My Alpha Rejected My Scar, Then Begged Me Back

I learned to hide the left side of my face before I learned to shift.

Silver Fire scarred me at twelve and left my wolf silent.

When Caleb Voss recognized me as his fated mate, he once stood between me and a laughing crowd.

He pinned a moonstone veil to my hair and promised no one would ever make me hide from him.

I believed him.

I stayed through his Alpha trials and calmed his fevered wolf when Dark Energy nearly tore him apart.

Then Ivy Arden came home beautiful, powerful, and everything an Alpha’s mate was supposed to look like.

Caleb stopped taking me to ceremonies.

At the Moon Ball, I held my veil in place and heard them behind the stage.

“If she stands beside you tonight, the whole Pack will see what you settled for.”

“She won’t.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m rejecting Selene before the first dance. By midnight, she won’t belong to my Pack.”

***

"Don't stand in front of the cameras tonight." Caleb tapped two fingers against the side table pushed against the far wall.

I stared at the silver nameplate resting where my chair used to be. It didn't read *Luna Selene*. The engraved letters spelled *Ivy Arden*.

"That is my seat," I said, keeping my voice low so the passing waiters wouldn't hear.

"Not tonight." Caleb didn't pull out a chair for me. He didn't even glance at the moonstone veil pin securing the silk over the left side of my face.

Four years ago, he fastened that exact pin himself. He stood in front of a crowd mocking my injuries and vowed that as long as I was his mate, no one had the right to make me hide.

"Did you hear me?" Caleb's voice dropped, sharp and impatient. "Don't make me clean up your mess tonight."

"My mess?" I asked. "You mean my face."

"Just stay out of the way."

For three months, he had handed my charity galas, Moon Council receptions, and training ground inspections to Ivy. Now, he was giving her my seat at the Moon Ball. I swallowed the hard lump forming in my throat. I would wait until the guests left, and then I would demand to know if I was still his Luna.

"Let me help you with that, Selene."

Ivy appeared beside us. Her fingers brushed the side of my face, tugging at the silk. Her thumb lingered on the moonstone clasp for a fraction of a second.

"I have it," I said, swatting her hand away.

She smiled, entirely unfazed, and hooked her arm through Caleb's. "The elders are waiting, Alpha. We shouldn't keep them."

They walked away. I stood at the very edge of the grand staircase. Ivy wore a stunning silver-blue gown, the official colors of the Mooncrest Pack. She raised a champagne flute, laughing as Caleb introduced her to the council members. Whispers drifted from the crowd below.

"Look at her standing there like a ghost," someone muttered.

"I heard Ivy is running the entire Pack now."

I pushed past a group of gossiping omegas and stopped directly in front of Caleb.

"Why are you handing my Luna duties to another woman?" I asked.

Caleb didn't flinch. He leaned in close. "Mooncrest needs a woman who looks powerful when people see her. Not someone they pity."

"I am your mate. I am the Luna."

"You are a liability."

My hand shot up to adjust my veil, a nervous reaction to his cruelty. As my fingers grazed the fabric, the clasp Ivy had touched snapped open.

The silk slipped.

Cold air hit the silver-red scar covering the left half of my face.

Someone gasped loudly.

"Selene!" Ivy shouted. Her voice echoed across the ballroom, ensuring every single guest turned their head.

The orchestra stopped playing. Hundreds of faces turned toward the main floor. I froze, waiting for Caleb to step in front of me, to shield me from the stares.

He didn't move. His gaze bypassed me entirely, fixing on the elders watching from the upper balcony.

I bent down to retrieve the fallen silk.

A heavy leather shoe clamped down on the fabric. Caleb pinned my veil to the marble floor.

"Move your foot," I demanded.

"You want the truth, Selene?" His voice carried easily in the dead silent room. "Your face is ugly. An Alpha cannot forever carry a Luna who embarrasses the entire Pack."

My chest tightened. "What about our mate vows? You swore to the Goddess four years ago—"

"I made a mistake." Caleb raised his left hand. The heavy gold Alpha ring caught the chandelier light. "I, Caleb of the Mooncrest Pack, hereby sever the fated mate bond with Selene."

The words struck like a physical blow.

"I strip her of the Luna title, effective immediately."

A searing pain ripped through my chest. The bond tore violently, burning a path straight up to the old scar on my cheek. My knees buckled, but I forced myself to stay upright. I refused to give them the satisfaction of watching me fall.

Beside him, Ivy smoothly accepted the ceremonial Luna shawl from the stunned Master of Ceremonies.

"Guards," Caleb ordered, his tone devoid of any emotion. "Pack her belongings and leave them at the outer gates by midnight."

He finally looked down at me. "You will leave through the side door. From this night forward, you are forbidden to return as my mate, as Luna, or as a member of this Pack."

I didn't beg. The searing agony in my chest left no room for weakness.

I reached into my hair and unclasped the broken moonstone pin. The gem he once told me was a symbol of my strength. I dropped it onto the marble floor right at the toe of his shoe.

"You can take back the Luna title," I said, my voice steady despite the blood rushing in my ears. "But from this second on, you do not have the right to call me yours."

I turned my back on him. I walked past the staring elites, pushing open the heavy oak side door reserved for the servants.

The moment the door clicked shut, the orchestra struck up a new waltz inside. My four years beside him erased in less than a minute.

Heavy rain lashed against my skin as I stepped into the night.

The iron gates of the Pack border loomed ahead. Two guards slammed the heavy bars shut the second I crossed the threshold. Every breath I took sent a fresh wave of agony through my severed bond, threatening to pull me into darkness.

I took one step off Mooncrest territory.

Deep in my mind, something shifted. Lyra, my wolf who had been completely dormant for ten years, let out a soft, echoing exhale.

I touched my left cheek. The silver-red tissue wasn't just burning anymore. It was glowing with a cold, blinding white light.