Selene Point of View

"I, Andreas Larsen, reject you, Selene Andersen, as my mate and my Luna."

The words hit me like a physical blow, ripping through my chest and leaving an empty, hollow space where once there had been hope. I gasped, my knees almost giving out under the weight of what he had just said. The entire hall of the Twilight Claw Pack felt like it was collapsing around me. Every eye in the room was on me, their whispers deafening in my ears, louder than the pounding of my heart.

"Say it again," I whispered, my voice barely a breath as I struggled to catch it. The roaring in my head was too much to bear, but I had to hear him say it again, surely I’d misunderstood. There had to be some mistake. This couldn't be happening. Not after everything.

But Andreas's amber eyes, cold and hard as stone, met mine, and I saw no flicker of remorse there. "You heard me, Selene. Our bond was a mistake. You aren't fit to stand beside me."

I felt my legs weaken, but I refused to let myself collapse. Not here. Not in front of the pack. My mind raced, but nothing made sense. What had happened? How had it all gone so wrong?

Lise. The woman who should not be here. The woman who had no right to be standing next to Andreas. She leaned into him, her crimson lips curling into a wicked smile, the kind that promised pain, that promised victory. She was claiming him, and he was allowing it.

My throat tightened, and tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not now. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me weak. Not in front of them. Not in front of her.

"How can you do this?" I asked, my voice shaking despite my best efforts. "I’ve given you everything—my loyalty, my strength, my heart. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?"

Andreas sneered, his lips twisting into a cruel mockery of a smile. "It means nothing if you're not strong enough to protect this pack. Lise... she’s everything a Luna should be—graceful, powerful, relentless. You..." His voice trailed off, and I could feel the weight of his words crashing over me. "You’re weak, Selene."

The words tore through me, each one a jagged shard of glass. His rejection cut deeper than I thought possible. My bond with him—the bond I had believed in, the bond that the Moon Goddess herself had chosen for us—was breaking, unraveling in front of my eyes. I could feel the connection between us snapping like a taut string, the bond that had once held us together now slipping away.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout at him, to make him understand. But there was nothing left to say. His words had already sealed my fate. His decision had been made, and there was no going back.

The whispers around me grew louder, a chorus of disbelief and pity. "Did he just reject her?" I heard someone whisper. "How could he do this to her? She’s been loyal to him, to the pack."

I could feel their eyes on me, the pack's judgment heavy on my shoulders. But their pity meant nothing. I had no use for it. What I needed was Andreas to take back what he had just said, to say it had all been a lie. But it was too late. The damage had been done.

Lise's voice cut through the murmurs, sweet and sickly, dripping with false sympathy. "I'm sorry you had to learn this way, Selene," she purred. "But Andreas deserves someone who really supports him. Someone who can lead with strength."

I wanted to lash out, to rip her from him and tear her apart, but I held myself in check. I wouldn’t let her win. Not like this.

"You mean someone who slinks in after years of absence and takes what doesn’t belong to her?" I spat, my hands clenched into fists at my sides.

Lise’s smile faltered, but she quickly recovered, her gaze shifting to Andreas, as if asking for his approval. He didn’t move away from her. He didn’t even flinch.

"Enough," Andreas said, his voice cold and final. He moved between us, the space between us thick with unspoken tension. He towered over me, his presence overpowering. "Selene, leave. You are not Luna of this pack. I expect you gone by nightfall."

The words hit me harder than any physical blow ever could. My mind screamed at me to argue, to fight, but my voice failed me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The world around me began to blur, the pack's faces melting into one mass of confusion and judgment. How could this be happening?

Andreas turned his back on me, walking away without a second glance, his hand resting possessively on Lise’s shoulder. She leaned into him, her laugh ringing in my ears, mocking me. I didn’t want to hear it. I couldn’t. But it was there, echoing in my head, a constant reminder of everything I had lost.

Later, with nothing but a small backpack over my shoulder, I stood at the edge of the Twilight Claw Pack's territory, the home I had known for so long now a distant memory. The Luna’s quarters were empty, the shelves bare, and the walls felt cold and unwelcoming. There was nothing left for me here. I was no longer part of this pack. No longer part of Andreas's world.

Tears that I had fought to hold back finally fell, but I wiped them away quickly, not wanting anyone to see my weakness. The stars above blurred in my vision, their light dimmed by the weight of my grief. I pressed my hand to my stomach, where the small life within me stirred. I hadn’t told Andreas yet. He didn’t know. And now, it felt like it didn’t matter. But the child inside me was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.

"You'll be safe," I whispered, my voice breaking. "I’ll keep you safe, no matter what."

The pack’s lights twinkled behind me, a life I had once known now slipping further away with each step I took. In front of me, the rogue lands stretched out, dark and foreboding. A place I’d never wanted to go, but now had no choice but to enter.

My wolf, restless and angry, stirred within me, her growls echoing in my mind. She wasn’t ready to let go. Neither was I. But there was nothing left for us here.

A howl split the night air, distant but chilling. It froze me in place, my breath catching in my throat. The sound sent a shiver down my spine, and for a moment, I considered turning back. But the rogue lands were ahead of me, and no matter how terrifying the sound had been, I couldn’t stay here. Not anymore.

As I took another step into the unknown, the night air thick with tension, a low growl rumbled through the silence, followed by two bright eyes emerging from the darkness ahead. My heart skipped a beat. I stopped, bristling, my instincts screaming at me to stay alert. This wasn’t over. Something—or someone—was waiting for me, lurking in the shadows of the rogue lands.

And then, in the stillness, a voice called out from the darkness.

"Are you ready, Selene?"

I froze, my body stiff with fear. It wasn’t Andreas’s voice. It was someone else’s. Someone... dangerous.

Who was it? What did they want?