Chapter 2: The Rejection

I had barely slept a wink when a horrible pounding sent me scrambling to the corner in fear.

The mark burning on my wrist burned but it was strangely comforting. 

Slowly, the door opened to reveal a pack warrior and I frowned, standing up in confusion.

Why would a warrior be here by this time of day? 

“You have been summoned to a council meeting,” he said and my confusion increased.

Why would I be summoned? Did something happen? 

I didn’t argue, I dressed quickly, my uneven hair impossible to fix. 

The council hall was a different building from the hall of last night. Stone pillars stretched upwards, and the faces waiting inside were strange… at least to me.

As I walked in, the full brunt of shame slammed me in the chest as everyone looked at my hair. 

A murmur rippled, quick and quickly swallowed. 

The warriors lining the wall didn’t move—they never did. People lowered their eyes, not in respect but relief that they weren’t me. 

Shame made my cheeks hot but I straightened my spine. I was to be their queen in a few hours, I could use a little practice. I refused to shrink.  

My eyes moved to everyone before settling on my soon to be, a small smile began to form only to find it snatched away. 

Cara stepped out from behind him and walked straight into his arms. 

My eyes flickered to everyone in the room and nobody batted an eyelid? 

Something tightened in my chest. That’s why they are looking at me like that. 

She was dressed in his colours, her cheeks red as though she just finished crying and before I could predict her next steps, she walked into his arms.

I opened my mouth to speak, a courage I had never had before forming at the out of my stomach when a voice bellowed.

“Lana Ashford. Step into the ring,” a man, older than my father ordered and my body obeyed before my mind could catch up. 

What was this about? 

My eyes moved across everyone and noted with shock that Selene was here and so was my…father.

Elder Marsh, a man with sparse hair and a badge with his name in front of his desk spoke first.

"Lena Ashford. Designated consort to Prince Adrian. He has called this council to address that designation.”

My eyes snapped to Adrain but he wasn’t looking at me… he was looking at Cara. My mouth went dry. 

For a second, I remembered his hand on mine the night before and the way I had thought it meant something. The thought vanished. 

When he finally did look at me, there was nothing but coldness there. 

Every sense of recognition had vanished. Something about it made me feel at a loss. 

A harsh air ran though the halls and I shivered but not from the cold.

He spoke clearly…

“I reject… I reject the Moon Goddess's designation,” he said, his voice steady. “I reject Lena Ashford as my consort." 

A pause. 

"Cara is my chosen mate."

The bond shattered.

It didn’t fade… it tore. 

My knees hit the stone as pain ripped through me, raw and violent, dragging a broken sound from my throat. My hand slammed against the ground, the cold stone biting into my skin. 

My wolf didn’t fight, she didn’t howl either. She went silent, no resistance, no protest. Just… gone. 

The world blurred at the edges.

"Lena."

Cara’s voice was soft… too soft. 

“Just accept it,” she murmured. “The pain stops when you accept it.”

Her hand touched my arm. 

I stared at it. 

Last night, the same hand held me down while I screamed. This morning she was pretending to be merciful.

I shoved her away.

She flinched back, a soft sound leaving her lips—carefully fragile. 

“Don’t make this uglier than it has to be,” she whispered, leaning closer. “You were never meant for him.”

A small smile covered her lips—quick and hidden. 

“I knew he’d choose me,” she said. “I only wondered how long he’d let you embarrass yourself first.”

Something cold settled inside of me, cutting clean through the pain. 

“Don’t perform for me.”

Her expression flickered… then dropped. 

“There you are,” she said quietly. “I was getting bored.”

My hands trembled against the floor.

“You were in my room last night,” I said. “You held my wrist until I cried. Your mother cut my hair”

Her eyes flicked over the uneven strands, unimpressed.

“And?” She asked. “It suits you.”

A sharp inhale came from somewhere behind us. 

Care leaned closer, her voice lowering. 

“He kissed me before sunrise,” she said, her eyes glittering. “Called last night a mistake.”

The words hit harder than the rejection. 

For a split second, I saw his hand brushing mine and the way I thought it meant something. Then it shattered. 

I moved before I could think and shoved her. 

She hit the ground with a sharp crack. For a split second, fury twisted her face—real, ugly and unmasked.

“You filthy little—”

Then—

"How dare you?”

Adrian’s voice cut through the room like a blade and the hall immediately fell silent. 

"You will not touch your future Luna,” he said coldly. "You will show respect in this hall and you will—"

"She is not my Luna."

The words left my mouth before I could stop them. 

Adrian went still.

"She will never be my Luna," I said, forcing my voice to be steady. "She's my stepsister. And standing beside her doesn’t suddenly make her worthy of respect—it just raises questions about you.”  

Silence. 

I turned my head. My father stood against the right wall, I looked at him just once. He didn’t even hesitate before looking away. He didn’t move nor did he speak.  

“Accept the rejection,” Adrian ordered, his Alpha command crashing into me. “Now."

My wolf buckled under it. Pain surged, sharp and suffocating. 

I thought about the mark that had burned on my wrist only hours ago and about what it felt like to have something that was mine. 

Then I let go. 

My wolf whimpered. Small and low, somewhere deep inside me.

My voice came out the same way.

"I accept."

The bond vanished. Just nothing where something had been.

Adrian nodded, already turning away. His hand settled on Cara's back as she leaned into him.

I watched her do it and felt nothing, and that scared me more than feeling something would have.

Elder Marsh stood.

"Under pack law, a rejected consort does not dissolve,” he announced and my stomach dropped. 

What now?

“She passes to the next Alpha in the bloodline."