CHAPTER 6 – THE REJECTION CEREMONY

SAMANTHA'S POV

The night was too quiet for mourning.

The Crescent Moon Pack’s great hall had been transformed into a place of eerie beauty. Long silver drapes floated like ghosts from the high rafters. Dozens of candles flickered in polished iron sconces, their glow casting shadows that danced along the walls like restless spirits. A great feast had been laid out—roasted boar, honeyed root vegetables, goblets of elderberry wine—but no one touched the food.Conversations were hushed, faces drawn. The mourning feast had begun—but no one was truly feasting.

Not even me.

It was the mourning feast for Luna Marie.

I stood near the far end of the hall, stiff in the dark green ceremonial dress that clung to me like a second skin. The dress that cost Luna Marie’s life. My hands trembled against the folds of the fabric. My heart pounded in my chest, a slow, thunderous ache that grew with each tick of silence. I didn’t know what was worse—the silence of those who once smiled at me, or the eyes of those who never did. Both weighed the same: full of unspoken accusation.

Eyes followed me—pitying, curious, cruel. They lingered on the white streak in my hair, the mark of the curse no one dared name aloud.

A glass clinked.

I turned toward the sound like a marionette on strings. Elias stood at the head table, dressed in his finest black tunic lined with silver threading. He looked every bit the Alpha-in-waiting—broad-shouldered, calm-eyed, confident.

But I knew him better than that.

His jaw was tight. His fingers curled around the stem of his goblet with too much force, the veins along his wrist taut. When his eyes flicked to mine, they didn’t hold the warmth I once knew—only storm clouds. And beneath them, something else. Guilt?

Or regret?

Alpha John raised his hand and the courtyard fell into silence.

“Tonight, we honor a beloved Luna,” he said, his voice sharp and sure. “A woman of grace and strength. Marie guided this pack with wisdom unmatched, and we send her to the Moon Goddess with pride and grief in equal measure.”

A howl rose from the crowd—long, mournful, and unified.

Samantha bowed her head, biting her lip to stifle a sob. Her heart felt raw.

But the ceremony wasn’t over.

Alpha John continued, “In the wake of her passing, it is time to look ahead. To prepare this pack for the future. To acknowledge truth and move forward.”

Samantha’s spine stiffened.

A hush fell over the room like snowfall. Elias took a step forward.

“Samantha Morgan,” he said, voice steady and clear. “Step forward.”

My stomach dropped. My breath caught.

No. Not now. Not like this.

I moved as though in a trance, feet gliding across the marble floor, every step burning with the weight of knowing. I reached the center of the hall, the place where offerings were laid, oaths spoken.

And hearts broken.

Elias looked down at me—his eyes unreadable now, cold. The same boy who once held me as I cried under the moonlight, who whispered promises into my hair… now stood as a stranger.

A rival.

“Samantha,” he said again, softer this time. “You were once… meant for me. The Moon Goddess chose you. My wolf recognized yours.”

I swallowed hard. My fists clenched at my sides. The crowd watched like hawks. Not a breath stirred.

“But,” Elias continued, “the bond between us has changed. What was once fated… is no longer right.”

My heart stopped.

Pain lanced through my chest—not the sharp stab I’d prepared for, but something deeper. Hollowing. A cavern opening inside me.

“You’re rejecting me,” I whispered. Reality finally dawning on me.

He nodded slowly. “I, Elias Lockwood, son of John Lockwood, reject you, Samantha Morgan, as my fated mate.”

His voice didn’t waver. Not once.

But I saw it. The twitch of his jaw. The tightness around his eyes. The way his hand fell to his side like it had dropped something heavy.

I couldn’t breathe.

The silence in the hall was no longer respectful—it was ravenous.

All eyes on me.

Say it, Samantha. Accept it. Say it before you break in front of them.

But the words wouldn’t come.

My wolf howled deep inside, clawing at the inside of my ribs, furious and wounded. A bond was being severed—not just by words, but by the shredding of something sacred. My soul stretched taut like a thread near snapping.

“You must accept,” Elias murmured, barely audible.

I looked up at him—at the boy I had loved since childhood, at the man who now turned from me like I was ash on his tongue.

His gaze faltered.

And in that sliver of weakness, I saw the truth.

He didn’t want this.

But he was doing it anyway.

For them.

For the pack.

For his image.

A flicker of power stirred in me, sharp and cold. Not magic. Not vengeance.

Clarity.

“I accept,” I said, my voice echoing louder than I meant. “I, Samantha Morgan, accept your rejection.”

The bond snapped.

Not a clean break.

It tore.

I staggered back a step, the ground suddenly too real, too heavy. Pain surged through me—not just emotional, but physical. My chest burned. My knees threatened to give. But I didn’t fall.

I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. A few elders looked away. One woman near the corner crossed herself as if to ward off something dark.

I straightened.

Elias’s mouth opened like he might say something more, but a new voice pierced the silence.

“I believe congratulations are in order,” a honeyed voice drawled.

From the shadows near the head table, Rose Ryder stepped forward.

Her golden curls glowed in the firelight. Her red dress clung to her like blood on silk, eyes glinting like a fox who had just devoured a hen. She walked with purpose—past the crowd, past the shocked elders—straight to Elias.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t smile.

Didn’t speak.

But he didn’t stop her, either.

She slid her hand into his, her fingers threading through his like vines wrapping around a dying tree.

“With the blessing of my father and the will of the Moon, I name Rose Ryder as my chosen mate.” Elias said

“I am honored,” she purred, “to be chosen as the new Luna of this pack.”

The air shattered like glass.

My vision tunneled. My breath caught.

Luna?

Chosen?

Elias didn’t even flinch.

“Elias?” I choked, taking a step forward. “You’re choosing her?”

He looked at me.

Just once.

And in his eyes, I saw something flicker—pain, maybe. Or guilt. Or the ghost of what we used to be, What we could have been.

But then it vanished.

“Yes,” he said.

A single word.

Final. Cold. Absolute.

The room erupted. Gasps. Murmurs. Applause from some—those who had always whispered that I wasn’t fit, that a cursed wolf had no place at the Alpha’s side.

I turned away.

I wouldn’t let them see me fall.

Not here.

Not now.

The torches hissed, and behind me, Elias raised his goblet once more.

“To Rose Ryder,” he announced. “My chosen mate.”

I fled the hall before the cheers could rise.

The stone corridor outside was colder than the feast. I ran until the walls blurred, until the pain inside me roared louder than the sounds behind.

Until I reached the woods, where the Moonlight filtered through branches and the wind tasted of salt and sorrow.

Then—I howled.

Not for Elias.

Not for the bond.

But for everything I had just lost.

In the shadows of the woods, unseen by Samantha, a pair of glowing silver eyes watched her break—silent… but not indifferent.