Rejected by the alpha, pregnant with his heir

Rain fell heavily on the ancient stones of the great circle, cold and relentless, soaking young Aria Thorn to the bone until she could no longer separate the downpour from the tears streaming down her face. The entire pack had formed a tight ring around her, and their collective scent was filled with pity, scorn, and mockery. Whispers floated through the gathering like smoke, and none of it seemed to be in her best interest.

Kael Draven stood in front of her. Her mate and her Alpha. The man whose scent was supposed to feel like home, whose wild strength was supposed to wrap around her and fulfill all the promises he made to her.

But Kael was looking at the ground now, refusing to look her in the eyes. Aria took a trembling step forward, feeling her feet numb against the wet stone. “Kael… look at me.”

But he would not. His face was locked in a stone cold expression, and his hair that was usually packed neatly was now scattered and plastered to his face by rain. His chest was heaving and falling heavily, and she could not tell whether it was pain or fury.

The murmurs were rising even higher and getting clearer for her to hear.

“Why isn’t he claiming her?”

“She’s too weak to be his Luna.”

“An Alpha needs strength, not a healer that isn't even proven.”

“The ceremony was supposed to end in joy…”

Aria's confusion reached its peak when Serena emerged from the crowd and stepped into the light, dangerously beautiful and vicious as ever. The proud Beta female’s eyes promised chaos, and her lips were curled in a smirk that said she had already won.

“A healer?” Serena asked in a sweet voice. “Really, Kael? The pack deserves a Luna who can stand beside you in tough times, not one who can barely bandage the fallen.”

Aria frantically tried to block out Serena's voice from her head. She was still finding it hard to believe this nightmare, and Kael was the only reassurance that could end it. “Say it to me, Kael,” she whispered. “Not to them. To me.”

A ripple of uneasiness swept through the pack. Even they could smell it now…the fragile state of their mate bond, stretching and becoming thinner by the second.

Kael sighed, a sound that almost sounded like a growl.

“Aria…”

Aria didn't understand the sudden tone with which he was addressing her.

Don’t do this, she begged silently in her heart. Don’t choose them over us. But when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was filled with desperate courage. “Say it…she begged. I need to hear it from your lips.”

Slowly and agonizingly, Kael lifted his eyes and looked at her. The look in them broke her…Regret and guilt. A flash of aching desire that made her knees threaten to wobble and give way. Then it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, buried under the cold and hard mask of the Alpha. His wolf reared in his consciousness, flaring with power and authority.

“I, Kael Draven, Alpha of Nightfang Pack,” he proclaimed to the hearing of everyone present, “reject you, Aria Thorn, as my fated mate and Luna.”

The silence that followed felt heavier than the rain itself. It was so quiet that the storm seemed to hold its breath.

The bond stretched to its limit and finally snapped. To Aria, it felt like claws tearing through her ribcage, sending pain shooting along every nerve. Aria gasped and staggered back, raising one hand to her chest as if she could hold her soul together. A scream formed in her throat but could not find its way out. Her wolf…quiet all her life and patiently waiting for her first shift uttered one soft, broken whimper… then fell utterly silent.

“No…” Aria stumbled, her vision already blurring. “No, wait…my wolf… she’s gone. Kael, my wolf…”

Serena laughed wickedly. “Oh, the moon above, this is quite a sight. The little healer has suddenly lost her wolf.”

Aria ignored her. Keeping her eyes locked on Kael, searching for any sign that this was a nightmare she could wake from.

He looked away again, and the rejection hit her harder than the words themselves.

“Why?” she whispered sadly into the rain. “What did I do wrong…?”

Kael’s face remained stone cold, but something darker was now moving across his features.

“You’re not strong enough for me,” he said coldly. “You’re weak, Aria. And I don't want a weak Luna for my pack.”

Weak. The word she had been carrying like a scar her entire life. It was a fear that had scarred her deeper than any blade ever could, and it hurt her to hear Kael say it to her face without remorse. Her knees buckled finally, but she managed to catch herself, panting heavily as she managed to stay on her feet.

Serena came forward and placed a possessive hand on Kael’s arm, nudging Aria aside and claiming the spot that had belonged to her only moments ago.

“There, my Alpha,” she purred softly. “You’ve done what’s right for the pack. There is no need to pity the scraps that fate tossed at your feet when you can actually have a banquet.”

Aria’s head snapped up, her tears mixing with the rain. “That’s not true,” she cried desperately in a trembling voice. “You all felt the bond. Kael felt it too, and we all know that fate doesn’t make mistakes.”

Serena scoffed. “Fate clearly does when it picks a nobody like you to be his fated mate.”

A harsh, twisting pain shot through Aria’s abdomen, so sudden and violent that it felt as if something inside her was tearing. She pressed a hand to her belly instinctively, then bent over with a choked gasp.

Kael’s head turned quickly toward her, but the look on his face was still cold.

“Why are you holding your stomach?” He growled impatiently.

Aria whimpered and began to plead in her head. No. Not now. Not here.

The rain poured on, ignoring the tension that was playing out under it.

“What are you hiding?” Kael asked, his voice trembling with cold authority. “Aria… answer me.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but terror sealed the words inside. Through the fractured remnants of her broken bond with Kael, she felt it…a spark. A new scent revealing itself through the storm. She didn't know how to take it, and she could see that he was in doubt too.

“Aria.” His voice cracked wide open. “Are…”

“No!” she shouted stubbornly. “Don’t…don’t come near me!”

“WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?” he roared savagely, making everyone present shiver in terror.

Even Serena’s triumphant grin vanished, quickly replaced by anger and sudden fear. “She’s hiding something from the Alpha…grab her!”

Aria didn’t think or wait for the order to be carried out. She simply turned and fled.

Kael’s roar thundered across the courtyard.

“ARIA!”

She didn’t look back.

Lungs burning and sobs pouring freely, she fled into the black woods, paying no attention to the branches clawing at her arms or the mud sucking at her feet. Rain blinded her, and her wolf remained horrifyingly silent throughout the ordeal. No growl or instinct, just emptiness.

She had to escape.

She had to protect the secret she hadn’t even fully accepted yet herself…That life was growing inside her.

Then a different scent reached her nose. A dangerous scent that reeked of bloodlust and darkness. It wasn't Kael or anyone from the pack.

Something else was on her trail…