Rejected On Blood Moon, I Found My True Alpha

"Extend your hand, Serena." Elder Thorne’s voice cut through the silent night.

I held out my palm. The silver ceremonial blade sliced my skin. Blood welled up, glowing faintly under the red light of the Blood Moon overhead.

Kane stood across from me. He didn’t reach out.

"Alpha Kane," Thorne urged. "The blood pact awaits."

"No."

The single word echoed across the packed square.

Kane reached forward, but he didn't take my hand. Instead, he grabbed the magical seal hovering between us and crushed it in his fist. Red sparks rained down on the stone altar, fizzling out against the cold rock.

"What are you doing?" I grabbed my bleeding hand.

"Fixing a mistake," Kane sneered. "Did you actually believe I would tie myself to a cripple?"

"The prophecy chose us," I said.

"The prophecy lied." Kane paced in front of the altar. "You are eighteen. You have no wolf. You have no strength. You are a stain on the Iron Ridge pack."

"My power is blocked," I whispered fiercely, stepping closer so only he could hear. "You know the elders did something to me."

"Excuses." He shoved my shoulder, forcing me to stumble back. "You are human garbage."

Laughter erupted from the front row. Hundreds of wolves pointed and mocked.

"Look at her! She can't even stand straight."

"A Luna without a wolf. Pathetic."

Kane raised a hand. The crowd went dead silent.

"I will not burden my pack with a weakling," Kane announced. He reached into the crowd and pulled a girl up the steps.

Lyla.

She looked at me with wide, innocent eyes. "Alpha, please. Don't be too harsh on her."

"She doesn't deserve your pity, Lyla." Kane wrapped an arm around her waist. "This is what a Luna should be. Strong. Blessed by the Moon."

Lyla’s aura flared. A sudden burst of silver energy radiated from her skin. The pack gasped in awe.

I clenched my jaw. It was a trick. Fake magic brewed from dark arts. I had seen the empty vials hidden in her room just last week. But no one else knew.

"Lyla is the new Luna of Iron Ridge," Kane declared.

Cheers shook the trees. My chest tightened. My own mate was replacing me with a fraud.

The cheering abruptly died. A heavy, suffocating silence dropped over the square.

A man stepped from the shadows of the elder’s pavilion.

Ezra. Alpha of the Shadow Veil pack.

He never left his territory. He was a ghost, a tyrant who ruled the northern mountains. Yet here he was, dressed in sharp black, exuding an aura that made the Iron Ridge wolves drop to their knees.

He walked up the altar steps. He passed so close to me that the wind off his coat chilled my skin.

"Alpha Ezra," Kane greeted. He bowed his head.

Ezra ignored him. He stopped right in front of Lyla.

"A true Luna requires a proper tribute," Ezra said. His voice rumbled like distant thunder.

He pulled a velvet box from his pocket. He flicked it open. A massive, glowing moonstone pendant rested inside.

"For you," Ezra murmured. His eyes, usually dead and ruthless, softened as he looked at Lyla. The gentle bias in his expression was impossible to miss.

I stared at his profile. He hadn’t even glanced at me. The most feared Alpha in the territory was validating my replacement.

An unexpected laugh tore from my throat. It sounded broken.

Ezra’s eyes shifted to me. They were cold, empty, and indifferent. He stared at me for exactly one second before turning his back entirely.

"Thank you, Alpha Ezra," Lyla whispered. She lowered her head, playing the bashful bride perfectly.

"Silence the human!" Elder Thorne barked, pointing a crooked finger at me. "She has disgraced this sacred rite with her noise."

"I bled for this pack," I shot back. "I trained for this position."

"You failed," Kane interrupted. "And I won't have a useless weakling polluting my territory. Serena, by my authority as Alpha, I strip you of your rank."

I kept my spine straight. "You're banishing me."

"I am erasing you." Kane pointed toward the dark forest boundary. "Leave Iron Ridge. If you are found on our lands by sunrise, my guards will hunt you as a rogue."

"You think this makes you strong?" I asked.

"It makes me free," Kane replied.

"Kane, wait," Lyla pleaded. "Where will she go? She can't survive alone."

"That is no longer our concern," Kane replied.

"Take care of yourself, Serena," Lyla said.

"Save the act," I told her. "We both know what's in those vials under your bed."

Lyla's smile faltered.

Kane stepped between us and shoved me toward the stairs. "Get out!"

I looked at Elder Thorne. He watched me with smug satisfaction. He knew exactly why I couldn't shift. He and the council had bound my divine blood years ago to keep control of the pack. Now, they were tossing me away.

I looked at Ezra. He was busy fastening the necklace around Lyla's neck, his fingers brushing her skin.

"Fine," I said.

I turned around and walked down the steps.

"Leave your cloak," Thorne demanded. "It belongs to the pack."

I unclasped the heavy fur and let it drop to the dirt. The night wind bit into my bare arms.

I walked through the parted crowd.

"Trash," a woman muttered as I passed.

"Don't trip on your way out," a guard sneered.

I didn't blink. I didn't cry. I just kept walking.

The forest swallowed me. The Blood Moon cast eerie red shadows through the thick canopy.

I had nothing. No mate. No pack. No home.

My hand still throbbed from the ritual cut. I tore a strip of fabric from my dress and wrapped it tight.

I kept walking until the sounds of the celebration faded into nothing. The woods grew colder. The scent of pine and damp earth filled my nose.

A twig snapped behind me.

I stopped.

"Who's there?" I called out.

Silence.

Then, a low growl vibrated through the trees. Not a normal wolf. The sound carried a strange, unnatural weight.

"Kane sent you to finish the job early?" I asked the darkness.

A massive shadow separated from the trees. Glowing yellow eyes locked onto mine.

"Kane didn't send me," a deep, rough voice echoed in my mind. "I came for the blood you spilled."