CHAPTER 2 — Rejected Before the Moon

POV: Lyra

Whatever Princess Selene knew, she was about to make sure the entire pack watched me break before she said it.

The silence in the courtyard was louder than any scream, a heavy, suffocating weight pressing down on every soul present. 

No one moved, no one breathed, as I stood frozen beneath the brilliant gaze of the full moon, staring up at Rowan while Princess Selene slipped gracefully onto the sacred altar beside him like she belonged there all along.

My ears rang violently, and I could still hear his devastating words echoing over and over inside my head, bouncing against my skull like a cruel chant: My chosen Luna is Princess Selene Ashcroft.

This wasn't happening, it couldn't be real because it felt like a nightmare I was desperately trying to claw my way out of.

"This isn't happening," I spoke with a low, trembling tune, shaking my head back and forth in sheer disbelief as my vision blurred with unshed tears. "It's some kind of sick joke, tell me it's a joke, Rowan."

He didn't answer, and he didn't even look down at me.

I forced my trembling legs to move, one heavy step and then another, as the crowd of pack members slowly parted before me, leaving a clear, agonizing path between Rowan and where I stood and every eye in the clearing followed my slow, broken march until I stopped right at the foot of the elevated stone altar.

"Rowan," I said, my voice cracking painfully on his name, tearing the raw edges of my throat. "You promised me and you gave me your word."

His jaw tightened so hard I could see the muscles clench beneath his skin and for one brief, fleeting moment, something flickered deep within his dark eyes, regret, sharp and burning before it vanished instantly, buried beneath a cold, impenetrable mask I didn't recognize.

"Things have changed, Lyra," he said, his voice flat, emotionless, refusing to look down at me.

I shook my head violently, the tears finally spilling over my lashes. "No, no, you don't get to say that! You don't get to just throw five years away! You told me we would stand here together, you said this day would belong to us and you promised me beneath the Moon Tree.

Rowan!" I cried out, my hands flying to my chest as the pain grew heavier, "you swore under the sacred boughs that I was your only choice!"

The mention of the Moon Tree made his fingers curl tightly into iron fists at his sides, and I noticed it even from several paces away.

Beta Gavin, standing near the edge of the platform, clenched his fists too, his face pale with unspoken guilt, but Rowan quickly hid the reaction, smoothing his features back into cold stone.

Princess Selene stepped closer to him, her silk gown rustling softly, and gently rested a manicured hand on his muscular arm, her touch was possessive and deliberate.

"Your Alpha has already made his choice, child," she said softly, her voice sounding sickeningly sweet like dripping honey, though her eyes were filled with venom. "Accept it with some grace and save yourself further embarrassment."

I ignored her completely, treating her words like the poison they were, my eyes never left Rowan's face, searching desperately for the man I loved.

"If I've done something wrong, tell me," I pleaded, my voice dropping to a desperate whisper, aching with humiliation. "Tell me what I did, and I'll fix it, i always have." I asked .

The words tasted like jagged pieces of broken glass sliding across my tongue, sharp and bleeding, because they were entirely true.

For years I had fixed everything he couldn't handle. 

I had stayed up for nights on end healing pack warriors when they returned from the borders bleeding and broken.

I had planted new fields with my own hands when early winter frosts destroyed our crops; and I had stayed steadfast beside Rowan, whispering courage into his ear when he doubted himself after becoming Alpha at too young a tender age.

Through every hardship, every trial, and every dark night, I had never asked for anything in return, except for him, just him.

The Moon Priest sighed heavily, the sound ancient and sorrowful, and said, his voice echoing across the silent courtyard, "Alpha Rowan, you have named another Luna before the Goddess and if you truly wish to break the sacred Mate Bond, you must speak the ancient rejection."

A frightened murmur spread rapidly through the crowd like wildfire as several older pack members lowered their heads in deep shame, because everyone, every single wolf from pup to elder knew what those sacred, brutal words meant, and once spoken before the altar, nothing could ever be undone, and the wound left behind would never truly heal.

My heart pounded frantically against my ribs. He wouldn't do it, I told myself, panic clawing at my throat, he couldn't, not after everything we've shared, not after the blood and sweat we poured into this pack together.

I searched his face one last time, my eyes wide and swimming with tears, silently begging him across the empty space: Please, choose us, choose me, don't throw us away.

Instead of backing down, he stepped forward to the edge of the stone platform and the silver, mystical flames burning in the ceremonial braziers suddenly rose higher, casting wild, dancing shadows, while moonlight poured down directly over him as the sacred pack magic accepted the heavy ritual. 

Deep within my chest, my wolf stirred weakly, letting out a pitiful, terrified whimper, begging him not to let this happen, scratching desperately at the walls of my mind.

I wrapped my arms tightly around my waist, shivering violently as a sudden, unnatural chill swept over the clearing, I felt cold, so very cold.

Rowan looked directly into my eyes and his expression entirely unreadable, devoid of all the love I had known for half a decade, and then, he opened his mouth and spoke the words that would destroy my entire existence.

"I, Rowan Blackwood, Alpha of the Blackwood Pack," his voice remained terrifyingly calm, steady, and horribly detached. "reject" he added, pausing just for a fraction of a second.

"Lyra Ashwood, he continued, as my fated mate," he finished cleanly.

The word struck my chest like a physical blade forged in ice, and I couldn't draw. The world exploded into agony and a sharp, blinding pain ripped straight through the center of my chest, and I screamed out, not because I wanted to draw attention, but because the torment was so absolute that I simply couldn't stop it.

 It felt as though invisible, razor-sharp claws were plunging into my flesh and tearing my heart completely into two, my legs buckled beneath me, and I dropped hard onto my knees as the sacred stone beneath me felt like jagged ice against my skin, sending shockwaves up my arms.

My hands shook violently as inside my mind, my wolf cried out in sheer, unadulterated terror, her heartbreaking howl echoing through every single fiber of my soul. No! He's leaving us! He's cutting us loose!

Blinding silver light burst from my skin for a split second as I clutched frantically at my chest, the invisible, glowing bond connecting Rowan's soul to mine stretched tighter and tighter, humming with desperate energy, until, with a sound like shattering crystal, it snapped.

The pain of the break was utterly unbearable, it wasn't just my heart that was shattering; it was my very soul, and half of my internal world suddenly plunged into a vast, terrifying emptiness.

My wolf let out one final, agonizing cry of absolute despair, and then silence, a complete and dead silence.

Luna? I called out desperately into the dark corners of my mind, tears streaming hot down my face. Luna, please answer me!

Nothing, absolutely nothing, she was gone and silenced by the brutal severing of our bond.

Fresh, burning tears rolled down my cheeks unchecked because I had lost Rowan, the man I had given my youth and my heart to, and now, in the same breath, I had lost my wolf, the very piece of my soul that made me whole.

Whispers began to ripple through the stunned crowd surrounding me, cutting through the heavy air like knives.

"I've never seen a rejection this painful," a terrified voice whispered from the shadows.

"The poor girl, she gave everything to him," another voice spoke with a hint of pity.

"Maybe she should have known her place instead of reaching above her station," a harsh female voice snapped back.

"She was never truly worthy of becoming our Luna anyway," a final voice muttered, loud enough deliberately for me to hear every cruel syllable.

Each sentence cut deeper than the last, tearing away whatever dignity I had left.

I slowly looked around the courtyard, staring at faces I had known and loved my entire life, the warriors whose wounds I had personally stitched closed, the children I had protected during winter raids, the elders who had once smiled warmly at my presence.

 And yet, every single one of them looked away from me, avoiding my tear-streaked eyes. Not one person stepped forward and not one person offered a helping hand or a word of comfort. 

Even Beta Gavin stood frozen near the edge, his fists clenched so tight, his knuckles were stark white, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and helpless frustration, desperately wanting to move but utterly unable to go against his Alpha's tyrannical decree.

The Moon Priest slowly lowered his heavy silver staff and his old eyes filled with a deep, crushing sorrow. "The Mate Bond has been broken before the Goddess," he announced quietly, the words hanging heavy in the night air, "May the Moon Goddess guide both lost souls." He added.

The ceremony was officially over and with those final words, my entire life as I knew it was over too.

Across the courtyard, lively music tentatively started up again as a few nervous musicians began to play, someone nearby started clapping awkwardly, and others hesitantly joined in, the grand celebration continuing smoothly as though my broken heart and shattered soul meant nothing at all, as though I had never lived, breathed, or belonged here in the first place.

With trembling arms, I struggled to stand up, my legs barely supporting my weight as they wobbled dangerously beneath me. I furiously wiped away the remaining tears with the back of my hand, squaring my shoulders even as my chest bled internally. 

I would not beg because I had given him my loyalty, my labor, and my love, but I would keep whatever ragged pieces of my pride were left and I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing me crawl.

As I turned my back on the altar and began to make my slow, agonizing way toward the exit, a soft rustle of silk stopped me.

Princess Selene walked past me smoothly, her head held high in smug triumph then, she slowed her pace just long enough so she was walking right beside me, speaking only loud enough for my ears alone.

Her smile was dazzling, radiant in the moonlight, but her words were dripping with malice, she leaned her head fractionally closer to my ear and her breath warm against my skin.

"You were never worthy of being Luna," she whispered, her voice laced with pure, unadulterated venom.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my jaw tightening as I slowly turned my head to face her, ready to look her dead in the eyes and walk away with whatever dignity I had left.

Before I could utter a single word, she leaned in an inch closer, her eyes flashing with a cruel, hidden intent, and added one final, chilling sentence, so quiet and so low, that only I could hear the death sentence wrapped inside it.

"And by sunrise tomorrow, you won't even be pack.” she said.