Rejected by the Alpha for a Fake Heir

Five years ago, a silver bullet meant for Alpha Liam shattered my spine. I took the shot to save him, and in exchange, my inner wolf went silent. I became a ghost in my own pack-the barren Luna.

But gratitude has an expiration date. Liam brought Sarah home, claiming she was just a "designated breeder" for the heir I couldn't provide.

It was a lie. When Sarah faked a fall, Liam didn't defend me. To appease the Elders, he ordered me to be whipped with silver lashes.

He watched from the balcony as I bled.

Later, on the day he marked her, he drained my rare blood to save her from a "miscarriage," then handed me a one-way ticket to Paris.

"It's for your safety," he said, exiling me to make room for his new family.

I looked at the man I sacrificed everything for. He didn't see a wife; he saw a resource to be used and discarded. He thought he could break me and send me away quietly.

So, I gave him exactly what he wanted: a dead Luna.

I didn't board the plane to Paris. Instead, I let him watch the news report that Flight 815 had crashed into the Atlantic with no survivors.

While he went mad with grief, realizing Sarah was a fraud, I was in the North, unlocking the White Wolf he thought was gone forever.

When we met again, I wasn't his broken wife. I was holding another Alpha's hand.

"Liam Vance," I smiled, my eyes glowing white. "I reject you."

Chapter 1

Eleanor POV:

The Grand Hall of the Blood Moon estate felt less like a home and more like a mausoleum. The air was thick, choking on a cocktail of expensive scotch, nervous sweat, and the cloying, over-sweet perfume that clung to Sarah like a second skin.

I stood in the shadows, nursing a glass of water. My back throbbed-a phantom echo of the silver bullet that shattered my spine five years ago. That bullet was meant for Liam. I took it, and in exchange, my inner wolf went silent. I was the Luna in title, but a ghost in practice.

"Silence!"

The command rolled off Liam's tongue, not with malice, but with an exhausted weight. The Alpha's Voice dropped every wolf to their knees. Even broken as I was, my human instincts screamed to submit.

Liam stood on the dais. He looked tired. Dark circles bruised the skin under his eyes, and his shoulders were tight. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the floor, while the woman beside him beamed.

Sarah. She rested a manicured hand on her flat stomach, playing the part of the miracle mother.

"My people," Liam announced, his voice raspy. "The Blood Moon Pack requires a future. The Council has spoken. We need an heir."

I gripped my glass until my knuckles turned white. I saw Liam's jaw clench. He hated this speech. I knew him well enough to see the strings the Elders were pulling.

"Sarah is carrying my pup," he said.

The glass in my hand exploded.

Silence. Then, the whispers started. Pity. Scorn.

Liam flinched at the sound of breaking glass. His eyes found mine-amber meeting violet. For a second, the mask slipped. I saw apology. I saw desperation. Then, Elder Thomas stepped forward, whispering something in Liam's ear. The mask slammed back into place.

"Eleanor," Liam said. It wasn't a command. It was a plea. "Come here."

I walked through the parting crowd. My legs felt like they were moving through molasses.

"This is for the pack," Liam whispered when I reached the dais, his voice barely audible. "The Elders gave me an ultimatum, El. A designated breeder, or they dissolve our mating bond entirely. This keeps you safe. This keeps you *here*."

"Safe?" I hissed back, tears stinging my eyes. "You call this safe? You're parading your infidelity as duty."

"I am doing what I must to keep the Council off your back!" he snapped, though his eyes were wet. "You cannot give me a son. Do you want them to exile you? Because that was their first offer."

Sarah stepped forward, her smile sharp enough to cut glass. "Oh, Luna Eleanor. Don't be upset. I'm just here to do the job you're too... broken to handle."

Her scent hit me then. It wasn't the milky, warm scent of pregnancy. It was sharp. Chemical. Like sulfur masked by peaches.

"Do not touch me," I recoiled.

"Eleanor!" Liam warned. "She carries the future. Play nice."

I fled. I ran to my sanctuary, my art studio. But when I threw open the door, my heart stopped.

My canvases were gone. My paints, my haven-erased.

In their place were cribs. The walls were painted a suffocating, powdery blue.

"We needed the nursery close to the Alpha's quarters," Liam said from the doorway. He was loosening his tie, looking like a man marching to the gallows.

"You erased me," I whispered.

"It's temporary, El. The doctor said the pregnancy is... high risk. She needs the proximity to my aura."

"High risk?" I laughed bitterly. "She looks like she just won the lottery."

Before he could answer, the fire alarm screamed.

Smoke. Thick and acrid.

"Sarah," Liam breathed, his pupils dilating.

He ran. He didn't look at me. He operated on instinct-protect the heir.

I followed, stumbling. By the time I reached the hallway, the heat was blistering. I saw them through the haze. Liam had Sarah in his arms.

"Liam!" I screamed, trapped behind a falling beam.

He turned. He saw me. He took a step toward me, his face twisting in agony.

"The baby!" Sarah shrieked, digging her nails into his neck. "Liam, the smoke is hurting the baby!"

He froze. He looked at me, then at her stomach. The duty won.

He turned and ran, carrying the lie to safety, leaving the truth to burn.

The ceiling groaned. I looked up just as the timber gave way. Darkness crushed me.

*

Eleanor POV:

I woke to the sterile beep of machines. My body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder.

"You're awake."

Liam sat by the bed. He looked pristine, untouched by the fire that had nearly killed me.

"You left me," I rasped.

"I had to," he said, staring at his hands. "The Law states the heir comes first. Always."

"Law," I spat. "Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night?"

He placed a thick envelope on the table.

"The Elders," he said, his voice dead. "They say the fire was an omen. Bad luck brought by a barren Luna. They want a separation. Just... on paper. Until the child is born."

"And then what? I become the mistress in my own house?"

"It buys us time, El. Please. Just sign it. If you don't, they'll move for a forced rejection."

I looked at the papers. Separation Agreement.

Something inside me snapped. Not a bone, but the last thread of hope.

"Give me the pen."

I signed it. I didn't read the fine print. I just wanted him out.

"El..."

"Get out," I said. "Go to your breeder."

He left. As soon as the door clicked shut, I ripped the IV from my arm.

I limped down the hall, clutching the wall for support. I heard voices from the nurses' station.

"Heartbeat is strong," the doctor was saying. "Alpha Liam is relieved."

"Have they picked a name?"

"Lily," Liam's voice drifted out. "If it's a girl... Lily."

I froze. Lily. The name I had whispered to him on our wedding night. He gave my dream to her.

I pushed through the exit doors into the cold night. I wasn't just leaving the hospital. I was leaving the life.

*

I went to the immigration office the next morning. A dull, gray building full of humans.

"Name change?" the clerk asked.

"Yes," I said. "And renounce my citizenship to the Pack lands."

I signed the forms. I was a ghost now.

I drove back to the house one last time to grab my things. Most of the pack was out repairing the fire damage.

I slipped into our bedroom. It smelled of rotting peaches.

I grabbed my sketchbook and the silver locket my mother gave me. I found the dried flower from our first date on the nightstand. I crushed it in my hand, letting the dust fall into the trash.

"Going somewhere?"

Liam leaned against the doorframe. Sarah stood behind him, smirking like the cat that ate the canary.

"I'm leaving, Liam."

"You can't," he stepped forward. "You signed legal papers, not Pack papers. You are still mine."

"Yours to burn?"

"We need you," Sarah chimed in. "The doctor says I need... specialized care. Who better than the former Luna to serve the future one?"

Her audacity was breathtaking. And then, she released it-a wave of pheromones. Not maternal. Aggressive. Dominant.

My dormant wolf didn't stir, but my instincts flared. I glared at her.

Sarah gasped, clutching her belly. "Ow! Liam! She's using her aura! She's attacking the baby!"

It was a lie so obvious a child could see through it. But Liam was paranoid. The Elders had terrified him about losing the heir.

"Eleanor!"

The Alpha Command hit me like a sledgehammer.

*Boom.*

My knees cracked against the floor. I couldn't move.

"Stop it," Liam ordered, sweat beading on his forehead. "Submit."

He scooped Sarah up. "Stay here. Do not leave this room."

He carried her out.

As soon as the pressure lifted, I collapsed. He had used the Voice on me. On his mate.

I dragged myself up. I didn't take the suitcase. I just took the locket.

I climbed down the trellis, ignoring the screaming pain in my back.

I limped to the barrier. One step. Two.

"Goodbye, Liam."

I crossed the line. The static in my head-the pack link-went silent.

Eleanor POV:

I made it to a motel on the outskirts. The room smelled of stale smoke and bad decisions.

*Eleanor.*

Liam's voice invaded my mind. He was forcing the link open.

*Where are you? Sarah needs the herbal soup. The one you make.*

I laughed, a dry, cracking sound. *I am not your servant, Liam.*

*The Warriors are tracking you. Don't make them drag you back.*

Ten minutes later, the door was kicked in.

Two warriors-men I had grown up with-grabbed me. They weren't gentle.

They hauled me back to the estate. Not to the kitchen. To the tribunal.

Sarah sat in a wheelchair, her leg bandaged. The Elders sat in a semi-circle, looking like vultures waiting for a meal.

"Eleanor Vance," Elder Thomas intoned. "You are accused of attempted murder."

"What?" I blinked, disoriented.

"Sarah fell down the stairs," Liam said, his voice tight. He wouldn't look at me. "She says you pushed her."

"I wasn't even here!"

"We found your scent," Thomas said. "And Sarah saw you."

"She's lying!" I screamed.

"The punishment is death," Thomas declared.

"No," Liam interjected quickly. "No death."

"She harmed the heir, Alpha," Thomas countered. "Blood for blood."

"I said no!" Liam roared, his aura flaring. "She is still my mate. But... discipline is required."

"The Whip," his father suggested coldly.

Liam paled. He looked at me, then at the Elders. He was outnumbered. If he refused, they would demand a vote of no confidence. They would kill me.

"Fine," Liam whispered. "Five lashes. No more."

"Liam," I begged. "Don't."

He closed his eyes. "Proceed."

They dragged me to the courtyard. They stripped my shirt, exposing the scars from the bullet I took for him.

*Crack.*

The silver-tipped lash bit into my skin. It wasn't just pain; it was poison.

*Crack.*

I bit my lip until copper filled my mouth.

I looked up. Liam stood on the balcony. He was gripping the railing so hard the stone was crumbling. He was watching, but he wasn't stopping it.

*Crack.*

Darkness took me.