You Belong To Me, Luna

Lylah POV:

"I can't wait for you to turn 18," Thane said to me, a smile polished on his face as we sat by the waterfall, a quiet and serene place that belonged to only the two of us.

He held my hand in his, and I beheld his eyes.

Even without the mate bond, I felt it in my heart that he was my mate; it was a sensation I knew every time I saw him.

"I can't wait either," I responded, my heart leaping with joy over the big day.

We had only nine hours left before the breaking of dawn, and then we would be consummated.

Our bodies entwined together as we made love under the full moon.

I was to be his, and he was to be mine.

"Close your eyes, Lylah." I immediately closed my eyes, eager for what he might do.

"Now, open them."

When I opened my eyes, he was down on one knee, a ring in his hand.

"Lylah Summer, would you be my chosen mate for the rest of your life, to love me and me alone till death do us part?"

"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Unable to hold my excitement, I leapt into his arms, almost toppling us both to the ground.

He took my hand and slipped the ring onto my finger.

"My father gave this ring to my mother, and now I'm giving you this ring.

I love you, Lylah Summer, I always will."

"I love you, too, Thane Anthra." I squealed, wrapping myself in his arms while admiring the ring that had caught my eye for years.

I wish the moment could last forever, but it was cut short by the sound of an unknown bell.

"What is that?" I asked, having never heard such a bell before.

It rang three times, followed by black smoke billowing into the sky.

"The Alpha is dead," he added, leaving me completely dumbfounded.

"What do you mean dead?"

Alpha Damon was still in his forties and had many years ahead to rule.

Many had presumed he would die seven years ago after losing his Luna.

Yet, he survived so long without her, practically raising his daughter on his own.

What could possibly cause his death now?

Thane pulled me up, "We have to go now, there will be a curfew in an hour to pay respect for his death."

I stared at him, troubled by how he had so much information about this.

It only made sense because his father was once the Beta of the pack, before he got overthrown during a duel by his brother.

The moment we arrived back at my home, a special announcement went around.

"All men are summoned to the pack house at first light tomorrow, for the new Luna to choose the new Alpha."

"She must be desperate to take over the throne to find an Alpha the next day after her father's death." I pondered.

"The new Alpha..." I heard Thane whisper, and I lifted my head to meet his gaze.

"You are not seriously considering going, right?" I prompted, trying not to get his head in the clouds.

The chances of the new Luna picking him were one in a thousand.

Besides, in all the years that I knew him, he had never looked at another woman before.

"Nothing is going to stand in the way between us," he assured me, planting a kiss on my lips and gently caressing my hair.

It's already nine in the morning, and there was no sign of Thane, I couldn't help but think that he was at the ceremony.

I stepped out of the house to find the streets wiped clean, not a single soul was present in their homes.

Making my way to the pack house, it was my first time entering there.

No one was allowed into the pack house except on official business; the walls were painted in pure white and fancy pillars.

I walked past the steel brown brass door to find a crowd in the hall.

It was a two-story building for ceremonies like this.

The top floor was filled, and so was the ground floor, but what caught my attention was the thousand men in front of the hall, assembled in rows.

I began searching for Thane among the crowd.

There was no way he was among the men lined up in front; he was engaged to me and therefore was proclaimed as 'not single'.

"I can't believe my husband is there!"

I heard a woman say as I walked past her.

Tears were pouring down her eyes as she held onto a 3-month-old baby, trying her possible best to stop him from crying.

It dawned on me that most of the men out there probably had partners; they had broken their loyalty to their partners just to be there.

"Not my Thane," I told myself.

He had promised that he wanted nothing to do with that.

I was on my way to the stairs when a name being called out caught my attention.

"Thane Anthra, number 7." I paused in my tracks, unable to look back.

I told myself it must be a coincidence, and there was someone else with the same name as him.

"Son of former Beta Anthra."

That confirmed my disbelief.

"Yes, Sir." I heard his voice, and my heart almost stopped.

I slowly turned back, my body already shaking from the reality.

There he was in the second row; the numbers were based on the time they had registered themselves to be chosen for the title of the Alpha.

If he were number seven, then he must have...

He left right after putting me to sleep.

Did he do all that just so he could sign up?

I shook my head, refusing to believe it.

He must have been forced by his father to retrieve the glory he had once lost.

Thane would never make that decision on his own.

It had his father's doing written all over it.

Soon, all the names were called out, and the doors to the front opened.

"All bow!" the commander said, and we all bowed our heads as the Luna heir walked in.

Once I lifted my head, I was caught in a trance.

It was my first time of seeing her, long black hair, blue eyes and skin like fresh milk.

She was beautiful; her beauty alone left the men in front of her sunken in admiration.

It made them realize that they made the right choice signing up, and whoever was lucky enough to be picked by her was indeed blessed.

It didn't matter what age the men were; they ranged from the oldest to the youngest (the age of 18).

Men who had already met their wolves at the well-endowed.

"The Luna heir will now choose who will be the next Alpha."

I felt my heart racing once again as she began walking past them.

I saw the way Thane corrected his posture; his hair was combed backwards, and not the usual messy style he always had and I always loved.

He wore a brown shirt and black pants, the outfit I bought for him on his previous birthday.

I spent months working different part-time jobs just to get him that outfit.

He promised to cherish it and wear it only on special occasions, occasions for us.

My heart heaved a bit in relief when she walked past him.

I could see his countenance change, and his confidence shattered; his shoulders slouched back as he watched her walk away from him.

She was finally done scanning the men.

It would be normal if she found no one to her taste, but then she had two more days to find an Alpha.

Otherwise, she would be stripped off her title and the Beta and his mate would be the new Alpha and Luna of the pack.

It was forbidden for her to pick an Alpha who wasn't part of the pack.

We were cursed and segregated from the rest of the Eleanor City; no other pack wanted anything to do with the cursed pack.

She walked back to the front of the line, and my heart skipped once again only for her to point at Thane.

"I want him," she announced.

"Noooo" were the words that escaped my lips before I could move.

The whole room turned to me and so did Thane, just for a brief second he saw me and his eyes lit up in shock. Was he expecting me to stay home when he left me waiting for him for hours.

"Silence" the commander ordered. I couldn't bear to lift my head because of the authority he had laid over the whole room.

The sound of a needle could be heard from a hall so quiet.

"Are you sure this is the one you want Darla" he asked her.

"Yes" I could hear her say boldly. The whole room heard it and so did my sinking heart. I slowly raised my head to find Thane beaming for joy over being chosen.

My Thane.

"What is your name?"

"Thane Anthra, son of former Beta Anthra" he rung out.

He hated telling people that his father was overthrown, he was ashamed of that dark path of his family but today he wore it like a coat, proud to be part of ranked members.

It gave a sort of leverage knowing that he was once from a ranked family and he was more than pleased to use it.

A smile crept on her face as she watched him, she ran her hands through his hair and he bowed and leaned closer to her touch.

I slowly swallowed the gulp in my throat, my nails digging into my thighs.

"Thane Anthra, you have officially been chosen by the Luna heir to be the next Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack.

It is your duty to serve this pack and uphold all your responsibilities to the point of laying down your life for it.

Need I remind you that you can reject this offer at this moment due to any circumstances and the title will be passed on to another.

Is there any reason why you would want to reject this offer?" Commander Sage asked.

He looked to his right where his father stood, a grin plastered all over his face as he gave him the go-ahead to accept the offer.

What about me? We were to be consummated today, he was my mate and the man I had loved for four years, was he really going to deny me to become the next Alpha of the pack.

"I accept the offer" he said.

My feet stumbled and I immediately fell to the ground like a weak creature, no one bothered to lend me a helping hand, I just sat there staring into abyss.

What a cruel way to celebrate my 18th birthday.

"Do you have a mate?" I could hear the commander asked.

I was more than prepared to hear him say no, he had already denied me so there was no point in thinking that he might accept me now.

"I..." I lowered my head to avoid seeing his reaction even though I could clearly hear his words.

The room was quiet for too long, almost as if I could see shadows moving towards me until they turned into two legs. I raised my head to see him smiling in front of me, he stretched his hand towards me.

My whole body froze confused about what was going on,

"Lylah" he called me snapping me from my reverie.

I looked up to his brown eyes, was he acknowledging me as his mate, how about the offer he had just accepted to be the Alpha. There was no way he could have two Lunas.

It took a while to realize his hand was stretched towards me, I took it and got to my feet where I was led by him towards Darla.

"This is Lylah. We have been together for about three years now."

I forced a smile on my face knowing well that he was going to choose me, I tried so hard to keep my head high compared to Darla who has had to practice it for years.

Her gaze on me made me feel filthy, I barely tried to keep my eyes to her level.

"Lylah" I hear him call my name and I smile back at him, he held my hand. For three years I had never looked upon any woman and you never gave me the reason to, you were everything I wanted and I couldn't be more thrilled with the happiness that we shared together."

It felt like a proposal in front of all these people, my heart began leaping for joy, I had picked the right choice, the right man, and I know he would never leave me.

"We had promised to spend the rest of our lives together"

"Yes" I let out.

"There had been no one else but you in my life, you understand me"

"I do"

"You bring out the best in me, and that is why I know that you will understand that I have to follow my destiny and if my destiny is to become the next Alpha of this pack then so be it. I can never stand in the way of the moon goddess paving my life.

I know you get what I am saying"

My heart sank once again, I felt used and humiliated in front of the whole pack.

"Lylah Summer, I hereby reject you as my chosen mate"

I have heard of how rejection hurts like hell between fated mate, but somehow I could fell the same pain. My lips were shut and all that came out were tiny whimpers, he slowly let go of my hand as tears fell down from my face.

"I reject your rejection" I said but it was no use. He was already walking further away from me, right behind her who was going to be his new mate.

"Did you hear me" I scream so loud that it made them halt.

"I reject your rejection, you cannot reject me for her, I will not accept it.

You belong to me.

We were supposed to be consummated today, how dare you reject me"

I cried, feeling twice the pain after he had accepted the Alpha position earlier.

"Get this crazy woman out of my hall" Darla commanded.

Before the guards could reach me, I raced for her to teach her a lesson, I don't care if she was the Luna Heir, it was unfair of her to take what was mine.

I was so close when Thane stepped in front of me blocking my path, he pushed me so hard that I fell to the ground and broke my arm,

I could tell from the crack sound I heard. I had less than a second to regain myself but I was rudely lifted up in the air by two guards, the doors opened and they tossed me out like a rag doll.

"Stay out" one of them ordered.

Tiny whimpers escaped my lips, tears dropped more than I could control. I couldn't stop it.

Every part of my body ached, it felt as if I had been rejected by my fated mate, was this how rejection felt.

I know this is just my heart bleeding and has nothing to do with the mate bond but it stung like hell.

My legs felt numb and I crashed to the ground unable to pick myself up.

Never in a thousand years did I think such a thing could happen to me. It was supposed to be a beautiful day for me, we would be mated under the moonlight, we would have kids and live happily ever after but darkness had already overwhelmed whatever fantasy I had long had.

I tried to make my way back there, to beg him, to make him see that he was making a wrong decision and that he loved me and only me.

The guards by the door wouldn't bulge as they pushed me butt flat to the ground once again.

Two minutes had passed of me staring at the brown door and waiting for him to walk through, to tell me he was sorry and that he has chosen me.

That I was the love of his life and no one would take my place, that he was sorry for hurting me and making me cry.

It seemed as though my prayers were answered, the doors opened and he walked right out, It felt like it was dream but still I was happy to see him. Happy to know that my prayers were answered.

He stretched his hand to me and muttered something I could barely hear.

I blinked my eyes several times to be sure that it was actually him and not my imagination playing tricks on me.

It really was him, standing in front of me.

I immediately wrapped my arms around him, "I knew you would come to your senses. I knew you would choose me over her."

"Get the hell off me" he pushed me down to the ground.

I could see the hatred in his eyes, this was the same man who claimed to love me for three years, the same man I was to be consummated with. Now he treats me like I disgusted him. How could love turn so easily to hate, could he have hated me all these while but hid it so perfectly.

"I want my ring back" He said to me.

I was in utter disbelief. This was a ring he gave to me as a profession of his love.

He didn't come back for me but for his ring, he was cutting off all connections, taking away anything that could remind me of him.

"No, I won't give it to you. You gave it to me"

"Give me the ring" he yelled.

I bet the pack inside could hear him, the dominance from his tone made me shiver, as if he had already taken over the Alpha title.

I slipped the ring out of my finger and placed it into his hand.

"Let's never see each other again."

Before I could open my lips and utter anything, the doors were shut once again. I was left alone to wallow in my misery, to drown in the sadness. I couldn't forget the hatred in his eyes, the same hatred and disgust that made me question everything about us.

We had spent good years together, after the death of my parents, I never thought anyone would want me.

Orphans were thrown on the street, treated like garbage because they had no one, he saw me but instead of neglecting me, he loved me, he provided for me, in return, I relied on him, I loved him too.

It took a long while before my feet could carry me again, my broken arm was slowly healing but not as fast because my heart was taking up all the work. I could hear chanting and celebration from behind the door.

His father would be so proud of him, because this would make him an Elder as the father of the Alpha, he would be back upon the seats of the ranked members, even higher than his brother who stole his position from him.

For years he told me that he didn't care what his father thought of me, I tried my possible best to make former Beta Anthra to like me but he never did. No one likes a poor orphan.

I should have known that one day, Thane would turn into his father, he would crave for power more than love.

I arrived home and shut the doors behind me to stop anyone from entering, not like anyone had ever cared about me or bothered to visit me. I was known as the cursed orphan who had killed both her parents so I was segregated and ostracized.

I hate them.

I hate everyone who stood there and watched me get treated in such manner.

I hate him, or so I thought. If it were that easy to hate then I would be well on that road by now, more so I hated myself. For letting this happen to me, not just on any other day but on my birthday.

It was definitely going to leave a scar on me, a type that I could never easily heal from.

The next time I opened my eyes, bright lights shun through the room. I had slept through the night with tears in my eyes, my neck ached from leaning against the door awkwardly.

Standing to my feet, I could hear footsteps outside the door, my delusions kicked in,

"It's him" I quickly pulled open the door with hopes to see him again. Excitement filling my heart.

With beliefs that all that happened was just a dream but I was met with a darn rooster giving his morning cry.

I slammed the door so hard that I could almost hear a crack.

It wasn't a dream, it was reality.

I was all alone.

Broken.

Humiliated.

And sad.

It took three days for the hatred to finally sip in, unlike Thane who was disgusted by me in minutes, I knew that if I saw him, I would still break down, a huge part of me was still in love with him.

I decided to start slowly to forget about him, taking away everything that reminded me of him out of the house, by the time I was done, I realized that half of the things in the house belonged to him or was bought by him. The house was almost empty but that didn't stop me from making a fire at the back yard to burn it all.

I stared at the three huge boxes in front of me, filled with clothes, gifts he had gotten me, even jewelry and half of the appliances I used. Thane wasn't well to do, aside from his father's wealth, at the age of 18 he was temporarily disowned by his father because he chose to love an orphan girl like me. It was his father's way of teaching him to come to his senses and return back to him, he never yielded, he moved in with me and since then we have been together.

He would work multiple jobs and when he found something good almost being thrown out by his place of work, he would bring it home to me.

We had survived through that, I was content with what we had and never asked for more. We may not be the richest but we were off the streets.

After our consummation, he had promised that i wouldn't work anymore, planning to shield all the responsibilities while I took care of the home and the family we would create.

Everything was peaceful.

I grabbed the first box and throw it out the kitchen window, I did the same with the other two, then I picked a lighter from the drawers and made my way out.

Tossing each of his things into the fire, I could feel a burden in my heart lifted, it wasn't enough to soothe my pain but it meant something.

It was sign that I was giving up on him.

Grabbing the next thing to burn, I paused.

It was a brown Rico suit I got him when he turned 18, I could still remember the smile on his face, it was the first luxury piece of clothing he had after he was thrown out by his father.

His scent still lingered in the suit, my nimble fingers picked up something in the right pocket.

It was a letter.

I eagerly tore it open and read.

"Dear Lylah,

If you are reading this letter then we have already consummated, words can't express how happy I am to know that you are mine and I am yours. I have waited for this moment for years now. To tell you that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I could never love any other woman the way I love you.

I know within my heart that you are my fated mate and if our pack hadn't been cursed and we could find our mates, I still believe it would be you.

I love you Lylah Summer, I would be nothing without you.

Let's be mates forever until we take our last breath."

The date was written behind the letter, he had written this a year ago.

Without thinking, I ran, as fast as my leg could take me. My heart had taken over once again, and my actions could no longer be stopped by my brain.

I was gasping for air by the time I reached the pack house,

"State your visit and who you want to see"

"Thane Anthra" I stated breathless.

A frown plastered on the guard's faces, I regarded to Thane as if he was now on the same level with me as before but he wasn't.

In seven days time, he would be coronated at the New Alpha.

"I want to see Alpha Betrothed Thane Anthra" I immediately corrected myself, giving him the respect they demanded.

"He is not allowed to have any visitors until after the coronation." The guard on the left spoke.

"Please I need to talk to him, it's very important" I pleaded but they didn't bother.

I clutched the letter tightly in my hand, despite all my attempt to make it through the door, they wouldn't bulge.

For a wolfless girl, I had no power over men who had been trained to protect the pack house for years, I still had two years until I met my wolf and we become united as one.

"Leave" he ordered.

I turned around defeated, I knew I needed to talk to him. I needed to show him the letter. Thane was never like this, he was blinded by power by his father, all I had to do was remind him of how much he loved me.

This letter was the key, and once he saw it, he would go back to his normal self.

If they weren't going to let me talk to him then I would have to find a way myself.

I walked a few paces away until they were out of sight before i circled all the way to the back.

A huge tree stood behind the building, known for my climbing skills, I paved my way until I arrived at the third floor where the Alpha and Luna's room would be.

Catching sight of an open window, I grabbed the ends of it, and left my body to dangle in the air.

Two guards walked right past, my body remained still, one single movement and they might notice me.

That would be the end of it, who knew what kind of punishment awaited me by the Luna Heir. She already hated me for the tantrum I caused at the even, this would be a reason for her to deal with me.

Once they were gone, I climbed into the room, luckily for me, it was empty. All I could hear was the sound of water running from the bathroom. I made my way to the door to find which ever room Thane was, but before I could make a reach for the main door, the bathroom door opened behind me.

I froze.