Chapter 1 The Rejection

Tonight was the Blood Moon. Tonight was my Luna ceremony.

I stood in front of the tall mirror in my small room, smoothing down the folds of my white dress. My fingers trembled slightly against the soft fabric.

"Stop trembling Elara," Mira said softly, stepping behind me.

She caught my eyes in the glass and smiled, pinning a small beautiful silver pin into my hair. "You look beautiful. Like a real Luna."

"I don't feel like one yet," I admitted, taking a deep breath.

"My chest feels tight. Like something is coming."

"That’s just nerves," Mira reassured me, placing her warm hands on my shoulders.

"You’ve trained for this your whole life. You know every medicine in the pack, you’ve healed half the warriors in this room, and Declan loves you. You two have been bound for this since you were children."

Declan. Just thinking his name made my heart beat faster.

Declan Ashford was everything a pack could want in an Alpha. Strong and protective. Ever since his father, Damon, died six months ago, Declan had carried the weight of the entire Silver Moon Pack on his shoulders.

He worked until his eyes were bloodshot, barely sleeping, trying to keep our borders secure against Blood Fang.

And tonight, he would stand at the Moonstone Altar, look into my eyes, and call me his Luna in front of everyone.

"Is he outside?" I asked.

"He's waiting near the archway," Mira said, giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"Beta Marcus is with him, getting the crowd ready. It’s time."

I adjusted my dress one last time and nodded.

"Okay. I'm ready."

We walked out of the dressing room and down the long corridor leading toward the doors of the hall.

I could see hundreds of wolves gathered. The Silver Moon Pack was proud, wealthy, and ancient. Every head turned as I approached, their eyes shining with expectation and respect.

Among the faces, I spotted Seraphina, standing near the front row. Her red lips were pressed into a thin line, her icy blue eyes tracking my every step.

She had wanted Declan for years, long before our mate bond snapped into place.

I gave her a small, polite nod, but she simply turned her head away.

Near the altar stood Marcus Hale. As Declan's Beta, Marcus was always at his right hand smiling and composed.

Tonight, When he saw me, he offered a warm, reassuring nod, though his eyes seemed surprisingly intense tonight.

And then there was Declan.

He stood at the center of the hall, tall and looking good in his suit.

His golden brown hair was pulled back neat, and his strong jaw was set tight.

But as I took my first steps down the aisle toward him, I felt a strange prickle at the back of my neck.

Usually, whenever Declan was close, my wolf stirred with a deep, soothing warmth. It was the mate spark a sweet hum in the blood that made every breath feel easy.

Tonight, the spark felt Cold. Like trying to light a fire with wet wood.

He's just stressed, I told myself.

The borders have been tense. The Blood Moon always makes the Alphas restless.

I reached the bottom of the steps and stepped onto the altar. Declan looked down at me, his hazel eyes dark.

"You look stunning, Elara," he said. His voice was low, but it lacked the soft, tender note he usually reserved only for me. It sounded distant. Formal.

"Are you alright?" I whispered, taking a small step closer so only he could hear.

"Your bond feels... muted."

Declan blinked, a sudden shadow crossing his face. He rubbed his brow with two fingers, looking confused for a split second.

"I'm fine. Just a headache. It's been a long week."

Before I could ask anything else, Marcus stepped forward holding a bowl filled with water.

"People of the Silver Moon," Marcus’s voice echoed across the quiet hall.

"Tonight, under the moon, we gather to honor tradition. We gather to mark the bond between our Alpha, Declan Ashford, and the woman chosen by the moon to stand beside him as our Luna, Elara Vance."

A wave of cheers broke out through the crowd. Mira clapped loudly from the side, tears shining in her eyes.

I looked up at Declan and smiled, waiting for him to take my hands.

But Declan didn't reach for me.

Instead, his hands stayed clutched at his sides, his knuckles turning white. He stared at me, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that suddenly made my blood run cold.

"Declan?" I murmured, the smile dropping from my face.

"Marcus," Declan spoke, his voice suddenly cutting through the noise of the hall.

"Bring them forward."

The cheers in the hall withered away instantly. A suffocating silence fell over the crowd.

"Declan, what's happening?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"What is this?"

Marcus didn't smile now. He looked solemn, almost regretful, as he reached inside his inner coat pocket.

He pulled out a thick folder tied with a black cord and handed it directly to Declan.

Declan took the folder. His fingers shook as he unraveled the cord and pulled out several sheets of parchment.

"Elara," Declan said, his voice flat and devoid of any warmth.

"Before I put the Luna mark upon your skin, there is a question you must answer."

"Anything," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

"Ask me."

He stepped closer, holding out the papers.

Painted across the front of the top page was a detailed map of Moonhaven.

It showed our eastern boundary lines, the rotation schedule of our night guards, and the secret underground passage beneath the medical clinic, the exact route only the healers knew.

And stamped at the bottom of the parchment was a symbol every wolf in the valley feared.

A wolf’s skull pinned under two crossed fangs.

The mark of the Blood Fang Pack.

"These were found an hour ago during a routine inspection of your cottage," Declan said.

His words were cold.

"Hidden inside your medicine chest. Letters addressed to Alpha Kane Blackwood. Detailed descriptions of our weakness along the Hollow border."

My breath hitched in my throat. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think.

"No..." I gasped, looking from the papers up to Declan’s hardened face.

"No, Declan!

That’s impossible!

I’ve never written to Kane Blackwood! I don't even know what he looks like!"

"Your handwriting is on every page, Elara," Marcus said gently, stepping in with an expression of deep sorrow.

"We checked it against your healing logs. It’s an exact match."

"I was framed!" I shouted, turning to the crowd, panic surging through my veins.

"Mira! Tell them!

I’ve been with you all morning!"

Mira took a step forward, her face pale, but two guards immediately stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Declan, look at me!" I begged, grabbing his forearm.

"Reach through our bond!

You know me!

You know my soul! Feel my light, you know I could never betray our home!"

Declan looked down at my hand on his arm. For a fraction of a second, I saw a flash of agony in his eyes, a desperate flicker of the man who had promised to love me forever.

He closed his eyes, trying to reach for our link.

I pushed my thoughts toward him, pleading, opening every corner of my heart to show him the truth.

But his mind was like a brick wall. Cold and completely blocked.

It was as if something sat between us, smothering the bond before my truth could ever reach him.

When Declan opened his eyes again, the agony was gone. Only bitter fury remained.

"I feel nothing, Elara," he whispered.

He pulled his arm back, tearing his sleeve from my grip.

"Declan, please!" tears burst from my eyes, burning my cheeks.

"Silence!" Declan's Alpha command boomed across the hall, vibrating through the floor and forcing my knees to buckle.

Every wolf in the room dropped their heads, subdued by the power of his voice.

I fell to my hands and knees on the floor choking on my own breaths.

Declan took a step back from me, looking down at where I lay broken at his feet.

"You sold our secrets to the monsters who killed our people," Declan said, his voice loud enough for every member of Silver Moon to hear.

"You tried to hand our pack over to Kane Blackwood."

"I didn't..." I sobbed into the stone.

"I swear on the moon, I didn't..."

Declan raised his right hand into the air. The air around his fingers shimmered with power.

"I, Declan Ashford, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack reject you, Elara Vance, as my mate and my Luna."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

CRACK.

A sound like tearing flesh filled my head. An unimaginable heat exploded inside my chest, radiating outward through my veins like boiling acid.

I shrieked in agony, curling into a ball on the floor as the mate bond snapped in two.

On my right wrist, the silver moon mark, the mark I had carried since my eighteenth birthday began to burn.

my skin turned red, My wolf screamed inside my mind before collapsing into silence.

"Drag her to the border," Declan ordered, his face turned away, refusing to look at me as I wept.

"Banish her into the Hollow.

If she ever sets foot on Silver Moon land again... kill her on sight."