Rejected Luna's New Beginning

I woke to the sound of footsteps and hushed voices outside my door. The morning light filtered through the curtains of the Luna quarters—my quarters—as I stretched and reached for Jasper's side of the bed. Cold. Empty.

My wolf, Emma, stirred within me. *Something's wrong,* she whispered.

I slipped into my silk robe and opened the door to find a line of pack servants carrying boxes down the hallway. My boxes. My belongings.

"What's happening?" I demanded, my voice carrying the natural authority of my Alpha bloodline despite the confusion clouding my mind.

A young Delta female paused, her eyes downcast. "I... I'm sorry, Luna. We're just following orders."

Before I could press further, I heard footsteps approaching from behind. The servants immediately straightened, their expressions shifting to something between pity and discomfort.

"Alexandria."

Jasper's voice was formal, distant—nothing like the warm tones that once whispered promises against my skin. I turned to find him standing in the doorway of what had been our shared bedroom, his father Alpha Carpenter looming behind him like a shadow.

"What is this?" I gestured to the servants continuing to carry my possessions away.

Jasper's eyes—once so full of devotion when they looked at me—now held nothing but cold detachment. "You're being relocated to the east wing guest quarters."

"The east wing?" I repeated, disbelief making my voice crack. "Those are for visiting pack members."

"Yes." His response was clipped, final. "Salem will be moving into the Luna quarters today."

The name hit me like a physical blow. Salem Berry. The rogue she-wolf Alpha Carpenter had been parading through our pack for months. The one Jasper had been spending more and more time with.

"This is my father's memorial day," I whispered, my hand instinctively reaching for my mother's ancestral necklace—a gift from my father before he was wrongfully banished from the Alpha Council. "And you're doing this now?"

Alpha Carpenter stepped forward, his imposing figure filling the doorway. "The timing is appropriate. Your father would have wanted what's best for the pack."

I watched in silence as my mother's tapestries—depicting the history of our bloodline—were carefully removed from the walls. Family portraits that had hung for generations were wrapped in cloth and carried away. Each item represented not just my heritage, but my place in this pack.

"You have an hour to finish packing," Jasper said, turning to leave. "The memorial ceremony begins at sunset."

---

The pack gathering ground glowed with torchlight as I stood before my father's monument. The stone carving of Alpha General Marcus Mitchell depicted him in his prime—strong, proud, protecting his pack with unwavering loyalty.

I had prepared my speech weeks ago, the words of honor and remembrance now trembling on my lips as I addressed the gathered pack members.

"My father served with honor and distinction," I began, my voice steady despite the hollow ache in my chest. "He believed in the sacred bonds that hold our pack together—bonds of loyalty, of family, of—"

"Alexandria."

Jasper's voice cut through mine like a blade. He stood at the edge of the gathering, Salem beside him. Her eyes gleamed with triumph in the firelight.

"I have an announcement to make," he continued, stepping forward. The pack members murmured, sensing the tension.

My fingers tightened around the ceremonial goblet I held—the one passed down through generations of Lunas on this sacred night.

"As you all know," Jasper's voice carried across the silent gathering, "a Beta's mate is crucial to the strength and future of our pack."

I felt dozens of eyes shift to me, then to Salem.

"It is with great pride that I announce my intention to bring Salem Berry into our pack house as my chosen mate."

The goblet nearly slipped from my fingers. The timing—during my father's most sacred memorial—was a deliberate wound.

Whispers erupted around us. Some faces showed shock, others calculation. A few elders looked to my mother, who stood at the back of the gathering, her face a mask of controlled dignity.

I stood frozen at the podium, my prepared words forgotten as Jasper took Salem's hand and led her forward to stand beside me—three figures now where there should have been two.

---

The guest quarters felt smaller than I remembered. Boxes surrounded me—my life reduced to hastily packed containers. I sat on the edge of the unfamiliar bed, tracing the patterns on the quilt with numb fingers.

A soft knock broke the silence.

"Alexandria?" My mother's voice was gentle as she entered carrying a tray with two steaming cups of tea.

She set the tray down and sat beside me, her hand covering mine. We sat in heavy silence for several moments before she spoke.

"I've been expecting this day," she finally said, her voice low and steady. "I've seen how he looks at her."

"You knew?" I whispered, meeting her eyes.

"I've been making preparations." She squeezed my hand. "I've been in contact with allies in the Western territories. If we need to leave Silvermoon entirely..."

I stared at her, understanding dawning slowly through my pain. "You've been planning our escape?"

My mother's eyes—so like my own—held mine steadily. "Not escape, darling. A new beginning."

As she poured the tea, I noticed a small envelope tucked into her pocket. The seal of the Western Moon Pack gleamed in the lamplight—a promise of something I hadn't dared to hope for.

Freedom.