Rejected and Reborn: Luna's redemption

Author's POV

"AGGHHRRRGRR!!!!."

A scream tore through the silent cemetery, intense and heart-wrenching.

Anna's voice cracked with pain as she collapsed before the gravestone, her body trembling. Rain poured heavily, drenching her to the bones, yet she remained still.

Her hands plunged into the moist soil as if she could claw her way back to the days, when Adam's laughter still roamed their house, when his arms encircled her neck.

Now, all she had before her was a slab of stone.

"ADAM SINCLAIR"

Beloved son. Taken too soon.

Tears streamed down her eyes, blending with the rain. Her chest throbbed under the burden of sorrow that had remained unchanged, even after three years. If anything, it had heightened, becoming more brutal with each day that went by.

Having found herself in a marriage filled with abuse and turmoil, Adam was the only thing that made sense. Nothing made sense. Nothing.

Today was his death anniversary, nobody showed up. No one came.

Not his so-called grandparents, who had once demanded an heir worthy of the Alpha title. Not his father, Logan, who couldn't even spare a moment for his own flesh and blood.

Anna could feel her pulse thundered in her ears. Her stomach twisted, as she gazed at her child's grave with a face filled with nothing but terror.

Her son had been discarded in life. And now, even in death, he was forgotten.

The wind shrieked across the graveyard, bearing murmurs of her sorrow. She found it difficult to get up, yet her legs trembled under her. The burden of grief felt overwhelming, weighing her down and suffocating her.

The car sat a few feet away, but even holding the key felt impossible. Her fingers shivered as she gripped the cold metal, but her strength failed her.

She fell to the ground, her hands faltered as she grasped her cell phone, reaching out to her best friend.

Her call went directly to voicemail, and with tears streaming down her face, she wept, clenching the phone against her ear.

"Natalie. Nat......." her voice broke, fading into a choked whisper.

The phone slipped from my fingers as she buried her face in her hands.

In the midst of my chaotic world, Natalie was the only who stood for her. She was there for Anna when she lost her son to the merciless grip of fate.

Unlike Logan and his family, Natalie never pushed him aside because of his illness. She didn't define him by his condition but embraced him for the child he truly was, loving him in a way they never could.

Lost in her thoughts, the unexpected ring of her phone snapped her back to the present. For a brief instant, hope sparked within her, and she believed it was Natalie. A fleeting smile appeared on her lips, only to disappear the moment her gaze fell on the screen. It wasn't she. It was her maid.

A sigh slipped past Anna lips as she debated whether to answer. After a moment's hesitation, she reluctantly pressed the phone to her ear. "Hello........"

The voice on the other end of the line came fast, breathless, carrying an urgency that sliced through the quiet night. "Luna Anna, are you still at the cemetery? You need to come to the pack house immediately!"

Anna stiffened, her brows knitting together as unease settled in her chest. Something about the frantic edge in the caller's tone unsettled her. "Why? What's happening?"

A brief hesitation crackled through the silence before the reply came, rushed and incomplete. "The Alpha... he's throwing a party, and he has found his....."

Anna's breath caught. Her heartbeat stumbled over itself. A party? Now?

She barely registered her own voice cutting through the tension. "What? A party?"

Before she could fully process what she had just heard, her fingers loosened, and the phone slipped from her grasp. It hit the cold earth with a hollow thud, but the sound barely reached her dazed mind. The words continued to ricochet inside her head, disjointed and heavy with meaning she wasn't ready to face.

Her lips parted, her voice barely a whisper as she repeated the unfinished sentence.

Anna froze, the words echoing in her mind like a cruel joke. He's throwing a party?

A party?

Her thoughts tangled in confusion, scrambling for a reason-any reason-that could justify such a thing. But no matter how she turned it over in her head, nothing made sense.

Today wasn't just any day. It was the third anniversary of their son's death. A day that should have been marked by remembrance, by grief. And yet, he was celebrating.

But why?

What was there to celebrate?

The loss of a child he had never wanted? The absence of a boy he had seen as nothing more than an embarrassment?

A sickening realization settled over her. This wasn't just a party. It was a declaration. A statement to the world that the past had been erased, that the shame he once carried was finally buried.

And that hurt more than anything.

A tremor of fury surged through her veins, scorching away the last remnants of her weakness.

It was one thing for him to be cold, to act as if she and their son had never mattered. But this? This was beyond cruelty. While she stood at their child's grave, drowning in grief, he was at the pack house... celebrating?

Her fingers curled into fists, nails digging into her palms as disbelief gave way to seething rage.

Enough.

Before she knew it, she was in her car, tearing down the road toward the pack house. The rain blurred her vision, but the storm inside her burned hotter.

The maids averted their gazes, bowing their heads as she passed, but she barely noticed them. The closer she got, the louder the music swelled-cheerful, vibrant, a mockery of the sorrow clawing at her chest. Each beat of the melody felt like a slap, an insult she could not ignore.

Anna steps quickened. He had gone too far this time.

The heavy double doors burst open, slamming against the walls with a force that sent a shudder through the grand hall. Anna staggered forward, her chest rising and falling in frantic heaves.

A name formed on her lips-a desperate, broken syllable."Lo..gaan..."

But the sight before her ripped the air from her lungs.

Under the dazzling glow of the chandeliers, Logan knelt on one knee, a velvet box open in his hands. Before him stood a woman, trembling with giddy anticipation, her fingers fluttering over her lips as if to trap the scream of joy threatening to escape. Then it came, a breathless, shimmering declaration that shattered Anna's world into pieces.

"Yes! Yes, I will marry you!"

The words crashed into her, sharp as a dagger plunging straight into her ribs.

Anna vision blurred as she watched Logan, the man she once thought she knew, slide a glittering ring onto the woman's outstretched finger.

His touch was reverent, his expression soft, so unbearably tender it made Anna's stomach twist into knots. He rose to his feet, and in the next breath, the woman threw herself into his arms, their bodies molding together as if they had been created for this one moment.

They clung to each other, oblivious to the world around them. Oblivious to her.

Anna stood frozen in the doorway, the weight of betrayal pressing down on her chest like an iron fist.

A sickening numbness spread through her limbs, rendering her motionless, voiceless. She wanted to scream. To tear through the illusion with raw, agonized wails. But no sound came.

Just silence.

The world around her blurred, the edges of reality warping like a cruel illusion. This couldn't be real. It had to be a nightmare, one of those gut-wrenching dreams that left a person gasping for air.

Yet the scene before her refused to dissolve.

Her husband stood in the center of the grand hall, his back to her as if she didn't exist, his presence commanding as ever. But his words.....were knives, sharp and deliberate, slicing through the last remnants of hope she clung to.

"From the moment I met my true mate," he declared, his voice ringing with confidence, "I knew it was time to do what's right. Today marks the beginning of my happiness. Not only am I marrying my mate, but I am also proud to announce that she will soon be the Luna of this park."

A hushed murmur rippled through the gathered crowd, but to her, it was nothing more than a distant hum. Everything else faded-except his voice. That voice, the same one that once whispered vows of forever, now belonged to a man who had erased her from his life without hesitation.

Her breath hitched. Her fingers curled into trembling fists at her sides.

She was the Luna. At least, she thought she was.

His words rang in her ears, sharp and unreal. What was he talking about?

Her gaze shifted to the woman he had just called his mate. As if sensing it, the woman turned, meeting her eyes without hesitation.

A strange dizziness washed over her, and for a moment, everything seemed to spin. She shut her eyes briefly, trying to steady herself.

"No..." she whispered, pressing a hand to her forehead.

When she opened her eyes again, the woman was still looking at her. But now, a slow smile crept across her lips, quiet and confident, as if she already knew she had won.

Anna's breath hitched. The name barely escaped her lips. "Natalie..."

Across from her, Natalie's lips curled into a triumphant smirk. "Surprise, Anna," she said, her voice laced with mockery.

Before Anna could process the moment, Logan turned. His gaze was void of emotion, his footsteps slow but deliberate as he approached. "I'm glad you made it," he said, his tone eerily calm. "This is a moment worth witnessing. Now, I'm sure you finally understand.....it's time to sign the divorce papers."

Anna's chest tightened, but instead of breaking, a bitter, hollow laugh erupted from her lips. Divorce? A joyous moment? The words twisted like a knife in her heart.

She lifted her gaze, her voice shaking with disbelief. "Joyous moment?" she spat. "Have you even thought about what today is, Logan? Have you forgotten? Today is your son's death anniversary."

Her hand shot out, striking his chest, but he didn't even flinch. Not a single reaction. Cold. Detached. As if the past, their pain, and their child never existed.

"This has to be a nightmare," Anna thought, her pulse pounding in her ears.

Logan's expression turned cold, his gaze sharp as steel. "How many times do I have to tell you? Stop calling that boy mine. He is not my son! Sign the divorce papers immediately. And just so you know..Natalie is carrying my real heir."

Natalie took a slow step forward, her hand resting on her stomach, a smug smile curling on her lips. "You heard him. Do the right thing and sign the papers."

Anna felt the ground shift beneath her feet. This couldn't be real. The woman she had once trusted like a sister was now standing beside the man who had vowed to love her, tearing her world apart.

Natalie stood there, unbothered, as if the weight of the moment meant nothing to her. Desperation clawed at Anna's throat as she searched Natalie's face for a sign, anything to prove this was just a cruel joke.

"This is a prank, right?" Her voice wavered, clinging to the last thread of hope that Natalie would suddenly laugh and say it was all a misunderstanding, a twisted way to bring her and Logan back together.

But Natalie's expression remained cold, her lips curling into something that wasn't quite a smile. "This is reality."

The words hit like a hammer, shattering the fragile hope Anna had left. A scream ripped from her throat, raw and betrayed. "How could you do this to me? Logan, I gave you everything! I even stole my own family's business secrets just to help you!"

Blind with heartbreak, she grabbed his collar, shaking him as if that could bring back the man she once knew.

Logan's eyes flashed with fury. His grip tightened around her shoulders as he yanked her away. "Touch me again...."

He slapped her hands away, his expression twisted with contempt. "Who asked for your help? I never needed it! And let's not pretend....you've always known I never cared about you. This is what happens when you force yourself into someone's life."

His words were daggers, but he wasn't done yet.

"You're a joke, Anna. Deep down, you know we were never meant to be! You tricked me, used that pregnancy to trap me, and forced a child that isn't even mine onto me-just so you could become Luna!"

Anna's chest tightened as tears welled in her eyes. Her voice trembled, barely more than a whisper. "I trapped you? Adam is your son."

"Enough!" he bellowed. "In my bloodline, it's impossible for...."

Disdain twisted across Logan's face as he sneered. "He's not mine, and you? You're not even worthy of being my Luna! Just look at yourself."

His gaze raked over her with pure contempt. "Look at you," Logan sneered, his lips curling. "Pathetic. You've let yourself go, Anna. Every time I see you, I wonder how I ever tolerated you."

Logan let out an exaggerated sigh, rolling his eyes before shoving the divorce papers into her hands. "Sign them and get out of my house!!"

As he walked away without a second glance, Natalie sauntered closer, her tongue clicking in feigned sympathy before a cruel smirk tugged at her lips. She leaned in slightly, her voice dripping with mockery. "You heard him, didn't you? Sign the papers and disappear. Or... if you're that desperate to stay, I'm sure we could use a babysitter for our child."