My Alpha Rejected Me for a Luna Who Poisoned Me

I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped into the ceremonial clearing. My legs trembled beneath me, and not just from nerves. For weeks now, I'd been feeling off—dizzy spells, weakness that settled into my bones like winter frost. Jennifer kept insisting it was just stress, pressing those herbal teas into my hands with her practiced smile. "Drink up, dear. You need your strength for the ceremony."

The ceremony. My mating ceremony.

The Blood Moon Pack had gathered in a wide circle around the ancient stone altar, their faces lit by torchlight. I was Olivia Moore, daughter of the Beta bloodline of Silvercrest Pack, and tonight I would finally meet my fated mate. The Moon Goddess had chosen him for me before I was even born.

Then the scent hit me.

Pine and leather, sharp and commanding. It cut through the smoke and the crowd like a blade, and my wolf—silent for so long I'd almost forgotten her voice—stirred weakly inside me. *Mate.* The word echoed in the hollow space where she used to be strong.

David Gilbert stepped forward. Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. Powerful. Respected. Feared.

Mine.

I moved toward him on instinct, my body responding to the pull even as my vision swam. The bond crackled between us, electric and undeniable. I could feel it wrapping around my ribs, tightening with each step.

But David wasn't looking at me the way an Alpha looks at his fated mate.

He was looking at me like I was broken.

His gaze swept over my pale face, my trembling hands, the way I had to lock my knees to stay upright. Then his eyes shifted past me, landing on Brittany. My half-sister stood at the edge of the circle, her chin lifted, her smile sharp as glass. She looked radiant. Strong. Everything I wasn't.

"No." David's voice cut through the clearing, and the pack fell silent. "I can't do this."

The words didn't make sense at first. I stood there, swaying, waiting for him to explain. Waiting for him to reach for me.

Instead, he took a step back.

"I, David Gilbert, Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack—" His voice shifted into that tone, the one that made wolves drop to their knees. The Alpha command. "—reject you, Olivia Moore, as my fated mate."

The bond snapped.

I'd heard about rejection before. Whispered stories of wolves who couldn't bear the pain, who went feral or died from the severing. But nothing prepared me for the reality of it. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and ripped out my spine. I collapsed, my knees hitting the dirt hard enough to bruise.

"Your weakness endangers this pack," David continued, his words falling like stones. "Your family's treasonous blood—your grandfather's betrayal—I will not tie myself to that legacy. This pack needs a Luna who can stand beside me. Not someone who can barely stand at all."

He turned to Brittany, extending his hand. She took it, her fingers curling around his with practiced ease.

"Brittany Moore saved my life during the rogue attack," David announced to the pack. "She is strong. She is loyal. She will be my Luna."

The pack erupted in cheers. Through the haze of pain, I watched Brittany press herself against David's side, her smile triumphant. She'd won. She'd always wanted what was mine, and now she had it.

I don't remember how I got back to the pack house that night. I don't remember much of anything except the pain and the hollow space where my wolf used to be.

---

Weeks passed in a blur of humiliation.

They stripped me of my name first. Then my rank. I became "Omega"—not even worthy of my own identity. I scrubbed floors, served meals, kept my eyes down and my mouth shut. The pack house buzzed with preparations for Brittany's Luna Coronation, and I was invisible among them.

Until Brittany decided I wasn't invisible enough.

I was on my hands and knees in the main hall, scrubbing the marble floors while pack members milled around, discussing the upcoming ceremony. My back ached. My hands were raw. But I kept scrubbing because that's what Omegas did.

Brittany's foot caught my bucket, sending soapy water cascading across the floor.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Omega, you've made such a mess. Clean it up."

Laughter rippled through the gathered wolves. I kept my head down, reaching for the bucket.

Then Brittany's foot connected with my shoulder, and I went sprawling into the puddle.

"Pathetic," someone muttered.

I looked up, water soaking through my clothes, and saw David standing in the doorway. Our eyes met for just a moment. I waited for something—anything. A flicker of regret. A hint of the bond we'd once shared.

He turned his back and walked away, already deep in conversation about border patrols with his Beta.

That night, I was serving drinks in the kitchen when I heard them.

"—payment schedule for the rogue actors needs to be adjusted," Jennifer's voice drifted through the doorway. "Victor's getting impatient."

"Let him wait." Brittany's laugh was cold. "We paid him enough to stage that attack. He can afford to be patient."

My hands froze on the tray.

"And the girl?" Jennifer asked.

"Still too strong. Increase the wolfsbane in her tea. I want her completely broken before the coronation. Can't have her making a scene."

The tray slipped from my numb fingers, crashing to the floor.

Everything—my grandfather's disgrace, my weakness, the rogue attack that made Brittany a hero—all of it was a lie.

And I'd lost everything because of it.