Rejected from Alpha to Mate

The grand hall of the Silverfang pack house glittered with ceremonial torchlight, casting dancing shadows across the faces of pack members who had gathered to witness my coming-of-age ceremony. My hands trembled as the pack elders placed the silver circlet upon my head, the metal cool against my skin. Five years of rejection, of living in the shadow of a ghost, and finally, tonight was supposed to be different. Tonight, Cameron would finally acknowledge me as his Luna before the entire pack.

I touched the Luna pendant at my throat, the silver warm from my skin. The weight of it had never felt right—like wearing someone else's identity. Still, I clung to it, to the promise it represented. The promise that someday I would truly belong.

"Isabella Morgan," Elder Marissa announced, her voice echoing through the hall, "stands before us as the chosen Luna of Alpha Cameron Sterling. May the Moon Goddess bless this union."

My heart pounded against my ribs as I searched Cameron's face for any sign of warmth, any flicker of acceptance. His steel-gray eyes met mine, and for a breathless moment, I thought I saw something—not love, perhaps, but acknowledgment. Then his gaze slid away, dismissive as always.

"Before we conclude this ceremony," Cameron's voice rang out, deep and commanding, sending a ripple of surprise through the gathered pack, "I would like to honor someone special."

My breath caught. Was this it? After all these years of enduring his cold indifference, was he finally going to honor our bond?

"Seraphina Vance, come forward."

The crowd parted, and a slender she-wolf stepped into the circle of light. My stomach twisted into a knot of dread. Even from where I stood, I could see why he had chosen her. The high cheekbones, the cascade of honey-blonde hair, the confident tilt of her chin—all of it screamed Olivia. Cameron had found himself a ghost to dance with.

Seraphina approached Cameron with a sway in her hips that drew every eye in the room. She didn't even glance in my direction as she pressed herself against him, her fingers trailing up his chest with practiced intimacy.

"My Alpha," she purred, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I'm honored by your attention."

Cameron's hand settled on the small of her back, and he smiled—actually smiled—down at her. It was a smile I had never seen directed at me, not once in five years of being his mate.

A murmur of approval rippled through the pack. I stood frozen, the silver circlet suddenly heavy as lead on my head. The pendant at my throat seemed to burn against my skin, marking me as property rather than a partner.

"Look how perfect they are together," someone whispered nearby. "Just like when Olivia was alive."

Something inside me—something that had bent and bent and bent for years—finally snapped.

Heat surged through my veins, a molten tide of rage and humiliation. My vision blurred, then sharpened with preternatural clarity. I felt my Luna aura flare