The Goddess never gave you one."

I stared at him.

That was impossible.

I couldn't shift.

That was true.

But my hearing was sharper than most wolves.

I could smell prey from miles away.

I could track better than pack hunters.

How could I have no wolf?

Ryder continued.

"The Priestess believes marrying you would doom the pack."

I laughed weakly.

"So that's it?"

"Olivia—"

"So you humiliated me in front of everyone because of one prophecy?"

His jaw tightened.

"You don't understand."

"No. I understand perfectly."

The door suddenly opened.

A familiar voice interrupted us.

"She looks better than I expected."

I turned.

And immediately wished I hadn't.

Sophia.

The woman every pack member already expected to become Ryder's next Luna.

Long blonde hair.

Perfect smile.

Perfect wolf.

Perfect future Luna.

She walked into the room like she already owned it.

Maybe she did.

She sat directly on Ryder's lap.

In front of me.

Like I wasn't even there.

My stomach twisted.

Ryder didn't stop her.

Sophia wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You scared everyone."

I almost laughed.

Everyone?

Or just her?

Sophia looked at me.

"Oh."

That fake sympathetic smile appeared.

"I'm sorry."

She clearly wasn't.

"You must be devastated."

I said nothing.

Sophia continued.

"I can't imagine finding out you don't even have a wolf."

There it was.

The real reason she came.

Not concern.

Not sympathy.

She wanted to see me broken.

I looked at Ryder.

He stayed silent.

Again.

Sophia smiled wider.

"Don't worry."

She squeezed Ryder's arm.

"I'm sure you'll still find somewhere to belong."

My hands clenched beneath the blanket.

Ryder finally spoke.

"That's enough."

Sophia shrugged.

"What? I'm being nice."

No.

She was enjoying this.

Every second of it.

Ryder stood.

"Sophia, wait outside."

She pouted.

But eventually left.

The moment the door closed, Ryder looked back at me.

"We need to discuss your future."

I laughed bitterly.

"My future?"

"Yes."

He sat down again.

"There will be a new Luna Ceremony next month."

Of course there would.

The pack needed a replacement.

Fast.

"I want you there."

I stared at him.

"What?"

"I want you to attend."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"As a guest?"

"No."

Something in his expression made my stomach drop.

"You'll stand beside Sophia."

The room went silent.

Then I understood.

No.

No way.

"No."

His face hardened immediately.

"You haven't heard the rest."

"I don't need to."

"You do."

His voice became colder.

"The pack needs stability."

I laughed.

"And?"

"You'll tell everyone that stepping down was your decision."

I stared at him.

"You want me to lie."

"It protects the pack."

"No."

"It protects you."

His jaw clenched.

"Olivia."

"No."

I forced myself to sit upright despite the pain.

"You rejected me."

"Because I had to."

"Then live with it."

Silence.

For several seconds neither of us spoke.

Finally Ryder stood.

"Think carefully."

"I already have."

His eyes turned icy.

"Your parents died saving me."

The words hit harder than I expected.

"I know."

"Which is exactly why you're still here."

My heart sank.

Ryder continued.

"If not for them, the Elders would've exiled you immediately."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"So now their sacrifice is being used against me?"

"That's not what I'm doing."

"It is."

He exhaled slowly.

Then he made his decision.

"If you refuse, you'll stay in the servant quarters until you reconsider."

I stared at him.

"You're locking me up."

"I'm giving you time."

"No."

"Yes."

For a moment we simply looked at each other.

The boy I once loved was gone.

Standing in front of me was only an Alpha.

Nothing more.

The door opened.

Two guards entered.

Ryder didn't even look at me anymore.

"Take her."

The guards approached immediately.

I stepped backward.

"No."

One grabbed my arm.

I tried to pull away.

"Let go."

The second guard tightened his grip.

"Orders from the Alpha."

"I'm not going."

The first guard laughed.

The sound made my skin crawl.

"You're not really in a position to argue."

Rage burned through me.

"I said let go."

The guard leaned closer.

His voice dropped.

"A wolf-less freak should be grateful."

My entire body froze.

He smirked.

"If it weren't for your parents, you'd already be in the wastelands."

The second guard nodded.

"Exactly."

"A useless female without a wolf doesn't belong in a pack."

Neither guard lowered their voices.

Because they wanted me to hear.

Because everyone thought the same thing.

I looked toward Ryder.

One final time.

He said nothing.

Didn't stop them.

Didn't defend me.

Nothing.

The guards dragged me into the hallway.

Their laughter followed behind me.

As the hospital doors closed, one thought echoed through my mind.

For the first time in my life—

I wished my parents had never saved him.