Chapter 2_Public Rejection

Standing right beside him was my older sister, Emily. She was wearing a gorgeous red dress that caught everyone's eye. Her light brown hair was styled in soft waves, and a confident, glowing smile rested on her lips.

And worst of all—her hand was wrapped securely around Xavier's arm. Neither of them was letting go.

My feet stopped moving. My mind refused to process what my eyes were seeing. Emily? Standing with Xavier? That made no sense. They barely spoke to each other. At least, not that I ever knew.

"Xavier?" I whispered. My voice was small, but in the sudden quiet of the hall, it carried clearly.

Xavier turned his head. His golden eyes locked onto mine.

I waited for him to smile, to pull away from Emily, to tell everyone it was a bad joke. I waited for him to look at me with the love he always showed me. But nothing changed. His face was cold as stone. There was no warmth, no guilt, no recognition of our bond. He looked at me the way a stranger looks at a bug on the ground.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the entire room. Everyone was watching us now, waiting for what would happen next.

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice shaking as I took two small steps forward. "Xavier, why are you standing with her?"

Xavier did not answer right away. He tightened his grip on Emily’s hand, pulling her slightly closer to his side. Then, he cleared his throat, and his deep Alpha voice echoed off the wooden walls.

"Members of the Crescent Moon Pack," Xavier announced, his voice steady and commanding. "Tonight, I have an announcement to make regarding the future of our pack. For a long time, we have discussed who should stand as Luna by my side."

People in the crowd leaned in closer, listening carefully. My hands shook so badly I had to curl them into tight fists inside the pockets of my coat.

"After careful thought," Xavier continued, his eyes staying fixed on the crowd before finally glancing back down at me with absolute coldness, "I have chosen Emily Blackwood as my future Luna."

The room exploded.

Loud cheers and claps filled the air. People smiled, patted each other on the back, and shouted words of congratulations.

But for me, time completely stopped. The sounds around me faded away into a dull, meaningless hum. My chest felt hollow, like someone had reached inside and ripped out my heart.

"No," I breathed, shaking my head. "No, this isn't real."

I stumbled forward, ignoring the stares of the crowd. "Xavier, look at me! We are mates! The Moon Goddess chose us!"

Xavier’s jaw tightened. A flash of pure annoyance crossed his handsome face, as if my words were an insult to him. He stepped to the edge of the stage, towering over me.

"Fated or not, you are weak, Lyra," he said coldly, loud enough for everyone to hear every single word. "You do not have the strength to lead a pack. You are too emotional, too fragile, too ordinary. Emily has the ambition, the power, and the mind to rule beside me. You were never enough."

You were never enough.

Those four words sliced through my soul like a sharp knife. Beside him, Emily lowered her gaze, putting on a fake, trembling expression of innocence for the pack to see, but the corners of her lips twitched upward in a victorious smile. My own sister. My own blood. She had planned this behind my back.

"I am finished letting an old bond hold back my pack," Xavier declared. He squared his shoulders, letting out a heavy wave of Alpha pressure that forced several weaker pack members to bow their heads.

Inside my head, my wolf let out a terrified, high-pitched whimper. No... please, no...

Xavier looked straight into my eyes one last time.

"I, Alpha Xavier Nightshade of the Crescent Moon Pack, reject you, Lyra Blackwood, as my mate."

The moment those words left his mouth, a sudden, blinding pain exploded inside my chest. It felt like invisible claws were tearing right through my soul. The sacred mate bond snapped in two, sending burning, electric agony through every single nerve and bone in my body.

A raw, terrifying scream tore from my throat. My knees gave out completely, and I crashed hard onto the cold stone floor of the hall. I clawed at my chest, gasping for air as hot tears streamed down my face. My wolf howled in endless pain, fading into silence inside my mind.

"Get up and take her out," Xavier ordered, his voice completely devoid of any mercy or pity. "She is making a scene."

Two pack guards rushed forward, grabbing my arms to drag me away.

"Wait" I sobbed, my voice breaking. I pressed a trembling hand against my lower stomach. The baby. I have to tell him about the baby. "Xavier... please... listen to me..."

Suddenly, a sharp, violent cramp ripped through my lower belly. A sickening wave of hot liquid washed down my legs.

Panic, colder and heavier than the rejection itself, froze my blood. Through my blurry, tear-filled eyes, I looked down. A dark, ugly stain of blood was spreading rapidly across the light blue fabric of my dress.

My heart stopped beating. My baby.

"Take her away," Xavier repeated, turning his back on me entirely to wrap his arm around Emily's waist as the crowd cheered again.

As darkness crept in from the edges of my vision, I closed my eyes, letting the cold floor swallow me whole.