Rejected the Alpha, Now I'm the Most Beloved Luna

Perry's POV After a wild night, all I needed was some decent rest. No clue when I passed out on Gina's bed. The blaring ringtone yanked me out of a sweet dream. I groaned and peeled my eyes open begrudgingly. The phone lay right beside me, practically demanding attention. "Francis again?" I grumbled internally. His name flashed on the screen. Ignoring him wouldn't help-he was the type to keep calling till I picked up. I took a deep breath, gave myself two seconds of silence, then tapped to answer. Tried to keep my tone chill. "What do you want?" "Perry, where are you?" Francis's voice held a weird mix of worry and frustration-definitely more worried I'd hang up than about me. "I waited at the train station all night. You never showed." I stared blankly at the ceiling, not saying a word. So what he waited all night. It wasn't like he had to deal with waking up in a stranger's bed like I did. I answered coolly, "I didn't ask you to wait for me." "It's fine," Francis said without missing a beat, still weirdly calm. That surprised me. But the next sentence wiped any goodwill off my face. "Tell me where you are. I'll come get you and we'll grab something to eat. Once you've rested up, we'll go see Alpha Richard like we planned. I told you-Bloodmoon Pack's strength is unmatched. Becoming his mate, their luna, would be the best thing for you." "If it's so great, why don't you do it yourself?" I snapped, half-joking, half-serious. "Come on, Perry, don't be ridiculous. I'm your father. If Alpha Richard wasn't worthy, I wouldn't push this." That just made me picture some angry, greasy-haired alpha with zero charm and a whole lot of issues. Francis's words always sounded better than his actions. But I didn't exactly have much choice right now. I let the silence hang for a while. He didn't dare break it-he knew he needed me to agree to meet Richard. I'd come all the way from the countryside. Even though things hadn't gone as planned last night, this meeting still needed to happen. I sighed. "I'm at the Crown Regent Hotel." "Perfect, Perry! I'll be there soon!" he chirped, clearly too happy. Click-he hung up. I groaned again, flopping back on the bed with a scowl. By the time I woke up again, Gina was gone. She'd left me a text-said she got called away on something urgent. Probably pack business again. She'd included a long list of hotel tips, classic Gina overthinking everything. Her thoughtfulness made me feel a little lighter. "Sorry I didn't get time to help investigate," she'd written at the end. I bit my lip before sending back, "It's fine. I can handle it." Now it was just me and Francis. I didn't nap for long before dragging myself to the bathroom for a quick shower. Ditching the pajamas, I took the elevator down to the lobby. As I stepped outside, I spotted him. Francis was in his usual polished clothes, but he didn't look like the alpha I remembered-more like a regular werewolf. His grey hair was all over the place, and his dull grey-blue eyes looked nothing like Mom's. I walked toward him, expression unreadable. He lit up and reached out, all cheer. "Hey, Perry! How'd you sleep?" I glanced at his bloodshot eyes. Yeah, seemed like he really had stayed up waiting all night. Then his gaze swept over me, head to toe. I'd gotten Mom's looks, sure, but I never bothered with makeup. Taking care of animals in the rural edges didn't exactly leave space for fashion choices. "Let's freshen you up first-some makeup, and I've got a beautiful dress I had custom made for you," Francis said with a practiced warmth. "Once Alpha Richard sees how gorgeous you are, he'll be drawn to you for sure." That irked me. "So you're saying I'm not attractive enough to catch his eye otherwise?" "No, Perry, that's not what I meant," Francis quickly waved his hands, flustered. "If you think I'm not good enough, then forget it. I'll head straight back to the countryside and never come back." "Sweetheart, don't be mad. Fine, no makeup if you don't want it. You're already very beautiful. But at least change your clothes?" "Nope," I said, face stone cold, not giving him any wiggle room. "Let's be real-you just think I'm out of his league." Francis let out a resigned sigh. He gave in, probably hoping I'd just play along. He was being surprisingly tolerant today. "Alright, fine. We'll go as you are. Fingers crossed Alpha Richard likes you." I followed him silently to the car, giving him the cold shoulder the whole ride. He drove straight into Bloodmoon Pack territory and parked outside a tall building-Richard's workplace. "Let's go," Francis said as he got out and opened my door, reaching out his hand. I didn't even glance at him. Just ignored the gesture. Francis awkwardly retracted his hand and smoothed his jacket before leading the way inside. Watching his back, I couldn't help but smirk. The Ashen Pack used to be a big deal. In my mind, Francis was always the arrogant, untouchable alpha. Now he was all humble and cautious, trying to trade me for Bloodmoon's support. What a joke. We took the elevator to the top floor. At the door, we were stopped by Bloodmoon's beta. "Alpha Francis, I'm Byron," he greeted politely. "Please wait here while I inform Alpha Richard." Byron turned and left. Francis and I sat down in the waiting area. It wasn't long before Byron came back with a friendly smile. "Come on in." I suddenly felt a touch nervous and started fiddling with my fingers. Francis, thrilled but cautious, took my hand and walked in ahead of me. I followed in silence, staying just behind him-until he suddenly pulled me forward, right in front of Richard. "Alpha Richard," Francis said carefully, "this is my daughter, Perry Lake. She just came in from the countryside and was too anxious to dress up properly. She's really excited to meet you." I nearly rolled my eyes. The way he lied so smoothly-it was ridiculous. Francis kept rambling his introduction while I stood there, head down, zoning out. It wasn't until he nudged me that I finally looked up-just in time to meet Richard's gaze. "Hi, Alpha Richard. I'm Perry," I said evenly, keeping it short. I studied his face-undeniably handsome. His well-groomed black hair framed striking crimson eyes. One look, and you could feel the dominance radiating off him. His sharp features made it easy to see why people bent to his will. Broad shoulders, toned build, and an expensive outfit that fit just right-he was every bit the powerful alpha. He lounged in his seat casually, not even putting on any alpha-pressure, and yet it was obvious who held all the power in the room. Of all the werewolves I'd seen, he was easily the best-looking. Too bad I wasn't into him like that. But he seemed to be under the impression otherwise. He got up and walked over, leaning his left hand on the edge of the table behind him and scanning my face like he was sizing me up. That stare made me tense immediately. "Miss Lake arrived last night, then?" His deep voice cut through the moment, eyes narrowing slightly like he was piecing something together. Francis nodded right away. That eager-to-please look on his face made my stomach turn, so I dropped my gaze again. "Yes, Perry just arrived yesterday. I took her back to the Ashen Pack to get some proper rest, didn't I?" He shot me a glance. His voice had that familiar pressure behind it. I gave a reluctant nod. Richard paused a moment before speaking, looking a bit suspicious. "So she stayed with the Ashen Pack all night?" I raised an eyebrow, not quite catching what he was getting at. When I looked at him, he had a frown on his face, clearly a bit confused. But seriously-where I slept last night had nothing to do with him, right? Maybe the alpha from last night was someone he knew, maybe even a packmate. But the lights were off in that hotel room, and neither of us could see the other clearly. Even if he wanted to stir up trouble, he'd have no way of knowing it was me. I rubbed my fingertips together, mind spinning fast. "Of course! She's my daughter, after all," Francis said, wiping sweat from his forehead with a careful look. "I need a private word with Miss Lake," Richard said at last, voice cold as ice. "Byron can take you back to the guest room. If you still feel like waiting, be my guest." "Got it," Francis replied with a fawning grin, quickly turning around to leave. Now it was just me and Richard in the room. He looked at me, and I looked right back. We stared each other down for a few seconds before I decided to break the silence. "I have no intention of being your mate," I said, watching his brows pull together. Still, I pushed on. "We've never met before. This is literally the first time I've seen you. I'm not interested in you. Even if we were somehow matched, it'd fall apart in no time." I forced the words out, nerves buzzing under my skin, but he kept that frosty expression. I tried to ignore the low-key dominance rolling off him. "That's actually perfect, because I don't want that either," Richard replied calmly. "I've already found my mate." At that, the heaviness in my chest lifted like a weight had been yanked off it. Relief bloomed into a small grin on my face. "That's honestly the best news. I already have a mate too. Francis dragged me here. I just needed to tell you straight-up that this whole thing? Not for me." "Just that?" "Nope. I'm down to officially cancel whatever arrangement we had." My voice rang clearly through the room. Richard went quiet again. I kept smiling. He looked kind of stunned. His crimson eyes locked on mine, but I didn't flinch. "That's... impressive. So, Miss Lake, is there anything you want?" I never wanted any of this in the first place. And after what happened last night, the last thing I wanted was to be tied to him. Right now, all I cared about was finding the alpha from last night-the one who crossed the line-and making him pay for it. Richard's unexpected approval threw me a little. Part of me had expected him to be offended by how blunt I was. But instead, he took it in stride, which kind of surprised me. My gut told me if I asked him for help with the Ashen Pack, he'd probably say yes. But that was exactly what Francis wanted. Not me. So I shook my head. "Nothing. Alpha Richard, if you've got nothing else to say, then I'll be heading out." This wasn't my place. I had no reason to stay here. "I know why you came. If the request came from you, I'd actually consider it," Richard said slowly, lifting an eyebrow, his deep voice tinged with curiosity. But I just shook my head again, firm. "The Ashen Pack's got nothing to do with me. This isn't on me." He looked genuinely thrown by my answer. Like he couldn't wrap his head around someone turning down an offer from the Bloodmoon Pack. Sure, it was a hell of an offer. But I didn't care.