The Alpha's Runaway Luna: The Forsaken Luna's Return

The heavy oak doors of the packhouse grand hall seemed to mock me. Inside, the deep, resonant hum of celebratory laughter vibrated through the floorboards. Tonight was supposed to be my night. At eighteen, every wolf in the Bloodmoon Pack met their fated mate.

  I smoothed down the trembling fabric of my simple white dress, staring at my reflection in the corridor window. My dark hair fell in soft waves, but my eyes betrayed me-wide, anxious, and entirely too fragile.

  "He won't want you, Elena," a cruel voice echoed in my head. It belonged to Cassie, the daughter of the pack's Beta, who had made it her life's mission to remind me that my mother had been a human. To the pack, I was tainted. Half-blood. Weak.

  Before I could turn back, the heavy doors swung open.

  There he stood. Alpha Jaxon. Taller than I remembered, broad-shouldered, and radiating an intoxicating aura of cedarwood and midnight rain. His silver-flecked eyes swept over the room before landing squarely on me.

  The air vanished from my lungs. The invisible thread snapping taut between us made my knees wobble. Mate. My wolf whimpered inside my subconscious, a quiet, fragile sound.

  Jaxon stalked toward me like a predator closing in on a cornered deer. The music in the hall stuttered to a halt. Every eye turned to us. Whispers broke out like a swarm of angry bees.

  "You," Jaxon growled, his voice a low, magnetic rumble that sent shivers down my spine. But as he stepped closer, his nose flared. His expression twisted from awe into deep, burning disgust.

  "Jaxon?" I whispered, holding out a trembling hand.

  "No," he snarled, stepping back as if my touch would burn him. The silver in his eyes flared dangerously. The pack elders watched in stone-cold silence. Jaxon's chest heaved as he made his choice-a choice that would echo in the nightmares of my soul forever.

  "I, Alpha Jaxon Vance, reject you, Elena Brooks, as my mate and as the future Luna of the Bloodmoon Pack."

  The words hit me like physical blows. A sharp, searing pain tore through my chest, as if invisible claws were ripping my heart straight out. In werewolf lore, a rejection felt like dying. The bond shattered, sending jagged shards of agony through my mind.

  "Jaxon..." I choked out, tears spilling over my lashes.

  "You are a pathetic excuse for a wolf," he spat, his voice devoid of any mercy. "You don't even have a wolf to show for yourself. I would rather die than have a weak human-blood sitting by my side."

  Cruel laughter erupted from the crowd. Cassie smirked from the sidelines, looking victorious.

  Something inside me fractured-not just the bond, but something deeper. The fragile girl who wanted to belong died right there on the polished marble floor. Something cold, sharp, and resilient took her place.

  I didn't scream. I didn't beg. I just looked into the eyes of the man who had promised the stars and handed me ash.

  "Consider yourself free of me, Alpha," I whispered, my voice shockingly steady.

  Without looking back, I turned away from the hall, away from the pack, and ran straight into the dark, unforgiving woods-running toward a cliff that promised either an end or a brand new beginning.