Elara pov

“I, Lucian Draven, Alpha of Moonfang pack, reject you, Elara as my mate and Luna” He declares and I close my eyes, inhaling sharply as the sharp pain grips me. Holding my chest in agony, I stare at him in disbelief, unable to believe the words that had just been uttered. 

Reject? I must have heard it wrong.  I shake my head and try to delude myself but the pain that shoots through me has been proof that this is  real and it isn't just a bad dream that I want to wake up from. My 

mate is really rejecting me. I close my eyes and wrap my arms protectively around my stomach looking at the floor.

His voice comes out cold, sending chills through me, but here I am, in a trance, my eyes still fixed on the marble floor, unable to register or comprehend what's happening. My brain is completely shut down.

I always had a feeling that this day would come but it came sooner than I expected. Lucian never loved me despite being with him for five years now and it is all because I am not his fated mate. His mate is my half  sister. Liora. 

On the day of their wedding, she had eloped with someone else, leaving only a letter stating she wanted nothing to do with the Alpha of our pack because she had fallen in love with another. But the Alpha needed a Luna and to avoid angering him, my father, an elder of the pack, made me marry him in her place. For five years, even when I knew Lucian wasn't satisfied with me, I believed I could make him love me. I did everything to be the perfect Luna, quit my job at the hospital and stopped everything I love. I made no mistake to make him happy.

Yet I had always lived in the shadow of my sister. His true love and his fated mate.

“Elara!” The yell seems to snap me out of my thoughts and I finally open my eyes to look into his but all that met mine is a look completely devoid of any feeling.

“W-why are you doing this?” I finally manage to speak but my words emerge as nothing more than a faint whisper.

Lucian sighs, running his hand through his hair, a habit he does when he is frustrated “Because she is back.” 

It is just a simple sentence but I understand it too well. Tears cloud my vision and it feels like I have forgotten how to breathe at that moment. Liora had returned a month ago, we were all happy to have her back. She apologized for her decision and said she had learned her lesson. She was forgiven. But that was when he began to change, I saw him less, he found fault in every little thing I did and he didn't even want to touch me anymore.

I should have known it is all because of his first love, the perfect Liora who isn't wolf-less like me.

“So you want to reject me because of my sister! You want to break our mate bond because of Liora? E-everything we've been through for five years, you want to throw it out the window because of someone who wasn't with you when you needed it!.” I clench my fist and scream, the betrayal is too much to take in. This can't be happening to me, please let this be a bad dream- a joke even, but don't do this, Lucian.

“Watch your tone, Elara” he cuts me off and his eyes darken, making him look dangerous “I am your still Alpha, do not forget who you're addressing,” he warns and walks towards me with slow steps making me move back until I am backed against the wall with no space between us. 

I can smell his scent and I almost drown in it. The scent of the woods, it is peaceful, it always made me feel safe. But then the harsh reality hit me hard when he held me by the chin, forcing me to stare into his green eyes. 

“Say it back and accept the rejection. I need Liora, my wolf needs her. We can be stronger if she's ours so let's end it here peacefully and not drag this on than necessary”.

Peacefully? Rejecting me on a whim was peaceful?

A laugh escapes my lips and I throw my head back, not caring anymore. The paper in my hand had been crumbled into a ball at this point and the happiness from earlier had long vanished. I am tired, I am really fed up with this. This stupid constant battle to fight for his love and win him over. I was such a fool to think that a man as powerful and ruthless as Lucian would ever want a useless omega like me.

It takes me a few seconds to stop laughing and when I look at him, I see a flicker of guilt in his eyes but it is quickly gone. He tightens his hold on my chin and he is about to say something but I beat him to it.

“I will accept your rejection, Lucian. If that is what will make you finally happy then I will do you the favor. That will be my final act of kindness to you”  I say, trying to stop the tears that are threatening to spill. 

Don't cry in front of him. Give up, enough is enough, Elara.

He loosens his grip on my chin and groans, taking a small step back. I watch as the color of his eyes flashes from green to black, as if Theron, his wolf, had been fighting for control, resisting him. Lucian growls and closes his eyes for a moment and when he opens them back, they are back to their original color, green. 

“Say it” He grunts with a frown as he awaits my acceptance. 

I suck in a breath and feel my heart shatter into pieces. I am really nothing to him, the five years we spent together is nothing to him.

“I, Elara, The current Luna of Moonfang pack, accepts your rejection and renounces my title as the Luna” A small whimper escapes my lips as I feel the unbearable pain that courses through my veins with every breath. My heart aches like it is being torn in two with a knife and I feel myself losing my consciousness but before I can fall, his hand grabs me, bringing me close to his chest and the familiar warmth I once loved envelopes me. But this time I no longer want it, not anymore.

I weakly bring my hands to his chest to push him back, I do not want his sympathy.

“Elara-” He calls out my name and I can hear a bit of worry in his voice but I know better to believe he cares.

“We weren't meant to be together,” I whisper the words, refusing to meet his gaze for the fear that I would break down in tears. “I do not regret the years we spent together but you do not deserve me during those years. I hope that you live a happy life with the one you love, Alpha.” I  hear him take a harsh breath at the word ‘Alpha’.

“Alpha” He repeats, running his hand through his hair. I can see the slight hurt in his eyes and for a moment his icy gaze softens but he swiftly regains composure and steps away from me.

“Don’t hate or blame your sister. This isn't  her fault, she is my mate and she feels bad already so I hope we can all get along well in this pack”. He states casually but there is a clear hint of threat in his tone. I look down at the paper clutch in my trembling hand  and a sad smile curves my lips as I hold back the tears. 

“Yes Alpha”

“Do you need anything else?” I ask and after a few moments of silence, he shakes his head. 

“Goodbye Alpha Lucian” I bow slightly before walking out of the study. My legs are heavy and I can  hear my footsteps in my hallway as I make my way to the room we share- the room they are now going to share.

The whispers and stares of the maids makes the air feel suffocating and I feel lightheaded. When I enter the room, I rush to the bathroom and double over, retching and losing everything I’d eaten. Tears come crashing and my sobs fill the room as I weep uncontrollably.

I inhale sharply and wipe my eyes but the tears continue to fall despite my attempt to stop it. It is really over. He rejected me like I meant nothing to him. My shoulders shake as I let the tears flow.  Glancing at the pregnancy report in my hand, I can feel my heart shatter as his rejection echoes in my ears; tears blur my vision as I rip the paper into pieces before throwing it in the bin.