Rejected, Yet Victorious

I was organizing pack documents in Roman's office, my fingers tracing over the embossed Moonstone Pack emblem on each folder. Seven years as Luna had taught me to keep everything in perfect order—a skill Roman had once praised but now seemed to take for granted. The afternoon sun slanted through the windows, casting long shadows across his mahogany desk as I sorted through the papers for tomorrow's Alpha succession ceremony.

My Luna pendant felt heavy against my chest, a gift from Roman on our first anniversary. "To my eternal mate," he'd whispered then, his eyes holding mine with such intensity I'd believed those words with my whole heart.

I reached for another stack of documents when a sudden voice echoed in my mind.

*"I can't wait until tomorrow, my love. After the ceremony, you'll finally be free of her."*

I froze, my fingers still clutching a folder. The voice was Roman's, but not directed at me. His mind-link had somehow connected to me instead of—

*"Just a few more hours, Skye. Then I'll make you my Luna like I promised."*

My breath caught in my throat. Skye Williams. The young she-wolf who'd joined our pack six months ago. The one who always seemed to find reasons to be near Roman.

*"What about Marina?"* Skye's voice purred through the link. *"She'll cause a scene when you reject her."*

*"Let her,"* Roman replied, his mental voice dismissive. *"The pack will understand. A true Alpha needs a Luna who brings excitement to his life, not just... domesticity."*

Domesticity. Seven years of devotion reduced to a single, insulting word.

*"Besides,"* Roman continued, *"I've already moved most of her Luna privileges to you. The pack finances show it—that diamond bracelet you wanted is on its way. Consider it an early celebration gift."*

My hands trembled as I set down the folder. Pack finances. The discrepancies Beta Marcus had mentioned last week suddenly made terrible sense.

*"After tomorrow,"* Roman's voice grew husky, *"you'll be carrying my pup, and Marina will be nothing but a forgotten chapter."*

I pressed my palm against my mouth to stifle a gasp. A pup? They were trying for a pup?

*"Hurry up, Roman. I'm waiting at our spot."*

The mind-link faded, leaving me standing in the silent office, my world shattered into a thousand pieces.

I needed proof. Not just words through an accidental link.

Following Roman's scent was second nature after seven years. I slipped out of the pack house, my heart pounding as I tracked him through the forest. The familiar pine and earth smell of him was now tainted with Skye's artificial sweetness.

The trail led me to a small clearing near our territory borders—a place Roman had once brought me when we were newly mated. The irony wasn't lost on me as I crouched behind a thick oak, my Luna instincts keeping me hidden despite my emotional turmoil.

They were already there. Roman had Skye pressed against a tree, his hands tangled in her hair as he kissed her neck.

"Tomorrow," he murmured against her skin, "after the ceremony, I'll mark you properly in front of everyone."

"When will you tell her?" Skye asked, her fingers tracing patterns on his chest.

"After the marking. The rejection has to be official first."

"And then?"

"And then you'll be my Luna, and she'll be nothing."

I watched, frozen in horror, as Roman's teeth sank into Skye's neck, leaving a fresh mark that glowed faintly in the afternoon light. A mating mark—given while he still wore mine.

"I want that emerald necklace to match," Skye said, her voice smug as she examined the mark in a small compact mirror. "The one from the jeweler in town."

"You'll have it," Roman promised. "Anything for my future Luna."

"Good," she purred, "because Marina never gave you what I can. She's too boring, too predictable. You need excitement, Roman. You need me."

I'd heard enough. My legs carried me back toward home automatically, my mind racing faster than my feet.

Margaret would be in the garden this time of day, playing with her stuffed wolf under the apple trees. My daughter—our daughter—who had no idea her world was about to collapse.

As I approached our home, I saw her there, her dark curls catching the sunlight as she arranged wildflowers in a small circle.

"Mommy!" she called when she spotted me. "Look what I made!"

I forced a smile as I knelt beside her, my hands shaking as they brushed her hair from her face.

"It's beautiful, sweetheart."

Her innocent smile pierced my heart. In her eyes, we were still the perfect Alpha family. She didn't know about rejection ceremonies or pack politics or fathers who could discard their families for younger models.

"She's too boring, too predictable," Skye's words echoed in my mind.

I touched my Luna pendant, feeling its weight like never before. Roman thought I was boring. Predictable.

He was about to learn how wrong he was.

Because if there was one thing I'd learned in seven years as Luna, it was how to fight for what was mine.

And Margaret was mine to protect.