Rejected Luna: Royal Blood

casting me out, declaring that I had no place in the pack until I could prove otherwise. I felt the stares of the

hen we tolerate weakness," he announced. "We cannot afford to carry dead weight. This pack is on

cold, hard determination. They were warriors, all of them, and I was jus

of the ritual. The others had shifted back into their human forms, laughing and congratulating each other on their success.

ad just happened. I had always known that I was different, that I was weaker than t

n't afford to break down, not here, not now. Instead, I turned and walked out of the ha

knew I couldn't stay here. Not after th

up at the moon, full and bright, and felt a pang of longing deep in my chest. The moon was supposed to

t like it. Each step felt heavy, as if the weight of all my failures and disappointments were trying to pull me back. But

ed around me. My heart was pounding, not from fear, but from the raw, unbridled emotions swirling within me. Everything that had happene

d to escape, to be somewhere where I could breathe without feeli

ueled my flight was fading, leaving behind only a deep, bone-weary fatigue. My legs grew he

en beneath the leaves. Before I could catch myself, I stumbled forward, my body pitching toward

on to consciousness. But it was no use. The darkness that had been creeping

earth beneath me, and the strange sense of pea

-

o the soft, warm embrace of a bed. My head throbbed painfully, and as I trie

e wa

ghtly sweet, mixed with the faint scent of wood smoke. The air was warm and comforting, and as I looked around, I realized I was in a tent. T

dry, and my throat felt like sandpaper. I opened my mouth to call out, but my voice came out as little

.. wher

in at the entrance of the tent rustled, and a moment later, a young woman appeared. She was about my age, wit

softly, stepping closer

my voice still raspy. "W

stool beside the bed. "You're in the healer's tent, in the Ironclaw Pack's territory. Our Beta found you

to sink in. I had heard of them, of course-one of the stronger packs in the regio

piece everything together. "But wh

aid simply. "We don't leave people to die, not if we can help it. The forest i

vocabulary anymore. I had been anything but lucky in recent times, and

the soft blankets that covered me, I couldn't help but feel a small flicker of g

one becoming more gentle. "You don't have to worry," she assured me. "The healer said you'll be fine.

tionally. The weight of everything that had happened-the rejection, the humiliation, the endless struggle to prove myself-had take

questions, so many uncertai

I asked, my voice small and un

finally. "But you're safe here for now. You can stay as long as you need to reco