The Rejected Luna’s Secret Twins

The greenhouse door was ajar.

The moment I pushed it open, the world went silent.

Devastation. That was the only word for it.

My moonflower garden, the product of ten years of loving care, was gone. Leveled.

The rare flowers that glowed softly in the night had been ripped out by the roots and trampled into the mud.

The acrid smell of weed killer hung in the air.

The carved seed box my mother had left me was tossed in a corner, its lid open, its contents gone.

My legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed.

"Oh, you're here."

Lorelei's voice echoed from the back of the greenhouse.

She was wiping mud off a designer handbag with a silk scarf, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Ryker said this garden was a monument to your failure and infertility," she said, her voice slow and sweet as poison. "He told me to get rid of it."

"After all, the future Alpha heir needs a place full of life."

Redesign.

The word was a poisoned dart to my heart.

I trembled, staring at the devastation.

Ten years.

Ten years of my life's work.

My mother, on her deathbed, holding my hand. "Carys, these moonflower seeds are our family's legacy. They glow their brightest on the full moon, just like you."

Now they were all gone. Destroyed by this woman.

"You..." My voice was a raw, trembling whisper. "How could you..."

"How could I not?" Lorelei tossed her hair. "Ryker said it himself. It was time to clear out these pathetic flowers."

I grabbed a heavy trophy from a nearby shelf, my eyes blood-red, and hurled it at her. "Lorelei! I'll kill you!"

Before it could hit her, a large hand shot out and caught it.

"Carys, have you made enough of a scene?"

Ryker's voice was like ice.

I looked at him, my hand, still holding the trophy, shaking.

"Ryker, you let her destroy my mother's legacy? Are you even a wolf? Do you have a heart? How could you do this to her memory?"

Ryker’s eyes swept over the wreckage. A flicker of regret crossed his face, but it was quickly masked by a cold hardness.

"They're just flowers, Carys," he said, his jaw tight. "I can buy you a thousand more."

They're just flowers.

I started to laugh.

Tears streamed down my face as I laughed.

Ten years of marriage, of patience, of waiting... meant nothing to him.

I bent down and began to dig through the ruins.

My fingernails clawed at the dirt, my hands quickly becoming bloody and raw.

Finally, in a corner, I found a tiny handful of surviving seeds.

I wrapped the few surviving seeds in my handkerchief. I clutched them to my chest as a raw sob tore from my throat.

"Carys, what are you doing?" Ryker frowned.

I stood up and looked at him. At this man I once loved with all my heart.

"Ryker, I'm taking the last thing my mother left me. We are done."

I turned and walked toward the door, each step heavy.

"Carys!" he shouted from behind me.

I didn't look back.

"You can't leave!" His voice was laced with panic. "We have a mate bond! You can't survive without me!"

I stopped but didn't turn around.

"You still haven't read the papers on your desk, have you?" My voice was terrifyingly calm. "I forgot to mention. They're rejection papers."

A loud crash echoed from behind me, like something shattering.

"What?"

"In a few hours, when the moon is full, our bond will be gone. For good."

With that, I placed a hand on my stomach and walked out the door without looking back. I was never coming back.