Rejected Luna: Royal Blood

to be magical, a moment when you fin

lpha Marcus looked at me like I was nothing. "I, A

yes filled with a mix of pity and disgust. How could I, an orphan with no family, no name to honor, even think I was worthy of an alpha?

. Not in front of them

gether, forming a knot in my chest that threatened to choke me. But I swallowed it down, every bitter drop, and forced myself to mee

ive them the satisfaction. My legs felt like they were made of lead, but I managed to turn away from Marcus, keeping my head hi

witness to my shame. The moonlight barely filtered through the thick canopy, casting everything in shadow

to bond with her mate, was now retreating into the deepest corners of my mind, wounded and silent. I could feel her sadness, her confusion. Why hadn'

out my first shift was another reminder that I was different, that I didn't belong. And the pack didn't let me forget it. They whispered behind my back, l

poor match for an alpha, I was an embarrassment. He needed a strong mate, someone who could stand b

f the pack's judging eyes and Marcus's cold voice. The forest was thick around me, the darkness broken only by slivers of moonlight that f

or, the only sound in the otherwise silent night. My legs felt heavy, like they didn't belong to me anymore, like they were just another

phan with no family, no history, and now, no wolf I was the charity case they tolerated but never t

ow I was cut off from it, a stranger in the one place I should have belonged. Tears welled up in my eyes again, and I blinked them back

s all because of my wolf? What if she was broken? Maybe that's why she hadn't come forward, why she hadn't shown her

elf that when my wolf finally emerged, everything would be okay. That once I could shift, I'd prove them all wrong. But

sound my ragged breathing. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold on to something, anything, to keep from falling apart comp

me, didn't care if the whole pack was out there listening. For the first time in my life, I let myself feel it a

tiness that scared me even more than the pain had. What was I supposed to do now? I had

o give in completely. It whispered that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't the end. Maybe my

ars from my face and pushed myself back to