Rejected By My Mate, Reborn As The Luna Sovereign

“I, Alpha Elias Stormbane, reject you, Iris Devenwood, as my mate and Luna.” The words echoed like a death bell, sharp enough to slice through bone. My chest tightened, air refusing to enter my lungs as the elders leaned forward, murmurs rippling like wildfire. I blinked at him, searching for the boy who used to climb into my window with stolen moonflowers, the man who swore he would choose me against the world. But his golden eyes once warm were cold as steel. “No…” The whisper tore from me, fragile and broken. “Elias, you don’t mean this. You can’t mean this.” He didn’t even flinch. A cruel smirk touched the corner of his lips, the kind that made the elders nod in approval while my heart bled out. “I can, and I do. You were mistaken, Iris. You took my kindness for love. You’re too weak to stand beside me. Too fragile to be my Luna. This pack needs someone who can lead them, not one more thing to protect.” My legs trembled beneath me, but somehow, I forced myself to stand tall.

I turned, ready to see the Moon Goddess herself. But it was worse. My mother was smiling at me a gesture I hadn’t seen on her face for all the nineteen years I had lived. You’d think, okay, it couldn’t get weirder than this. But then Beta Alaric walked in, his suit polished, his hair combed, and some kind of gleam in his eyes. Eyes that looked just like mine. Behind him stood his favorite son. Thorn towered at an imposing six foot eight, making everyone in the hall look small. But he was also… different. Thorn was normally lean, not because he was born that way but because he was too lazy to build up any muscle at all. But now? He was muscular I could see his muscle through the coat. Conclusion? This wasn’t my family. “Iris, you’re finally up!” my mother squealed, practically skipping toward me and Lily. “I… I…” I wasn’t sure what to say. This was the same woman who once slapped me just for standing in front of her in the morning. Apparently, seeing me first thing in the mor

The council chamber doors looked exactly like they did in my old life except somehow bigger and more intimidating. I knew those wolf carvings by heart, the way the stone curved at the edges, even the small chip near the bottom left corner where some clumsy elder had dropped his walking stick years ago.Everything here felt like home but wrong at the same time, like wearing clothes that almost fit but pinch in weird places."Luna, you don't have to do this if you're not ready," Zayen said softly and his hand found mine. His fingers were warm and steady and I realized he'd been holding my hand for the past few minutes while I just stood there staring at doors like they might explode.Great. Now he probably thinks I'm losing it completely."I'm fine," I lied and squeezed his hand back. His smile was so genuine it made my chest hurt in a good way.The doors opened before we reached them and I had to resist the urge to laugh because apparently even in this universe the elders loved their d

The house erupted into chaos the moment we walked through the back doors and I felt that familiar tightness in my chest that always came when I was surrounded by too many people making decisions about my life. Guards appeared out of nowhere, Zayen came running down the main staircase looking like he was ready to murder someone with his bare hands, and Ren practically teleported from whatever room he'd been in to suddenly be right beside me."What happened?" Zayen demanded while his eyes swept over me looking for injuries and then locked onto Elias who was still wearing nothing but Lily's cardigan around his waist."Five armed men attacked them in the garden," Elias said calmly while completely ignoring the fact that he was mostly naked in a room full of people. "Professional team, coordinated assault, they knew exactly where to find her."The sound of his voice made my skin crawl and I had to resist the urge to step away from him. Every word that came out of his mouth reminded me of t

I woke up the next morning with dirt under my fingernails and the taste of mint on my lips and it took me a solid thirty seconds to remember why. Then it all came rushing back and I buried my face in my pillow while trying to decide if I was embarrassed or thrilled about what had happened with Ren in the garden. We'd ended up making out among the herb plants for what felt like hours while his healing energy made everything feel more intense and wonderful than it had any right to be. Eventually we'd reluctantly separated because he kept insisting that someone might come looking for me and find us tangled together in the dirt like a couple of teenagers. The memory of his hands in my hair and the way he'd looked at me like I was something precious made warmth spread through my chest all over again. I'd never had someone touch me with that much reverence before, like he couldn't quite believe I was real and choosing him. A k