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Chapter 3

Zoey Malik 

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“I, Alpha Conrad of the Crescent Moon Pack, reject you, Zoey Malik, as my fated mate and Luna.” His voice was sharp and cold. 

I stood frozen. 

For a moment, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. 

The pain of the rejection slammed me so hard. I expected it to happen but I wasn’t prepared for it. My wolf let out a whimper, curling in on herself with anguish. 

“No,” I whispered, my voice faint. “Please don’t do this,” I begged. 

Conrad looked at me with disdain. “Accept the rejection.” 

My heart shattered into a tiny million pieces. 

There was no use holding on to someone who didn’t want me anymore. He couldn’t even give me the benefit of the doubt. 

He chose to believe that I killed the beta. 

I didn’t even need a mate when I was going to spend the rest of my short life in the dungeon. There was nothing I could do to prove my innocence. 

I had finally accepted my fate. 

Tears streamed down my eyes as I cleared my throat and began. “I, Zoey Malik, accept your rejection,” I responded, my voice cracking slightly. 

As our mate bond was severed, I let out a blood-curdling scream. I couldn’t believe it was happening. I looked at Conrad who just stood there without any reaction. 

Wasn’t he feeling anything? 

Didn’t the separation sting him? 

I wallowed in pain while he just looked at me without any trace of warmth. “When you’re done crying, pack up your stuff and meet me outside.” 

With that, he stepped out of the room. 

I stayed in that same spot for a few minutes, I couldn’t imagine what my life had turned into. I got rejected by my mate and was about to pay for a crime that I didn’t commit. 

Why did I have to suffer like this? 

Why was the moon goddess turning her back on me? 

Soon enough, I wiped off the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand, and then I gathered my remaining stuff. I didn’t have a choice anymore, so I carried the bags outside to meet Conrad. 

My face formed into a frown when I saw Wendy standing beside him. She had a satisfied smirk on her face as she saw how miserable I looked. 

“It took him a year to reject you. I wonder why he didn’t even do it sooner.” She condescendingly spoke to me like I was garbage. 

I swallowed hard, ignoring the lump that had formed in my throat. 

“I’m done packing,” I whispered to Conrad. 

“Speak up, bitch.” Wendy laughed, pulling Conrad’s arms tighter. “Let’s get this over with. This murderer doesn’t deserve to be in our presence.” 

Conrad nodded before he instructed some of the maids to take my bags. Then he walked out of the compound, his hands intertwined with Wendy’s.

I quietly trailed behind them as I walked to face my punishment. 

My eyes brimmed with tears but I decided that I wasn’t going to cry anymore. And I wasn’t going down without a fight. 

Seeing Wendy laughing with Conrad fueled my rage. 

She couldn’t just ruin my life and enjoy hers. I needed to do something. I couldn’t just leave the world without making her pay for all the horrible things she put me through. 

I had a plan, and I was determined to make it happen. 

After a short walk, we arrived at the pack’s house. 

My heart was pounding in my chest as I walked through the crowd. Everyone was present to watch them announce my punishment. 

I scanned through the crowd to see if I could find Selena. She reassured me that she would find a way to save me.  She told me nothing was going to happen to me. 

But she was nowhere to be found. 

My chest rose and fell rapidly, panic surging through my veins. I knew I admitted that I had accepted my fate, but I was still scared. 

I wasn’t ready to die. 

Why couldn’t Conrad just believe me?

Why did everyone look at me like I was a murderer? 

I pinched myself severally as I sat down on the chair. It had to be a nightmare and I wanted to wake up from my sleep. 

This couldn’t be my reality. 

No way! 

But it was. I was about to be sentenced to the dungeon. And my best friend who promised to save me hadn’t arrived. 

As soon as Conrad stood in front of the crowd to address them, everywhere went silent. My eyes were fixed on the ground because I couldn’t handle the stares from the other members of the pack. 

“I’m sure everyone heard about Ethan’s death. He was my best friend and the beta of the Crescent Moon Pack.” His husky voice echoed through the air. “Unfortunately, he was killed by my former Luna, Zoey Malik.” He pointed at me. 

A collective gasp erupted from the crowd.

I couldn’t look at them but I could feel their judgemental eyes on me. I was certain that most of them were happy to watch my downfall because they always thought that I didn’t deserve to be the Luna of the pack. 

My hands trembled in my lap, but I clenched my fist to keep myself calm. My throat tightened but I forced myself not to cry. 

Crying couldn’t save me. 

I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry either. I didn’t want to break down in front of them. 

“This is a betrayal, not only to me.” There was a beat of silence before he continued. “But to the entire pack. And we won’t let it slide.” 

The crowd murmured in agreement. 

My life was crashing right in front of me and I couldn’t do anything about it. 

I thought about defending myself, but they wouldn’t believe me. There was no point in trying again. They already accepted that I was a murderer. 

“She will be thrown into the dungeon to pay for her sins.” Cheers erupted from the crowd as he announced my punishment. “We will all gather some other time to give Ethan a befitting funeral.” 

After Conrad was done talking, he walked over to me. “Before they take you, I just have one question.” He said, narrowing his eyes on me. “Why did you do it?” 

“I didn’t do it, Conrad. I’m being framed. There’s a real killer out there and you want me to pay for a crime that I didn’t commit.”

Conrad rolled his eyes. 

He didn’t say anything else. He just signaled his men to take me to the dungeon. 

But just as they were about to grab my arm, a voice echoed from the crowd. “Mate!” 

Everyone paused, confusion etched on their faces. 

The crowd parted as a strange man approached us. I had never seen him before but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He stood tall and handsome, his lips curled into a small smile. 

He continued walking until he stopped in front of me. “Mate.” He repeated, this time louder and clearer. 

I turned around to see if he was talking to someone else. But he wasn’t. He referred to me as his mate. But that wasn’t possible. 

I had just been rejected. There wasn’t meant to be someone else for me. What was happening?