CHAPTER 1 - THE REJECTION

The sound of crystal glasses clinking and laughing echoing through the golden hall felt like knives scraping across my nerves.

 I stood under the shimmering lights of the Moonstone Gala, holding my champagne flute so tightly it shook.  Everyone looked perfect, glittering gowns, smart suits, flawless smiles  while I stood there, trying to keep my heart from breaking in half.

 I told myself to breathe, to smile, to pretend this was just another night.

 But I knew something was coming.

 Something terrible.

 Damon Blackwood, the Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack, the man the Moon Goddess had bound my soul to, turned toward me.  His cold blue eyes, the same eyes that once relaxed when they looked at me, now felt like frostbite.

 He raised his glass.  “To my future Luna,” he said, his deep voice booming through the hall.

 The crowd clapped.  Cameras flashed.

 And then my world ended.

 Because standing next to him wasn’t me.

 It was her.

 Celeste Valen is tall, sleek, and dressed in silver silk that fits her perfect body.  Her lips curved into a wicked smile, and when her gaze found mine across the room, she looked… triumphant.

 I felt my throat tighten.  “Damon,” I whispered, my voice shaking.  “What are you doing?”

 He turned, his jaw tight, but his voice carried through the room like a blade.  “You were never meant to be my Luna, Rory.  You embarrass me.”

 The words hit harder than a punch.

 The crowd gasped, muttering.

 For a moment, I couldn’t move.  Couldn’t breathe.

 Embarrass him?

 After everything?  The nights I stayed up healing him after raids, the way I protected him when his pack doubted his leadership, the love I gave him so completely it killed me?

 Celeste’s hand slid along his arm.  “She doesn’t fit, Damon.  Everyone knows it.”

 Her voice was syrup-sweet, loud enough for everyone to hear.

 My eyes burned.  “So that’s it?  You shame me in front of everyone and crown her instead?”

 His eyes hardened.  “You don’t understand.  This is politics, Rory.  The pack deserves a Luna who looks the part, not someone who hides behind fears and pity.”

 Tears welled up before I could stop them.  “I loved you,” I whispered.

 He paused for the briefest second  just a flicker of shame, maybe  then turned away.

 “Love doesn’t make a Luna,” he said coldly.  “Strength does.”

 Celeste leaned in and kissed him  right there, under the lights, with the cameras snapping.

 My body went cold.  My heart stopped.

 And then I ran.

 The night air hit me like ice as I stumbled out of the hotel.  Rain poured down, soaking through my gown, sticking my hair to my face.  I didn’t care.  My heels slipped on the marble steps as I ran, gasping, tears mixed with the rain.

 I could still hear his words echoing  You embarrass me.

 Every laugh, every whisper from the hall behind me, felt like claws tearing into my chest.

 I had given him everything.  My heart, my trust… my future.

 Now all I had left was pain.

 Lightning flashed across the sky.  My wolf stirred within me, restless and hurt, but I pushed her down.

 Don’t shift.  Don’t let them see you break.

 “Rory!” a voice called behind me.  It was Lila, my best friend and Gamma of the pack.  She ran toward me, her umbrella flipping inside out in the storm.  “Stop!  You can’t just run like this”

 “I’m done, Lila,” I choked out.  “He made his choice.”

 Her eyes softened.  “Not like this, Rory.  Don’t let them see you destroyed.”

 “Destroyed?”  I laughed bitterly.  “He just told everyone I’m not good enough to stand beside him.  What else is there left to see?”

 Lila tried to hold my arm.  “You have to leave before the press”

 “Let them take their pictures!”  I cried.  “Maybe they’ll see what heartbreak looks like up close!”

 The rain roared harder, thunder cracking overhead.

 Lila’s phone buzzed.  She glanced at it, her face changing.  “Oh Goddess…  they’ve already posted the pictures.  The title says ‘Alpha Blackwood announces marriage to Celeste Valen.’”

 My knees buckled.  “Engaged?”  My voice broke.  “He didn’t just reject me, he replaced me.”

 Lila tried to support me, but I pulled away, shaking.  “I can't stay here.  Not after this.”

 “Where will you go?” she asked softly.

 “Anywhere he’s not.”

 Flashback:

 For a moment, the storm faded.  I could almost hear his voice again, softer, warmer  the way he used to whisper against my skin.

 “You’re my moonlight, Rory.  My reason to fight.  Don’t ever doubt that.”

 And I had believed him.  I had believed every word.

 Back to Present:

 The thunder roared again, pulling me back to the cruel now.

 My body shook with a mixture of cold, pain, and rage.  “I hate him,” I whispered.  “I hate that I still love him.”

 Lila’s expression relaxed.  “He’ll regret this.”

 “No,” I said, voice shaking.  “He won’t.  Men like Damon never look back.”

 A sharp pain tore through my belly.  I gasped, doubling over.  Lila dropped the umbrella and grabbed my shoulders.

 “Rory?  What’s wrong?”

 “I don’t know.”  The pain spread, twisting deep inside me.  My hands went to my stomach, and a strange, frightened thought hit me all at once.

 It couldn’t be.

 It shouldn’t be.

 But it was.

 Lila’s eyes widened.  “Rory…  you’re shaking.  What’s happening?”

 My lips shook as I whispered the words that would change everything.

 “I think I’m pregnant.”

 Lila froze, rain dripping down her face.  “Pregnant?  You mean”

 “Yes,” I whispered, voice raw.  “Damon’s child.”

 She looked around nervously.  “You can’t stay here.  If he finds out”

 “He won’t,” I said quickly, holding my stomach.  “He doesn’t deserve to know.  Not after tonight.”

 “But the pack”

 “I’m not part of that pack anymore,” I said through tight teeth.  “He made sure of that.”

 I stumbled behind the hotel, into the shadow of a marble pond.  The rain had turned the ground wet, my gown torn and heavy.  My hands shook as I leaned against the wall, dread rising.

 My heart pounded in my ears as flashes of memory tore through me  his touch, his kiss, the vows mumbled in the dark.

 You’re mine, Rory.  Always.

 Lies.

 All of it.

 I bent over and threw up, tears mixed with rain and bile.  My vision blurred, my body shaking furiously.

 When it passed, I pressed my hand against my belly again  the tiniest, most fragile spark of life beneath my skin.

 Our child.

 I bit my lip, shaking my head.  “You’ll never know this pain, Damon,” I whispered into the night.  “But one day… you’ll regret it.”