SERAPHINA'S POV
The night I was rejected, it rained.
Not the gentle kind of rain that kissed the earth and disappeared into the soil. No. It was the violent kind, the kind that soaked through clothes, chilled bones, and made the entire world look as miserable as I felt.
I stood in the middle of the Blackmoon Pack's grand ballroom, surrounded by wolves who had once called me family.
Now, they were laughing.
At me.
My fingers trembled as I stared at the man standing before me.
Alpha Damian Blackmoon.
My mate.
The man whose presence had once made my heart race, The man whose happiness I had spent three years trying to earn.
He stood tall in his expensive black suit, his dark hair perfectly styled, his expression colder than the winter moon.
Beside him stood Isabella.
Beautiful, confident Isabella.
She wore a red silk dress that hugged her figure, and her hand rested comfortably on Damian's arm.
My eyes moved between them.
"Damian?" My voice came out barely above a whisper.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at me with an expression that made my stomach twist.
"Seraphina, we're done."
I blinked.
"What?"
A few wolves exchanged amused glances,
Damian sighed impatiently.
"Don't make this difficult."
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Did I do something wrong?"
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Isabella laughed softly.
"Oh, sweetheart. Surely you don't expect him to explain himself?"
I looked at her.
"Stay out of this."
Her smile disappeared.
"Watch your mouth."
"Enough!" Damian's voice thundered across the ballroom.
Everyone fell silent.
He turned towards me.
"I have made my decision.
Isabella is the woman I want beside me. She is the woman who deserves to stand at my side as Luna."
My heart stopped.
Luna.
The position I had secretly dreamed of occupying one day.
The position I had believed was meant for me.
"But I'm your mate," I whispered.
Damian's jaw tightened.
"Not anymore."
The words landed like a physical blow.
He stepped closer, his Alpha aura filling the room.
"I, Damian Blackmoon, Alpha of the Blackmoon Pack, reject you, Seraphina Vale, as my mate."
For one terrible second, the world stopped.
Then the bond shattered.
A cry escaped my lips before I could stop it.
I stumbled backwards, clutching my chest.
The pain was unbearable, but I refused to fall.
Not in front of them.
Not in front of the wolves who were enjoying every second of my humiliation.
I looked at Damian through blurred eyes.
"Please," I whispered.
"Don't do this."
His expression didn't change.
"It's already done."
I searched his face for something.
Regret.
Hesitation.
A tiny indication that the man I had loved for three years was still somewhere beneath that cold expression.
There was nothing.
"Take her out," he ordered.
Two guards immediately approached.
I stepped away from them.
"I can walk."
My voice shook, but I lifted my chin.
I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of dragging me out.
As I passed Isabella, she leaned towards me.
"Enjoy your freedom, little orphan. You were never meant to be here."
I stopped.
Something inside me stirred.
A strange warmth spread through my chest, followed by a whisper I couldn't quite understand.
Remember who you are.
I frowned.
The feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come.
I continued walking.
