Rejected Luna: Awakening Her silver wolf

Danika POV

"Stop, my love." My voice echoed in the room, mirroring my moans as we lay tangled on the bed.

"What babe, don't you like it?"

Drake panted seductively as he nibbled at my neck. He wasn't helping matters as he was back kissing me passionately again, his lips playing tag with mine and his hands doing wicked things to my body.

If we continued on this path, we would end up making passionate love-not that I didn't want it myself anyway.

"Babe," I called out again, and this time, thank Goddess, he stopped, panting really hard.

"You know I want you. I've always wanted you," he asked.

"Don't you want me?"

"You know I do, babe."

"Then let's do it. Make love to me. It wouldn't change anything anyway," he tried to convince me.

A part of me wanted to scream yes, but another part of me knew this wasn't the right thing to do. I could see the desire to have me in his eyes, but I could also detect the hurt in his tone of voice, and it hurt me too.

With my eyes a little clearer from the hooded desire from earlier, I tried my best to make him see some reason.

"Babe, I know you love me," I started, "and I love you very much too. You promised to make me yours, remember? On my twentieth birthday, which is just two days away."

I paused to take a look at his reaction, and thank the Goddess he wasn't taking it the wrong way.

He sighed. "Babe, you know I can't stay a minute without you. I promise that immediately after your wolf awakens, I'll name you as my mate and future Luna of my pack."

He declared it with all seriousness, and my heart leaped for joy. If it was someone else, I would have doubted the credibility of this promise, but this was my Drake. My one and only lover and sweetheart.

"Thank you so much, my love." I thanked him with the wildest kiss.

"We won't have to be apart after then-never," I said, breaking the kiss, and stood up. After bidding him goodbye, I reluctantly set out to leave.

When I reached home, everyone was outside doing one thing or the other.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back," I called out, hoping against hope that my mom would say something this time.

But again, I was met with disappointment.

"Oh, my baby girl is back." My dad craned his neck a little, his eyes never leaving my face.

"How is Drake doing today?"

At the mention of his name, my face immediately heated up. My face turned into a cooked shrimp, my mind wandering back to a few hours ago about what almost happened between Drake and me.

In two days, I would become my favorite person's Luna. I couldn't wait to be claimed by the future Alpha of the acclaimed, respectable, and powerful Silver Tail Pack.

I was ecstatic. A dream come true for me.

"Why are you blushing so hard?" My sister Eleanor not only chimed in, but she was two years younger than I am, and everybody's heartthrob. She was the jovial and bold one who always went for whatever she wanted.

At the age of eighteen, her wolf awakened with beautiful eyes and white fur with a little touch of brown, making her my mom's favorite. My dad loved her as much as he loved me, but Mom's love for her was on a whole other level.

"I wonder why her face is all shades of red," my dad seconded Eleanor's comment.

I quickly ran away from my family's presence and into my room. I wasn't in for their teases this morning.

I dove into my bed, still shy, and my face was still all shades of red. As I swung my legs, I couldn't help but think how the day of my awakening would be.

I'd seen a fair amount of what awakenings looked like-tearing, a flash, the sound of howling, and a change of position from standing on two legs to standing on all fours.

I hoped mine wouldn't be as painful, and wished my wolf would be as captivating and exceptionally beautiful.

In the blink of an eye, the day had arrived, with me looking at myself in the mirror, a self-satisfying smile playing on my lips. I wore a short, silver off-the-shoulder gown with matching slippers.

I chose a pair of black earrings and a necklace for adornment. Not that it would matter after a few hours, but still, I wanted to look gorgeous and beautiful for Drake.

After all, it was my birthday and the day I would become his Luna.

One last look in the mirror and I was ready.

With my heart thudding in anticipation, I slowly pushed open the double doors that led to the grand hall. The sound of my heels clicked on the marble tiles as I stepped inside the hall.

My heart was beating so fast, almost out of rhythm, and the surrounding air was charged with heavy anticipation. But the moment I stepped inside, all eyes turned towards me.

The loud voices and chatter turned into pin-drop silence, and hushing murmurs erupted in the hall.

"Look at her, walking all majestic. Who does she think she is, acting all high and mighty like she's already Luna?" someone from behind me sneered.

"To top it all, she doesn't even have a wolf yet," another person said, and they all laughed.

"She's acting all the better because she's the Alpha's girlfriend," another voice added.

"It's good that he's going to leave her for someone more humble, as well as prettier," another person said, and many more injurious words continued stabbing at my heart.

Was going to leave her? Who was going to leave me? What was happening?

My head had already sprinted into a jumbled mess. Drake wouldn't leave me for someone else now, would he? He had already confessed to me that he loved me very much.

And I loved him as much as he did. He was going to make me his Luna. So long as Drake didn't forsake me, our feelings, our love-then nothing else mattered to me.

And with this newfound confidence, I ignored the murmurs and pushed through the crowds towards my man-until something I saw made me halt in my tracks.

Situated on the podium was a seat meant for the Alpha and the Luna. My heartbeat quickened when I saw Drake, my own man, seated in the Alpha's seat.

And in the Luna's seat... the one seated there was-

My eyes widened, my mouth practically hitting the floor.

What? What in the earthwide world is happening?

Danika POV

Even with shaky legs, I walked to the podium. "What? What is going on here?" I questioned, hot tears already gliding down my cheeks.

My heart was bleeding. My heart was torn and bleeding, like it had been ruthlessly plucked out of my chest, leaving only an empty space. How could they?

How could Drake betray our love without even batting an eyelid? And my own sister? How could she betray our sister's bond and still be able to look me in the eyes?

"Drake..." I called out again, my voice barely above a whisper, and this time I regretted ever wanting to know what was happening.

He lazily sighed. "Look, I'm so sorry it came to be like this, Danika," he said. But with one look at him I knew he wasn't sorry at all.

"I love your sister. And your sister... she loves me as much as I love her." He finally dropped the bomb.

My legs wobbled.

I shook my head, finding it hard to believe that the one who confessed his feelings to me two days prior to this day didn't find me lovable anymore.

Was it all a sham? All those confessions... were they all nothing but lies?

And he wasn't done talking. "I don't feel butterflies in my stomach whenever I'm with you, unlike whenever I'm with your sister," he said with an emotionless tone of voice.

I blinked back humiliated tears. Did he have to humiliate me in front of all the pack members? Even the pack members knew I was going to get dumped and I didn't.

I clenched my fist against my empty chest when more pain weighed down on it. "But you said you loved me, Drake. You even said you would make me your Luna."

I was almost begging. But how can I not? My whole life I've known Drake, even before he became an Alpha. We started dating when I came of age.

I was hoping that he would say he was sorry, at least, even if he feigned it, and asked for my forgiveness. For I would still foolishly forgive and go back to him.

Pathetic, I know, but I wasn't ready to let him go, especially to my sister.

He sighed again. "I did say that. You are indeed like my princess, just like in the Cinderella story. But you see, it seems like the glass shoes don't fit you anymore."

And without waiting for me to speak again, he suddenly turned around and nodded at someone - an elder.

Oh Moon Goddess, my world had finally shattered. My life had crumbled.

Amazing ceremony. It was never because of my birthday. Drake didn't plan this celebration because of my birthday. It was a celebration of being mated to my sister.

With a nod from Drake, the ceremony commenced with the elder's question directed to my sister. "Eleanor, are you willing to take Alpha Drake as your mate and Alpha?"

Eleanor coyly looked at Drake with a smile like a high school girl. "Yes, I will."

The elder turned to face Drake. "Alpha Drake, are you willing to be mated with Eleanor, making her your Luna?" the elder asked, and my head snapped to Drake.

He wouldn't say yes, would he? He wouldn't abandon all the love we shared for years, all the promises we made, would he?

But to my utmost disappointment: "Yes. I'm willing," he affirmed, every single word hitting me squarely in my chest.

I reeled back as if I'd been figuratively slapped across the face. It wasn't as if I'd been literally slapped - because how would the pack members look at me from now on? An overreacting girlfriend who couldn't even satisfy or be able to keep her partner.

I slowly crouched down on my knees. My legs could not withstand the blow anymore. It got to a point when the pain became excruciatingly painful.

This pain was a mixture of betrayal and physical pain, a kind of pain in the pit of my stomach and every core in my body. Every bone in my body began to snap and crack.

Devastating agony, hellishly ripping through me. I tried to fit myself in a ball. Maybe, maybe this pain would go away.

But it became unbearably painful, driving me to the brink of insanity. What was this pain? This wasn't just the pain of betrayal, Moon Goddess.

But instead of a cry, I heard a growl come out of my throat. And despite feeling like I was swimming in a sea of pains, I was startled. That's it. That must be the reason for this pain.

I was turning. My wolf was awakening. I almost forgot about my wolf.

I tried to stand up and-what was happening? I couldn't stand straight because-ah! I was standing already, but on all fours. My legs and my hands, they'd already transformed into limbs.

I was fully transformed, and the pain had lessened, but it was still there.

I'd seen a fair share of how transformations were, with their clothes tearing into shreds. The turning doesn't last long.

As I admired my paws and the beautiful fur of silver and white that graced my skin for protection against cold and for warmth, a very rare combination of wolf, I was supposed to be excited.

I would have immediately become a Luna after I shifted but... it wasn't going to happen anymore. Drake had betrayed me and my sister was now his mate.

Murmurs and gasps erupted in the grand hall again.

But this time, even without being close to them, I could hear and decipher every word.

"Oh Goddess, what a rare wolf she's transformed into."

"I wish mine was half as beautiful as hers," someone remarked with a tone of envy.

"I heard that this wolf is rare and possesses great strength and since a hundred centuries ago no one has transformed into it," another one exclaimed, but I could detect a hint of admiration in her tone.

"How did you come to know about this information?"

"Because my dad told me. My dad is an elder and, you know, elders from the council have firsthand information."

The murmurs continued, but I couldn't concentrate anymore, because one voice, a familiar tone of voice that I'd known and heard all my life, stood out among the voices. It was laced with bitterness and jealousy again.

"She has the prettiest wolf. Why can't I surpass her in anything? Why?"

I looked at my supposed sister and my heart clenched. Her scent oozed jealousy and contemptuous malice.

First she stole my boyfriend, and now she's even jealous of my Goddess-given wolf. I was pained. I shook my head. This was not the sister I've known and lived with my whole life.

I had no words now, and I could feel it. I was almost transforming back into my human body, and I couldn't possibly let my nakedness be exposed for all to see.

I retreated into the crowd as they made way for me. I ran out of the hall and took a detour into the woods and headed straight home.

I could hear and see everything more clearly - the birds singing, the crickets chirping, and the grass below swaying to the tune of the breeze.

I basked in the amazing feel of the woods, a sense of comfort and excitement washing over me despite the turmoil in my heart.

So this is how it feels to have an inner wolf.

I shifted back into my human form as the door to our house opened, with my dad standing in the doorway with a blanket.

He draped the blanket on my naked body, his face was a mixture of excitement that I had finally shifted and that of sadness because of what my sister had done to me.

"The Goddess knows best and that's why he never allowed you to be mated to a scumbag like Drake. You will find yours one day," he consoled me.

But would I really be able to find a mate who wouldn't betray my love?

I lay down on my bed all night, staring into space. I kept pinching myself to see if it was a dream, but each time I did that, the pain I felt reminded me that it was all real.

Drake had shattered my heart and now mated with my sister. My heart was drowning, the pillows beneath my head soaked in my sorrows.

I thought about a million and one reasons why Drake would easily betray me in that way, but I found none.

I've been faithful to him since the day he started recording me. And fresh tears glossed my eyes as darkness suddenly enveloped me, swallowing me whole.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the farthest south borders, a man clad in black is seen seated on the bare floor, despite the calibre of his person, his presence intimidating.

"What do you see?" he asked a woman, impatience evidently written all over his face.

The woman looked up to meet his gaze, apparently unperturbed, a little smile playing on her red lips. "I see her. She is awakened. What you had always sought for is finally awakened," the woman drawled cryptically.

"What? What are you... are you sure about this?"

The man's deep voice asked, clear as crystal.

"I have never seen what never came to pass, have I not?"

"How do I meet her?" the man asked again.

"That..." she shook her head. "I have no answers to."

The woman replied and the man's aura blazed like hellfire.

"What the-"

A groan escaped through his lips as he ran frustrated fingers through his hair. "So will I have to wait until the day fate brings us together? What kind of game is the Goddess playing this time? After five centuries of waiting... well, I have to wait again."

The sunlight filtered through the curtains, making me squint my eyes as I woke up to an urgent knock on my door.

"Honey, I'm coming in now," came Father's voice, his tone strained.

I abruptly sat up, and before I could reply, he was already inside my room, something he had never done before.

"You're needed in the Alpha's office in 30 minutes," he informed me with a tone of serious urgency, and I frowned.

My usually cheerful father was now stiff and anxious, with beads of sweat already forming on his face.

Initially, I wasn't feeling it anymore, but now, at the mention of Drake, my heart broke again. Memories of yesterday came flooding back.

Is he already regretting his actions now? Does he want me back? What about my sister? All these questions found their way towards my throat but-

"Why does he want me in his office?" came out instead.

And what my father said next made my hair rise and my blood freeze.

"What.

Danika's P.O.V.

A sharpened knife wouldn't be able to cut through how heavy the tension assailed the air. The usual loud and cheerful path to the Pack House was now deafening-complete silence. Fear-yes, fear. I could feel it in the air, and I could feel it in my guts, too.

I wasn't excluded, because the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack had declared war on our pack.

My father's voice echoed in my head again for the fifth time: this wasn't just news of any pack-this was the most powerful and dangerous pack. Just the mention of its name caused even kings to shake and tremble. I wondered what our pack did to direct his attention to us.

"Come in." I heard Alpha's voice from inside the office, but I could detect the tremors in his voice as well. I had reached his office now.

I pushed open the doors, and there they were-Drake and my little sister, now Luna-working together like the loveliest couple, and I felt a sting in my chest.

She was living my destiny. That was supposed to be my spot. I was supposed to be sitting there as Luna and not her. The shattered heart I fought so hard to patch together shattered again.

I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me miserable twice in a row.

"You sent for me," I said, notifying them of my presence. He looked at me with those amber eyes that used to look at me with loving tenderness, but now there was nothing in those eyes-only nonchalance and indifference.

"I believe you've heard the news," he started, and my eyes rested on his lips-those lips that used to play tango with mine. Those lips that used to confess beautiful things into my ears and make my body tingle were still supple and moist. Perhaps he had kissed my sister's lips with them.

"Yes, I heard the news about the war."

"Good, and we have come up with a perfect solution. As you well know, our pack is a small one with fewer warriors. We are not going to make it should we choose to accept that letter. So my Luna came up with a solution instead," he said, turning to my sister to continue, since she was the one who proposed the solution.

"And what's this perfect solution?" I asked, and a smirk that only I could see formed across my sister's lips.

A heavy sense of foreboding formed in the pit of my stomach. I knew that whatever solution she proposed wasn't going to be a good one.

"It's simple," she shrugged. "You're going to the Blood Moon Pack today to form a peace alliance with their Alpha." She said it like she was saying, the skies are blue and the grass is green.

My head instantly swung to face Drake. Maybe he would just scoff and say it was a prank. But nothing-his face that once showed care now showed nothing but pools of indifference and coldness.

I chuckled nervously. "Wait. You're not serious, are you?" I asked, searching their faces to see any trace of a joke, but there was no sign that they weren't serious.

"This is the Alpha we're talking about, not just any Alpha-the strongest one at that-and you're sending me there? And alone?"

He was supposed to be the one to honor that invite, not me.

He slammed his hands on the desk, the spot breaking. "What insolence!" he bellowed at me. "Are you defying your Luna now?" His voice was laced with dangerous warnings.

I turned to face Eleanor. "Luna." I chuckled, but there was no mirth in the sound. "Haven't you heard about his ruthlessness, too? Haven't you? Why should I be the one to go out there and die? Because I don't get it, sis."

"You're just the right person who could pull this peace alliance off, and that's why I'm sending you there. And besides, you're so full of confidence that it amazes me. So go out and show us what you can do," she said, feigning admiration.

The office was charged with tense silence for a while-my head down in defeat and misery. A striking contrast between my sister and me: she was enjoying this. She was sending me out to die-but why? So she could have Drake all to herself.

Why should I always be the one in pain? Why? I'm never going to accept this. Never.

"You might as well kill me before I go to that blood-sucking pack," I spat.

Drake stood up from his seat and slowly walked toward me with a murderous look on his face. He looked at me and, without warning, landed a slap across my face with a heavy impact that made my ears ring and my lips tear.

"You must run this errand, Danika," he enunciated, word for word, his voice passive. "And if you choose not to go, then be prepared to be exiled from this pack."

He roared with an air of authority that could only belong to an Alpha.

"Why are you so cruel? Why does it feel like I'm the only one who felt this... this bond?" My voice croaked. I could still feel the mate bond. "Do you really not know that we are mated by the Goddess herself?" My voice was low and barely above a whisper.

He scoffed. "Really? Good then."

He nodded his head severely, and I looked up.

"We should end it here and now."

What does that mean? What is he going to do? It's not what I'm thinking- is he going to-

"I, Drake woodland, Alpha of the Silver Tail Pack, reject you, Danika wolbane as my Goddess-given mate. You're never going to be my Luna and me your mate. Accept my rejection."

The coldness in his tone knocked out my lungs, making it impossible for me to breathe-suffocating. It was suffocating and unbearably painful.

"I, Danika Wolfbane accept your rejection." I gasped, looking for breath-these words I never thought I'd ever say. Never thought I'd be rejected even before becoming a mate. "I will no longer be your Goddess-given mate, nor will I be your Luna."