Rejected by My Mate, Protected by a Secret AlphaChapter 1
It was Selene’s nameday. She was my parents’ adopted she-wolf. She was the wolf I once called my little sister. She was the same pup I, Luna Liora, had protected during our training years, when the four of us, Selene, Alpha Alden, Beta Draven and I, were meant to be a bonded pack family.
Back then, I truly believed I was following the Moon Goddess’s will. I thought helping an unwanted wolf would strengthen our pack bond. I imagined us living together in the manor, eating as a pack, sharing moon nights. I never believed the adopted wolf would turn the pack against its Luna.
Selene was always smart for a lower-ranked she-wolf, quiet but watching everything.
At first, she only followed us through the pack grounds, me, Alden and Draven. Then she began changing things. She whispered to Alden when I, his Luna, wasn’t near. She made Draven laugh in ways that once belonged only to me. I told my wolf not to suspect betrayal within the pack.
Until one night, I saw it, the kiss.
That night was meant for Alden and me, his chosen Luna, to speak of our mating bond. Instead, I saw him pressing his lips to Selene’s, their wolves far too close.
I ignored it once, twice and almost every time.
When I questioned him, Alden dismissed me. “You’re imagining it,” he said. “She’s like a sister.”
Draven always supported him. “Stop causing trouble, Luna Liora.”
I was not jealous. It was a betrayal of the bond.
Now, at Selene’s nameday feast, I watched them laugh beside the fire pit like mates. Alden drank moonwine and lifted the cup to Selene’s lips. His hand rested at her waist like she was his Luna. My wolf growled in pain inside my chest.
I left the feast quietly and climbed to an upper pack room. I wrapped myself in a fur blanket, trying to silence my Luna bond ache. Then the door opened.
“Luna Liora?” Selene said softly, pretending care. “The pack members are asking for you. The moonfire is about to start.”
“I am tired. Leave my room.”
She stepped closer, comforting, “Don’t act this way, Liora. It’s my nameday. Are you really upset?”
I turned to face her, my voice cold. “Selene, isn’t being forced to attend enough for this Luna?”
Her face tightened. “Do you hate me now, Luna? Do you think I stole your Alpha? That was never my plan. We were sisters in the pack once….”
“Enough,” I said sharply. “Return to your celebration.”