Chapter Three: Rejected

By the time evening arrived, I found myself standing outside the grand ballroom doors with far less determination than I’d had earlier.

Music echoed faintly from inside the hall alongside laughter and conversation. The entire palace was alive tonight, celebrating the one thing that brought me so much pain.

My eyes fluttered closed as I took a deep breath, opening them as I exhaled softly.

Maybe Mona had been right. Maybe I shouldn’t have come at all.

But if I stayed hidden in my chambers, it would only be seen as weakness.

So despite every instinct telling me to turn around, I stepped inside.

The grand ballroom sparkled beneath crystal chandeliers, overflowing with nobles draped in expensive attire and even more expensive jewelry.

“Her Majesty, Queen Elira of Eryndor has arrived.” The Herald proclaimed, and I raised my chin a millimeter higher.

Heads turned to me, and the hall erupted into murmurs and whispers. Some gasped, others gave me pointed looks, and their pointed stares were more critical than usual.

I didn’t understand it at first, not until my gaze found Leon and Nyra seated with each other at the high table.

And she was wearing the same dress as me.

The hall fell silent for a moment, then the whispers erupted like an explosion, growing louder as my steps hitched.

“Oh my…”

“Is that intentional?”

“How embarrassing…”

“Is she trying to mock Lady Nyra?”

Nyra looked up at me, her eyes widening dramatically before her hand flew to her lips.

“I-I…” She stuttered, her voice trembling as she spoke. “I…didn’t know…”

The performance was flawless. She looked horrified enough to gain sympathy yet innocent enough to avoid blame.

“I swear I didn’t know the queen would be wearing the same gown,” Nyra sobbed, tears already gathering in her eyes. “Have I made a mistake?…. I really didn’t—”

Leon sprang to his feet, the sharp scrape of his chair against the floor cutting her off.

The hall fell into dead silence as his Alpha aura swept through the space like a deadly wave, nearly knocking me off my feet. Goosebumps littered my skin as he marched towards me, his eyes blazing with rage.

Nyra followed closely behind him, ignoring the warning signs of his aura as she clutched his arm. “Your Majesty,” she looked up at him desperately. “Please don’t be upset with the queen. She probably didn’t mean anything by it…”

I stared at Nyra, coming to know what kind of person she was.

A woman who would stab you in the chest with a sweet smile, then go on to cry the loudest at your funeral.

“Don’t worry Nyra,” Leon said to her, his cold expression softening as he wiped her tears, but when he faced me again, there was no hint of warmth or regard.

“I’ll take care of this.”

Before I could say anything, Leon snatched my wrist in a bruising grip and dragged me out of the hall, away from the watching crowd and into the corridor.

The moment the doors slammed shut behind us, he pushed me against the wall, pinning my hands above my head.

I winced as his grip tightened, his pupils glowing with dull light.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” he demanded.

My lips trembled slightly, the hairs on the back of my neck standing erect. But I managed to find my voice.

“You think I planned this?” My voice was barely above a whisper, taken aback by his accusation.

“Then explain why you’re wearing the same dress as her.” He snapped, eyeing me from head to toe. “You wanted people to compare you both, didn’t you? So they would mock her—mock me.”

A bitter laugh escaped me, the broken sound filling the space between us. “Is that what you think of me?”

To think we spent our entire childhood together, and yet he believes I would stoop so low out of spite.

“Don’t try to play the victim.” He shot back. “What would Nyra gain from doing this?”

“Perhaps you should ask your precious mistress the same question.”

I yelped as he roughly grabbed my chin, his fingers digging into my cheeks.

“Watch your mouth.”

Leon leaned close, his hot breath fanning against my face.

“And if you ever pull a stunt like this again….” He paused for a beat, letting the threat hang in the air. “….then I’ll make you regret it.”

“Why?” The question left my lips before I could stop it, coming out in a muffled sob. “Why did you change so much?”

The difference between the man standing before me and the boy I once knew was staggering, so much that I was starting to question my own memories.

Leon’s expression never faltered as he stepped back, finally letting me go.

My legs gave out from under me, and as I crumbled to the ground, clutching my throbbing chest, he didn’t even pretend to be bothered.

“I didn’t change.” He said after a brief moment. “You’re just stuck in the past.”

“You promised to protect me,” I went on, dragging myself back to my feet. “But instead you brought another woman into our home. You humiliated me in front of the entire kingdom, and now you think I’m the problem?”

Leon’s eyes hardened, but he said nothing.

“Tell me Leon,” I wiped my tears, already tired of fighting to be heard. To be seen. “What exactly did I do to deserve this?”

My dear husband turned away from me, and from where I stood, his back looked like a towering wall between us—one I could never climb or break through.

“You are still queen,” he said without looking at me, his voice flat and uninterested. “And you are the Astral Luna. You have everything an omega can only dream of. What more could you possibly want?”

You.

I wanted to say.

But the word got stuck in my throat.

“Don’t take your frustrations out on Nyra just because you’re unhappy with reality”

And with that, he returned to the ballroom, leaving me standing alone in the corridor.

***

I looked up at the night sky, blinking back my tears as a shaky breath escaped my lips.

I didn’t know how long I stood there, watching the stars twinkle and flicker in the dark.

My mind was blank, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and never wake up. But the symbol on my wrist reminded me that my life wasn’t truly mine.

On my way back to my chambers, my steps faltered as I passed the ballroom, watching Leon dance with Nyra through the colored windows.

They moved in perfect sync, their bodies swaying gracefully as everyone around them cheered.

My teeth sank into my bottom lip so hard it bled, the metallic taste prickling my tongue as I tore my gaze away.

I picked up my pace, wanting to drown out the sound of the celebration. I was grateful the halls were empty, knowing I looked less like a queen and more like a pathetic omega.

Then—

A shadow moved.

I stilled, my heart slamming against my ribs as three cloaked figures stood before me, the pressure of their dark aura locking me in place.

One drew a sword, the blade glinting beneath the moonlight, and that was enough to snap me out of my daze.

My scream got lodged in my throat as I gathered my gown and turned on my heel, running as fast as my heels could carry me.

They were assassins, no doubt about it, and I was unlucky enough to become their next target.

“Help—”

I choked as an invisible force wrapped around my neck, cutting me off.

It threw me off balance, sending me crashing onto the cold marble floor.

Pain exploded through my ankle, and as I scrambled backward, still trying to find my voice, the assassins closed in on me with slow, deliberate steps.

A dim, ominous light glowed from one of them, and the grip around my throat tightened.

Forbidden magic.

The realization slashed to me, narrowing my chances of escape.

“S-Stop…” I cried, my lungs burning from the lack of oxygen.

Was this the end?

Was this how the Moon Goddess wrote my fate? Dying at the hands of assassins while my husband dined with his mistress?

What about all the hard work I put in? The countless times I tried to prove my worth?

Did any of it mean anything at all?

My thoughts drifted as my vision began to blur, feeling my consciousness slip with each passing second.

The one with the sword raised their blade, ready to deliver the final blow.

As my eyes fluttered closed, I prayed to the Moon Goddess, and if I was truly the Astral Luna, then let there be a purpose to all the pain I had endured.

The sound of the sword cutting through the air came next, and I instinctively braced myself.

But instead of pain, a gust of wind slammed into my face.

My eyes snapped open just in time to see the assassin’s body fly sideways, slamming into the wall so hard it cracked the stone.

His sword clattered to the ground, and the other two barely had time to react before a new presence emerged from the shadows.

They moved so fast that everything blurred into motion.

In the next second, the assassin using forbidden magic slumped to the ground, a pool of blood spreading beneath him.

I gasped as the force around my neck disappeared, breaking into a fit of coughs.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, the last assassin charged at me—but he was stopped mid-motion as the attacker grabbed him by the hood and slammed him into the ground.

The earth trembled from the impact, the shock rippling through the hall like a warning.

A cloud of dust filled the air, and for a moment, I couldn’t see anything. All I could hear was rough breathing, the distant crackle of collapsing debris, and soft footsteps approaching me.

I unconsciously held my breath as the footsteps grew closer, reaching for a piece of debris as I struggled to get back on my feet.

“Don’t come any closer!” I yelled frantically, not sure if this mysterious person was friend or foe.

When the dust settled, the silver rays of the moon spilled through the windows, revealing the tall figure of an unfamiliar man.

He held his hands up in surrender, showing he meant no harm.

But that wasn’t what made my fingers tighten around the rock, or why goosebumps spread across my skin, my lips parting in awe.

It was his eyes.

They were golden, soft, and luminous like sunlight held in still water.

Something warm stirred inside me, familiar in a way I could not explain.

A voice whispered in my head, quiet at first, then it spread through my subconscious.

‘Mate.’

My eyes widened as the word continued to echo through my mind, pulling at my nerve endings and shattering everything I thought I knew.

Was that…

Was that my wolf?

Mate!

Her voice came again, sharper this time, startling me.

The rock slipped from my grasp, rolling across the floor before coming to a stop at the man’s feet.

He still held his hands up in surrender, his brows furrowed with concern as he looked down at me.

“Are you alright?” he finally asked, his tone soft yet steady.

When he took a step forward, I snapped out of my daze, springing to my feet despite the sharp pain that shot through my ankle.

“Stop…” I warned, my voice trembling.

My wolf’s presence pulsed beneath my skin, more alive than it had ever been before. Every instinct inside me seemed drawn toward the stranger standing a few feet away, and it terrified me.

Because it made no sense.

For years, I had convinced myself that Leon was the person the Moon Goddess intended for me. Even after our bond never appeared, a foolish part of me had continued hoping.

Then he came home with Nyra, shoving the cold truth in my face. I had barely recovered from that shock and now I was faced with another revelation.

One that shook me to my very bones.