0001 - The Rejection

Vera

The bathroom mirror didn't lie, no matter how many times I wished it would.

 I stared at my reflection—the roundness of my face, the way my cheeks puffed out even when I wasn't smiling, the double chin that appeared no matter which angle I turned. My body filled the frame, curves spilling over curves, thick arms that jiggled when I moved, thighs that rubbed together when I walked. Size twenty-two. That's what the tags said. That's what Daemon reminded me of every single day.

 "Luna." My wolf whispered the title in my mind, but it felt like a joke. What kind of Luna looked like me?

 I pressed my hands against the cool porcelain sink, trying to steady myself. Tonight was the Moon Ceremony. Tonight, the Moon Goddess would officially bless our bond before the entire Shadowfang Pack. I should have been excited. I should have been getting ready in the Luna suite, surrounded by attendants, wearing something beautiful.

 Instead, I was hiding in this tiny bathroom in the omega quarters, wearing the only dress that fit—a shapeless black thing I'd sewn myself because nothing in the pack boutique came in my size.

 "Move your fat ass, Vera!" Someone pounded on the door. "Some of us actually need to piss!"

 I flinched, grabbed my bag, and slipped out. Three she-wolves stood in the hallway, all of them sleek and beautiful in their tight dresses. They looked at me the way everyone did—a mixture of pity and disgust, like they couldn't understand how I'd managed to trap an Alpha.

 I hadn't trapped him. We were true mates. The bond had snapped into place on my eighteenth birthday, six months ago. I'd felt it like lightning in my chest, and when Daemon's eyes met mine across the training grounds, I'd known he felt it too.

 For one perfect moment, I'd thought everything would change.

 It had. Just not the way I'd hoped.

 The pack house buzzed with activity as I made my way through the corridors. Everywhere I looked, people were preparing for tonight—hanging white flowers, setting up tables, arranging candles. The Moon Ceremony was sacred, a celebration of fated mates blessed by the Goddess herself.

 "There you are." Daemon's voice cut through the noise.

 My heart clenched. Even after six months, my body still reacted to him like the first time—heat flooding my veins, my wolf pressing forward eagerly. He stood at the end of the hall in a black suit that showcased his broad shoulders and lean frame. His dark hair was styled back, sharp jawline clean-shaven. He looked like every Alpha should look—powerful, handsome, commanding.

 And he was mine. My mate.

 "Daemon." I smiled, moving toward him. "I was just getting ready—"

 "We need to talk." His face was carved from stone. Cold. Distant.

 Something twisted in my gut. "What's wrong?"

 He grabbed my arm, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise, and pulled me into a nearby storage room. The door slammed shut behind us, drowning out the sounds of celebration.

 "God, your body disgusts me!" The words exploded from him like he'd been holding them back for months. Maybe he had. "Is the Moon Goddess insane to bind us together?"

 I stumbled backward, hitting the wall. "What—what are you—"

 "Look at yourself!" He gestured wildly at me, his face twisted with revulsion. "Oh, I beg you to look in the mirror. You are twice my size! How am I supposed to present you as Luna? How am I supposed to—" He cut himself off, jaw clenching. "I can't even look at you without wanting to vomit."

 Each word was a knife, twisting deeper. My wolf howled in anguish inside me, clawing to reach him, to fix whatever was wrong. This was the bond—this horrible, beautiful, torturous bond that made me love him even as he destroyed me.

 "I've tried," I whispered, tears already streaming down my face. "I've been dieting, I've been training—"

 "Not hard enough!" He roared, and I flinched. "Six months, Vera. Six months and you look exactly the same. Do you know what the other packs say? Do you know how they laugh at me? 'Alpha Daemon and his whale Luna.' That's what they call you. A whale."

 My knees threatened to give out. I'd heard the whispers, seen the looks, but hearing it from him—from my mate—shattered something inside me.

 "I'm trying," I sobbed. "I swear I'm trying. Please, Daemon. Please don't—"

 "I'm humiliating you," he said, and his voice shifted into something calculated. Cruel. "Maybe that will motivate you."

 "What do you mean?"

 His smile made my blood run cold. "You'll see. Come on."

 He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the storage room. I tried to pull away, but he was too strong. My wolf whimpered, confused by his behavior. Mates weren't supposed to hurt each other. The bond was supposed to be sacred.

 We emerged into the main hall where the ceremony would take place. It was beautiful—thousands of white flowers, candles everywhere, the pack's most sacred space transformed into something magical. Everyone was already gathered, dressed in their finest. They turned to look as Daemon pulled me forward.

 And standing by the altar, I saw them.

 Five she-wolves. All of them gorgeous—tall, thin, perfect. Their dresses clung to their bodies like second skins, showing off every curve, every line. They smiled at Daemon like they knew something I didn't.

 My stomach dropped.

 "What's going on?" I asked, but I already knew. Deep down, I already knew.

 Daemon released my wrist and walked toward them. The pack fell silent, watching. My mother stood near the back, her face pale. She caught my eye and shook her head slightly, a warning.

 "Since you won't change," Daemon announced, his voice carrying through the hall, "I've decided to show you what a real Luna should look like."

 He reached the first she-wolf—Kara, a warrior's daughter with legs that went on forever. Without hesitation, he pulled her against him and kissed her. The pack gasped, but no one moved. No one stopped him.

 The bond screamed inside me, tearing at my chest. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

 He moved to the second she-wolf. Then the third. Each kiss was deliberate, performative, designed to hurt me as much as possible. And it worked. Gods, it worked. My wolf was dying inside me, thrashing in agony as our mate touched other females.

 "Stop," I whispered, but no one heard me.

 The fourth she-wolf moaned as he kissed her neck. The fifth giggled when he grabbed her waist.

 "Stop!" I screamed it this time, my voice breaking.

 Daemon turned to look at me, and there was no warmth in his eyes. No recognition of what we were supposed to be.

 "Maybe now you'll understand," he said. "Look at them, Vera. Look at what a Luna should be."

 But he wasn't done.

 He turned to Kara and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Let's go somewhere more private."

 They disappeared through a side door. Then he returned for the second she-wolf. Then the third.

 I stood there, frozen, as my mate took five females into a private room. The pack watched me with a mixture of pity and fascination. This was entertainment to them. My humiliation, my pain—it was a show.

 The door to the private room was open just enough. I could hear everything. The sounds of clothing being removed, of skin on skin, of pleasure that should have been mine. My wolf howled, clawing at my insides, trying to break free and stop this.

 But I couldn't move. I could only stand there and listen as Daemon had sex with five different she-wolves while our entire pack bore witness to my degradation.

 Time stopped having meaning. Minutes felt like hours. The sounds continued, each moan another crack in my already shattered heart. Someone in the crowd laughed. Others whispered. My mother was crying now, her hand over her mouth.

 Finally—finally—the sounds stopped. Daemon emerged, his hair messed up, his shirt untucked. The five she-wolves followed, each looking satisfied and smug. They'd done this on purpose. They'd helped him break me.

 I was on my knees now, though I didn't remember falling. My whole body shook with sobs. The bond was agony, pure fire in my veins, my wolf's anguish mixing with my own until I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.

 Daemon walked toward me, and for one stupid, desperate moment, I thought he would apologize. I thought he would drop to his knees and beg forgiveness for what he'd done.

 Instead, he looked down at me with contempt.

 "I reject you!" His voice boomed through the sacred hall, through the space meant for celebrations and blessings. "I will never accept you as my mate and Luna! You are banished. Get out of my pack. Now!"

 The rejection slammed into me like a physical blow. The bond didn't just break—it exploded, shredding everything inside me. My wolf screamed, a sound of pure anguish that tore through my mind. I felt her pulling away, retreating so deep inside me I couldn't reach her.

 This was death. This had to be death. Nothing could hurt this much and leave me alive.

 But I was alive. My heart still beat. My lungs still drew air. My body, this body he hated so much, refused to give up even though I wanted to.

 "Please," I gasped, reaching for him even though he'd destroyed me. The bond might be broken, but the love remained, twisted and wrong. "Please, Daemon. Don't do this. I'll change. I'll be better. I'll—"

 "Get. Out." He enunciated each word carefully, like I was too stupid to understand.

 Guards moved forward, grabbing my arms. They hauled me to my feet and started dragging me toward the exit. The pack parted to let us through, every face a blur of judgment and relief—relief that it was me being destroyed and not them.

 "Mom!" I cried out, but she turned away. She couldn't help me. No one could.

 They threw me out the front gates. I landed hard on the gravel, my hands scraping, my dress tearing. Behind me, I heard the gates slam shut with a finality that echoed through my bones.

 I was packless. Mateless. Alone.

 The forest stretched out before me, dark and endless. Night was falling, and I had nowhere to go. No money. No supplies. Nothing but the clothes on my back and a heart that kept beating even though it shouldn't.

 I forced myself to stand, legs shaking. I had to move. Had to survive. Even if I didn't want to.

 As I stumbled into the forest, I heard my wolf for the first time since the rejection—not howling anymore, just whispering one word over and over:

 *Run.*

 So I did.