The full moon hung above the Crestone Pack like a silent witness, glowing quietly in the sky.
Emery Quinn stood at the center of the sacred stone dais, her heart pounding against her chest like a drum, her breath trembling against the cold night air. All around her, the pack had gathered, even distant allies, wolves in human form, dressed for the
ceremony, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Tonight, Emery Quinn was supposed to become their Luna. The Alpha's Luna.
But Jaxon Storm, the Alpha of the pack, hadn't stepped forward yet.
Time felt slow and unsettled. The ritual flames flickered uneasily. Her wolf stirred deep inside her, like something was wrong. She tried calming herself, feeling it was due to the excitement.
Then… he came.
Alpha Jaxon Storm stepped onto the dais, tall, broad-shouldered, with his black hair tousled from the wind. For a brief moment, his steel blue eyes locked onto hers for one agonizing moment, his eyes memorizing every inch of her face.
He looked breathtaking under the moon's glow, his eyes unreadable, not giving any emotions away, his posture rigid showing tension.
Her white ceremonial dress shimmered brightly in the moonlight, she was the kind of beauty one can't stop looking at. Her wolf paced restlessly inside her, sensing the moment they had waited years for, Jaxon Storm, the man she had loved her entire life, her fated mate, her Alpha.
The elder's voice rang out laced with joy, "Tonight, under the Moon Goddess's gaze, we acknowledge Emery Quinn as the fated mate and rightful Luna of Alpha Jaxon Storm—"
"Stop." Jaxon interrupted sharply. The word sliced through the air.
"I, Jaxon Storm of Crestone pack," his voice echoed loudly across the sacred grounds, firm and cold "reject Emery Quinn as my fated mate… and as the Luna of the Crestone Pack."
His words struck her like a sharp blade,piercing her spine.
Gasps broke out through the crowd, a low growl rose from some warriors, murmuring could be heard from the pack. The elder's voice stumbled mid-chant, unable to continue.
Emery's legs threatened to give out, her world spinning, like it had lost balance.
She blinked her eyes still in shock, her heart sinking. "Jaxon?" She called out to him, her voice stuttering.
Jaxon clenched his jaw, his hands curled into fists at his sides. "I reject this bond." He said plainly.
The elder turned sharply. "Alpha, this -" He stammered.
"Don't " Jaxon cut him off.
Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes made contact with Jaxon's again, only now, who she saw wasn't the boy she fell in love with, her was like a complete stranger.
"Why?" she questioned him, her voice barely a whisper.
"Because you're unworthy, weak and unfit to stand beside me." Jaxon spat his words at her bitterly and looked away.
He couldn't face her, because if he did, he would break. He turned his back to her.
Emery stumbled backward, her vision blurring. Her chest burnt with confusion, betrayal, and humiliation. She could feel every eye on her, every whisper, every judgment.
Her mark burned on her neck, where his teeth had once touched her skin. A bond that had barely formed... now torn.
Her voice cracked through the silence. "I don't understand, we love each other..." Tears threatened to fall off her eyes.
Still, Jaxon said nothing.
Emery refused to break down in front of the pack, she turned away, her sight going hazy. Her father didn't rise to stop her. Her stepmother watched in silence. No one reached out, no one followed. Emery walked away from him, from the pack, from everything. She ran, through the woods, through the dark, away from everything.
Behind her, the silence was interrupted with murmurs and confusion.
Sasha moved first, In her crimson gown and sly smile, she stepped into the circle like it was meant for her all along.
"Alpha," she muttered seductively, placing her hand gently on his arm. "I'm here for you."
"You did the right thing," she spoke softly, taking a step closer. "The pack needs a strong Luna. Someone who won't bring doom to our future."
Jaxon didn't answer. His eyes remained locked on the distant tree line, where he last saw Emery disappear.
Sasha placed her hand on his forearm. "You can't save someone destined to fall, Jaxon. You need to let her go."
Jaxon pulled away from her without speaking.
He felt something deeply rising inside him, everything in him trembled. Jaxon watched her vanish into the trees. His entire body was tense, he had betrayed her. He could still feel her scent lingering in the air—lavender, wild pine, and storm.
He didn't look at anyone as the crowd slowly began to murmur and scatter, each giving their opinion as the ceremony dissolved into confusion.
Kai, his Beta, stepped forward with a quiet but furious stare. "That wasn't the way." he said
"I had to," Jaxon muttered in pain, still looking at the direction she went.
"She didn't even know why," Kai said in a calm tone. "You didn't tell her."
"I couldn't." Jaxon responded as he walked off the dais.
Jaxon's wolf snarled inside him, restless and broken. He couldn't stop seeing the pains and hurt in her eyes. But there was no undoing it now.
He had to save her. Even if it meant destroying them both.
---
Far beyond the borders of Crestone, Emery sat by a quiet stream, her tears falling down her cheeks, recalling all the moments she shared with Jaxon.
Her wolf growled deep within her soul, a sound so mournful that it seemed to shake the trees.
Everything she had dreamed of, the people she trusted, all her hope, it was gone, shattered into pieces.
She dug her fingers into the cold earth letting the soil mix with her tears.
"I wasn't weak," she whispered to the night, her voice barely audible, cloaked with tears. "You just never saw me."
Her heart cracked wide open, the snow thickened around her. Emery ran until her legs gave out. She collapsed by the river side, her hands bloody, her lips numb. She didn't even realize she was crying until her throat burned with the sound of it.
She wanted to end it all, she wanted to stop feeling. That would be easier.
The wolf inside her cried quietly, unable to shift. The bond had left her fractured, her wolf pained and wounded.
She barely noticed the soft sound of boots approaching until a shadow knelt beside her.
A woman's voice, soft and steady, spoke through the haze. "You bleed like a warrior, but your spirit is broken like a girl who loved the wrong alpha." she whispered
Emery turned her head weakly toward the voice, but darkness claimed her before she could respond.