Moonlit Betrayal

Chapter 2

Blackburn, Alaska

As the last chime of the clock faded, I realized it was time to clean up after the ceremony. 

I wasn't allowed to watch it, but honestly, I didn't care to. Putting my hair up in a messy bun, I made my way to the ballroom.

The sight that greeted me was typical—plates, glasses, and trash littered the room. I know we're wolves, I thought, but do we have to trash rooms like we are too?

  Sighing, I began gathering the trash and stacking dirty dishes into bins, preparing to wheel them to the kitchen.

While stripping the tables, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

 I turned quickly, my heart skipping a beat, and there was Jay Slade—standing directly behind me. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be scenting the air.

Something was... different. I felt an inexplicable pull toward him, unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. 

Just then, his eyes snapped open, and our gazes locked—whiskey brown meeting emerald green.

 At first, there was a flicker of confusion in his eyes, a glimmer of something I couldn't quite place. Hope flared briefly inside me, only to be crushed as his expression twisted into disgust.

"No! It can't be you," he growled, his voice harsh and angry, though he wasn't speaking to me directly. I flinched, confused.

"Can I... help you with anything?" I asked quietly.

But instead of answering, he stormed toward me. Panicked, I backed away, my breath quickening. 

His eyes flickered wildly, switching between human and wolf as if he were battling some inner demon. I felt my back hit a table just before he loomed over me. I did the only thing I knew would keep me safe—I bared my neck in submission, not wanting to anger him further.

"It can't be her," he muttered to himself, his voice growing crazed, repeating the words over and over. Fear flooded through me as I watched him, my mind racing. What is he talking about? Before I could say anything, Jay grabbed me roughly, dragging me to a more secluded part of the ballroom.

I struggled against him, but his grip was like iron. He shoved me against the wall and pinned me there, his eyes wild. "No one can know!" he snarled in my face.

Terror surged through me. My eyes welled up; my throat tight. "What are you talking about?" I wanted to ask, but I was too scared.

He laughed then—this awful, hollow sound that sent chills down my spine. 

"Me," he spat, "the son of the Alpha, mated to this... pathetic waste of life. The Moon Goddess and her sick sense of humor." His laughter was venomous, biting into me like a blade.

I froze. Mate. The word echoed in my mind, and my heart shattered. 

Jay Slade—he was supposed to be my mate? 

The one I'd longed for, the one meant to save me from this nightmare, from the hell of being the pack's outcast? He was the same person who had tormented me.

"Well, let's get this over with," he said, his voice dripping with contempt.

 "I, Jay Slade, son of Alpha Darius Slade, reject you, Aurora Skyfall, daughter of Maurice Skyfall, as my Luna and mate."

His words were like shards of glass, each one cutting deeper than the last. 

The bond that had barely formed between us shattered; the pain so visceral it felt like my heart was being torn from my chest. A gut-wrenching wail escaped me as I collapsed to my knees. I could hardly breathe. 

The agony of rejection was unlike anything I'd ever imagined—like being ripped apart from the inside out.

But Jay? He felt nothing. He stared down at me, unmoved, without a shred of remorse.

"Don't speak a word of this to anyone," he hissed. 

"Or I will kill you. This was nothing but a mistake, and I can't have someone like you as my Luna." His voice was cold, lethal. He knelt down, meeting my eyes again, his threat clear.

But something inside me snapped. A lifetime of abuse, lies, and manipulation boiled to the surface. I had had enough.

I stood, slowly, painfully, but I stood. I locked eyes with him, refusing to back down, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

 "I, Aurora Skyfall, accept your rejection, Jay Slade." My words came out stronger than I expected, and I made sure to hold his gaze, despite knowing it might be seen as a challenge. I didn't care anymore.

I had nothing left to lose.

For the first time, I saw a flicker of surprise cross his face—like he hadn't expected me to have the strength to stand up to him. 

Before he could say anything, I turned on my heel and walked out of the ballroom, back to the only place that felt remotely safe—my closet.

The second the door closed behind me; the tears came. I sank to the floor, letting the weight of everything crash over me. But as the pain consumed me, I made a decision.

I wouldn't let them break me anymore.

I had to get out of here—out of this pack, away from this nightmare. I would escape.

And I would survive.