After My Alpha Chose the Rogue’s Daughter Over Me

I stood in the grand hall of the Moonveil Pack house, my heart hammering against my ribs as whispers rippled through the crowd. The air felt thick, pressing against my skin like a physical weight. Every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on me—on us—watching, waiting, hungry for drama. My hands smoothed over my sleeves, a nervous habit I'd developed as a child, one I couldn't shake even now.

Finnley stood tall at the center of the hall, his Alpha aura radiating power that made the pack members nearest him instinctively lower their gazes. But I didn't look away. I couldn't. Not when he was about to speak words that would change everything.

'I've called you all here today,' Finnley's voice carried effortlessly across the hall, 'to address a matter that affects the future of our pack.'

My throat tightened. I knew what was coming, had felt it building like a storm for weeks, but knowing didn't make it easier to bear.

'I, Alpha Finnley Lynch of the Moonveil Pack,' he continued, his voice hardening with each word, 'formally reject Mae Henderson as my mate.'

The words hit me like physical blows. Each syllable tore through me, ripping at the bond that had connected us since the moment we recognized each other as fated. The pain was excruciating—a spiritual agony that radiated from my chest and spread through every nerve ending.

'Her recent attempts to isolate me, to control our border security, are just further evidence of her manipulative nature,' Finnley's voice grew colder, more distant. 'I have found my true Luna elsewhere.'

I didn't make a sound. I wouldn't give him—or them—the satisfaction. My face remained carefully blank as I watched Lottie Cooper step forward, her soft features glowing with a quiet triumph she tried to disguise as humility.

'Lottie,' Finnley's voice softened as he turned to her, 'is everything a true Luna should be. Gentle, honest, and loyal without agenda.'

The pack erupted in murmurs, some approving, others shocked. I heard my name whispered, saw the pitying glances, the satisfied smirks. But I stood perfectly still, absorbing it all in silence.

When it was finally over, I slipped away from the hall, my body moving on autopilot. I needed to be alone, needed to find some small corner where I could breathe without feeling the weight of their stares.

I found myself in the pack's wardrobe room, a quiet space filled with ceremonial robes and formal attire. And there, hanging on a mannequin, was the most beautiful gown I'd ever seen. The Luna gown.

My fingers trembled as they reached out to touch the delicate fabric. It was exquisite—ivory silk with silver thread embroidery, designed to make the wearer glow like moonlight. For a moment, foolish hope flickered in my chest. Maybe...

But then I saw the tailor's tag. The measurements. The name.

Lottie Cooper.

The gown had been made for her all along.

Months of planning. Months of preparation. While I'd been sacrificing everything to protect him, to save his pack, he'd been planning to replace me.

The realization was a physical blow. I felt something inside me crack, a fissure running through the very core of who I was. With mechanical precision, I folded the gown along its seams, placing it back exactly where I'd found it.

I couldn't bear to look at it anymore.

The next morning, desperate to escape the suffocating weight of my grief, I joined the pack run. The forest was shrouded in early morning mist, the air crisp and cool against my skin. For a moment, as I ran, I felt almost free.

But the pain of the severed mate bond lingered, a constant, throbbing ache that clouded my thoughts. My foot caught on an exposed root, and suddenly I was falling, tumbling down a rocky ravine.

Pain exploded through my body as I hit the ground. Blood pooled beneath me, warm and sticky against the cold earth. I tried to call out, but my voice failed me.

No one came.

As darkness crept into the edges of my vision, I felt something shift inside me. The gentle, loving wolf that had been me for so long retreated, curling into a tight ball deep within my consciousness.

And in her place, Reyna opened her eyes.