My Mate Tore Up Our Baby’s Ultrasound Before Rejecting Me

The Shadowridge Pack's annual Banquet always smelled like roasted venison and expensive wine. Tonight it smelled like humiliation.

I sat at the lower hall table, surrounded by unmated Deltas who hadn't bothered to acknowledge me when I arrived. Luna or not, I was invisible here. Cruz made sure of that five years ago when he marked me in front of the pack, then spent every day since pretending I didn't exist.

Across the hall, at the head table reserved for ranked wolves, Cruz leaned close to Amber Scott. His hand rested on the back of her chair. She laughed at something he said, tipping her head back so her blonde hair caught the candlelight. The jasmine scent she always wore drifted through the room, cloying and sweet.

I tilted my head to the right, out of habit. My left ear had been useless since the rogue attack. The one where I'd thrown myself between Cruz and a silver-laced claw. He'd gotten a scar on his shoulder. I'd gotten permanent hearing loss and a mate who wished I'd let him die instead.

Cruz stood. The hall quieted. He offered Amber his arm and escorted her to the center of the head table, pulling out the chair that should have been mine. She sat like a queen. He kissed her hand.

Someone at my table snickered.

I didn't look. I kept my eyes on my plate and my wolf, Cinder, buried deep where she'd been hiding for months. She didn't stir. She hadn't spoken to me since the last time Cruz used his Alpha tone to shut me up in front of the pack council.

The unmated Deltas around me started talking louder. One of them, a broad-shouldered guy named Rafe, shifted his chair closer. His knee brushed mine under the table.

"Luna," he said, drawing out the title like it was a joke. "You're looking lonely tonight."

I pulled my leg away. "I'm fine."

"Doesn't look fine." Another Delta, younger, with a smirk that made my skin crawl, leaned in from the other side. "Your Alpha's got his hands full. Guess that leaves you available."

Rafe laughed. "She's marked, Jared. Show some respect."

Jared's grin didn't fade. "Marked by a guy who doesn't even sit with her? That's not a real bond. That's charity."

I set down my fork. My right hand was steady. My left hand, hidden under the table, clenched into a fist. I didn't look at Cruz. I didn't need to. He knew exactly what was happening down here. He just didn't care.

Rafe's hand landed on my arm. His fingers curled around my wrist, warm and too tight. "Come on, Luna. Dance with me. Live a little."

I pulled back. He didn't let go.

"She said no." Jared's voice, mocking. "Guess she's loyal after all. Even when her Alpha's got his tongue down someone else's throat."

More laughter. The Deltas were circling now, chairs scraping closer, voices rising. One of them stood behind me, his shadow blocking the candlelight. Another leaned in from my deaf side, his breath hot against my ear, whispering something I couldn't hear but could feel in the way his chest pressed against my shoulder.

Cinder stirred. Just a flicker. A low growl that didn't reach my throat.

I scanned the hall. Beta Garrett sat at the head table, watching. He met my eyes and turned away. Gamma Holt was pouring himself another drink. No one moved. No one was coming.

Rafe's other hand slid to my waist. "Relax, Luna. We're just being friendly."

I drove my elbow into his ribs.

He grunted and stumbled back. I shot to my feet, chair crashing behind me, and raked my nails across Jared's jaw. Blood welled up in four clean lines. He cursed and lunged. I sidestepped, reading the shift in his weight before he moved, and shoved him into Rafe.

The hall went quiet.

I didn't wait. I walked toward the coat room at the back of the hall, my pulse hammering but my steps even. Behind me, someone muttered something about "broken Luna" and "crazy bitch." I didn't turn around.

Inside the coat room, I locked the door and leaned against the wall. My hands were shaking now. Cinder snarled in my head, loud and furious for the first time in months.

*Enough.*

I closed my eyes and opened the mate mind-link. It felt like pushing through cobwebs. Cruz and I hadn't spoken this way in so long, I wasn't sure he'd even notice.

*Cruz.*

Silence.

*Cruz. I need the formal rejection. Grant it, or I'll find someone who will.*

A flicker of attention. Distant. Irritated. Then Amber's laugh echoed through the link, bright and careless, and Cruz's focus snapped away from me like I was static on a broken radio.

The link went dark.

I opened my eyes. The coat room smelled like wet wool and old leather. Outside, the Banquet continued. Music started up again. Glasses clinked.

I stayed in the coat room until the hall emptied. No one came looking for me.

That was fine. I didn't need them to.

I'd already made my decision.