Rejected Mate's Revenge

I stumbled through the pack house doors and into the night, my silver dress already darkening with the first drops of rain. The celebration's warmth and light faded behind me as I crossed the threshold into something that felt like the end of everything.

The storm hit with a vengeance the moment I stepped beyond our territory's protective boundaries. Rain lashed against my face like icy needles, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony tearing through my chest. The mate bond—that sacred connection I'd treasured for three years—now felt like a live wire burning through my soul.

Each step away from the pack house sent fresh waves of torment through my body. Sage whimpered and thrashed inside me, confused by the conflicting signals from our bond. Reid was supposed to be our anchor, our other half. Instead, he was somewhere else, with someone else, while I bled emotionally in the darkness.

"He chose her," I whispered to the storm, my voice lost in the howling wind. "On our anniversary, he chose her."

The rain soaked through my ceremonial dress within minutes, the delicate silver fabric clinging to my skin like a second layer of misery. My carefully styled hair fell in sodden strands around my face, and my makeup ran in dark rivulets down my cheeks. I looked nothing like the Luna who had stood proudly in the great hall just an hour ago.

But I kept walking, driven by a pain so intense it felt like my chest was caving in. The mate bond pulled and twisted, sending confusing signals that made my head spin. Where was Reid? What was he doing? The questions tormented me as I stumbled through the muddy forest floor.

Then the cramping started.

At first, it was just a dull ache low in my abdomen—stress, I told myself. Emotional trauma manifesting physically. But as I pressed deeper into the storm, the pain sharpened into something that made me double over with a gasp.

"No," I breathed, my hands flying to my stomach. "No, no, no."

The cramping intensified, radiating through my core with a viciousness that dropped me to my knees in the mud. Rain pounded against my back as I curled forward, trying to protect the tiny life growing inside me. Our pup. Reid's heir. The surprise I'd planned to share tonight under the golden lights of our celebration.

Another wave of pain hit, and I felt something warm and wet between my legs that had nothing to do with the rain. My vision blurred as panic set in, my wolf howling in distress as she sensed what was happening.

"Please," I sobbed to the Moon Goddess, to anyone who might be listening. "Please don't take this too. I can't lose everything in one night."

But the Goddess remained silent as the storm raged around me. The cramping grew worse, each spasm stealing my breath and my hope. I collapsed fully into the mud, my silver dress now brown and ruined, my body betraying me when I needed it most.

The mate bond pain mixed with physical agony until I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. Reid's betrayal had triggered this—the stress, the emotional trauma, the feeling of being abandoned when I needed him most. Our pup was slipping away because their father had chosen another she-wolf over their mother.

I don't know how long I lay there in the mud and rain, feeling my body reject the future I'd dreamed of. Time became meaningless as I grieved for the child who would never take their first breath, never shift under the full moon, never carry on the Walker bloodline.

When the worst of it passed, I felt hollow. Empty in ways I'd never imagined possible. The storm continued its assault, but I barely felt it anymore. Everything that had mattered—my mate, my pup, my role as Luna—had been stripped away in the span of a few hours.

Somehow, I found the strength to stand. My legs shook like a newborn fawn's, and each movement sent fresh stabs of pain through my core, but I managed to stay upright. I had to get back. I had to face whatever came next.

The walk back to the pack house felt endless. My wet dress dragged against my legs, and my bare feet slipped in the mud with every step. The golden lights of home grew larger as I approached, but they no longer looked welcoming. They looked like a mockery of everything I'd lost.

By the time I reached the front door, the celebration had ended. The great hall stood empty, chairs pushed back from tables littered with half-eaten food and abandoned wine glasses. Even our pack had given up on their missing Alpha and Luna.

Marcus appeared from the shadows, his eyes widening as he took in my appearance. "Luna Christina! What happened? Where have you been?"

I stared at him, this loyal Beta who served my mate so faithfully, and felt nothing but exhaustion. "Where is Reid?"

"Still with Aitana. Her condition hasn't improved, and—" He stopped mid-sentence, finally registering my state. "Luna, you're bleeding. You need medical attention."

"No," I said quietly. "I need to know if my mate even noticed I was gone."

The shame in Marcus's eyes told me everything I needed to know. Reid hadn't asked about me. Hadn't wondered where his Luna had disappeared to on their anniversary. He was too busy playing hero for another she-wolf to notice his own mate bleeding in the storm.

I walked past Marcus without another word, leaving muddy footprints on the pristine marble floor. Tomorrow, I would face Reid and demand answers. Tomorrow, I would tell him about the pup we'd lost while he was comforting Aitana.

Tonight, I just needed to survive until dawn.