CHAPTER 4

Ariana’s POV

The morning after the rejection felt heavier than anything I had ever carried. It wasn’t just the memory of Damien’s words echoing in my mind—it was the silence that followed them. A silence so deep that even my wolf refused to speak. She was wounded, hiding in the corner of my mind like a creature trying to protect itself from further pain.

I woke up slowly in Aunt Clara’s guest room, blinking at the soft light coming through the small window. Clara had made the room warm and comfortable when I first arrived—simple pink curtains, neat bedding, and a small vase of dried flowers on the table. It felt nothing like my room in the palace, but it had become a place where I could breathe. A place where I could be Aria Williams, the ordinary girl.

And now… the rejected girl.

Clara knocked gently before opening the door.

“Ari?... Are you awake, sweetheart?”

Her voice was soft, careful, as if she already knew that any harsh sound might break me.

“Yes, I’m awake,” I whispered.

She walked in and sat beside me, smoothing my messy hair. “You don’t have to go to school today if you don’t want to. It’s okay to rest.”

Rest.

If only heartbreak could be healed by sleeping longer.

“No… I’ll go,” I said softly. “Running away will only make things worse.”

Clara’s eyes softened with worry, but she didn’t argue. She knew I was stubborn in my own quiet way. She kissed my forehead and left me to prepare.

I moved slowly as I got dressed, my hands trembling each time I remembered the way Damien had looked at me—like I was something beneath him. Like the Moon Goddess had insulted him by choosing me.

You are not weak, I whispered to myself as I tied my hair in a bun.

But my voice didn’t sound convincing.

By the time I stepped outside, my heart was already racing. Silvercrest Pack was always active in the morning—warriors running, omegas carrying supplies, workers heading out. Today, however, something had changed.

Everyone was staring at me boldly with pity and most with amusement.

And the whispers spread like wildfire.

“There she is… the rejected girl.”

“I knew Damien wouldn’t accept someone like her.”

“Weak… too quiet… she doesn’t even look like a Gamma’s daughter.”

“Imagine thinking she could be our Luna.”

My chest tightened, but I kept walking. Aunt Clara had said the world could be cruel, but experiencing it this way was different. Painful, sharp and real.

School was worse.

I had barely reached the hallway before a group of girls blocked my path. I recognized them—popular, loud, and always watching from the corners of the cafeteria.

“Well, look who survived,” one of them said, folding her arms. “I didn’t think you’d show your face today.”

“Why?” another smirked. “Did she think Damien would change his mind overnight?”

Their laughter cut through the hallway, cold and mocking.

I didn’t respond. I knew better than to defend myself—it would only make me look desperate. So I walked past them, but one of them muttered loudly:

“If she becomes our Luna? I’ll reject this pack myself.”

The hallway erupted in quiet snickers.

I felt my throat tighten, but I did not stop walking.

When I reached my locker, I found Leah standing there, chewing nervously on her lip, and Ethan leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Their expressions softened when they saw me.

“Ari…” Leah breathed, pulling me into a hug. “Are you okay?”

No.

But I nodded anyway.

“Ari, you don’t have to pretend,” Ethan said, his voice unusually gentle. “We’re here, okay? No matter what they say.”

The warmth in their words loosened something in my chest. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Really.”

“People talk,” Leah continued. “They don’t know you. They don’t know anything about you. Just ignore them.”

Ignore them.

I wished it were that easy.

Classes passed slowly. Everywhere I went, whispers followed me like shadows. Some students didn’t bother whispering at all.

“If the Moon Goddess gave Damien someone like her, maybe she made a mistake.”

“She looks like she’ll cry any second.”

“No wonder he rejected her.”

By lunchtime, I could barely swallow my food. My hands shook every time someone stared too long. My wolf whimpered softly inside me—not out of weakness, but out of humiliation we both felt.

The final blow came when we were leaving school.

A boy I didn’t know well stepped in front of me and said loudly, “Aria Williams, rejected mate of the future Alpha, please step aside.”

People around him laughed.

He bowed dramatically, mocking the way nobles greeted each other.

Heat climbed up my neck. Embarrassment. Shame.

But also anger.

I stared at him calmly, even though my voice felt fragile.

“Are you done?”

He blinked, surprised by my tone. Then he scoffed and walked away.

Ethan muttered curses under his breath. Leah held my hand tightly.

I kept my head high even though I could feel tears burning behind my eyes.

When I reached home, Clara pulled me into her arms before I could speak.

“You’re shaking,” she whispered. “Ari… my sweet girl, what happened?”

Everything and nothing I could explain.

Clara didn’t push for answers. She simply held me until my breathing steadied. Only when I pulled away did she speak again.

“You didn’t deserve any of this.”

I swallowed. “Clara… It’s fine. It’s part of the experience. I came here to live like everyone else… this is what life is for them.”

Clara frowned. “Not like this.”

“But it’s true,” I said quietly. “No one would dare reject me if they knew who I really am. I’m only being treated this way because I’m hiding my identity. And that was my choice.”

Saying the words out loud made something settle inside me—a strange sense of acceptance. Not peace, not comfort, but acceptance.

I came here to live like an ordinary wolf. This pain was part of that life.

Later that night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. My chest still ached, but my tears had dried. My wolf slowly came forward, brushing her presence against my mind.

We are not weak, she whispered.

We survived.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

She was right.

The rejection bruised my heart, yes.

The pack’s mockery hurt, yes.

But it didn’t break me.

Ariana Mooncrest—the princess—would never be treated like this.

But Aria Williams, the ordinary girl, was learning something the palace would never teach:

Pain shapes strength.

Silence reveals truth.

Rejection builds resilience.

And even though the world around me now looked different, harsher, and colder…

I wasn’t going to bend nor was I going to crumble.

One day, they would know who I truly was and when that day came, I wouldn’t need revenge.

The truth alone would be enough.