The Rejected Luna Was the Wolf King's Heir Novel

Ryan Vance sent his guards with a mate-bond dissolution agreement, demanding that I surrender my title as Luna to his new lover, Bailey Miller—the daughter of the neighboring Gray Moon Pack's Alpha.

I signed my name without a word while he held her close, sneering, "An impure, low-rank wolf like you never deserved to be Luna."

The next morning, guards from the Supreme Wolf Council sealed off the Shadow Pack's hall.

The Chief Elder fell to his knees before me, his voice trembling, "My Lady, the Wolf King says if you have had your fun, it is time to return and claim the throne."

Ryan and Bailey scrambled in horror, knocking over their chairs.

As I took the crown of supreme authority, the Chief Elder swept a deadly glare across the room.

"Word just reached us. Who dared insult the Wolf King's sole heir?"

...

Oil lamps flickered against the stone walls of the Shadow Pack's council hall. On the cold stone table lay the mate-bond dissolution agreement.

Ryan's attendant kept his head low, his tone devoid of warmth. "Luna, the Alpha says everything can be settled peacefully if you sign. Lady Bailey is far better suited for the throne."

I looked toward the side chamber. Ryan sat on a stone lounge, wrapping an arm around Bailey as they whispered and laughed.

Bailey wore a lavish ceremonial robe, her manicured, blood-red nails lightly trailing along Ryan's collar. She shot me a look dripping with malice and triumph.

When they were done flaunting, Ryan strolled over, a cold, familiar smirk on his face.

"Aella Sterling, let us part amicably."

He tapped the paper with a finger. "The Luna's seat bears the weight of the entire pack. I need someone with a powerful family behind her and a pure bloodline. A low-rank wolf with tainted blood like you was never fit for it."

His tone was calm, but humiliation burned through me.

A heavy tightness gripped my chest, making my sleeping wolf spirit whimper inside.

"Sign it," Ryan added. "I will give you an estate and $30,000,000 in funds. We will keep up appearances for the public, which will help you survive in the pack."

Before I could speak, Bailey swayed over, resting a hand fake-sympathetically on my arm.

"Don't blame the Alpha, Luna," she chimed in. "He's only thinking of the Shadow Pack's future. Besides, we can still be good friends."

For 3 years, I stayed by Ryan's side, helping him build this weak pack into what it was today.

I used every secret connection and resource I possessed to clear his path, forging alliances with mid-sized packs behind his back. When he ran out of funds early on, I secretly sold the sacred relic my mother left me just to keep him afloat.

Yet in his eyes, all my sacrifices boiled down to "tainted blood"—rewarded with a paltry estate and 30,000,000 as if I were a beggar.

Ignoring Bailey's hypocritical face, I reached for the pen.

Suddenly, Bailey let out a soft chuckle, ostentatiously placing a hand over her flat stomach.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Luna."

Her eyes gleamed with smug victory. She glanced at Ryan before turning back to me. "I'm pregnant with the Alpha's pup. 2 months along. The pack doctor said the bloodline is exceptionally pure."

My hand froze, the pen leaving a sharp, jagged streak across the paper.

Pregnant?

The word pierced my heart like a dagger. Instinctively, I searched Ryan's face for a trace of surprise or guilt—anything.

There was none.

He did not avoid my eyes. Lifting his chin, he spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It is for the future of the pack. A pure bloodline ensures our legacy. I cannot let personal feelings get in the way."

"Be sensible, Aella."

He sounded so casual, as though deciding a routine matter that did not concern me.

My fingers trembled on the pen as memories of the past 3 years flooded back.

"I'm too tired tonight, Aella. Another time."

"I'm under too much stress lately. Don't overthink it."

"Let's wait until the pack stabilizes."

Whenever I delicately brought up having pups, he always brushed me off with excuses—tiredness, stress, bad timing. I genuinely thought he was exhausted, pouring his soul into the pack.

I worried for him, cared for him, even gathered medicinal herbs to brew for his recovery.

In reality, he had despised my "tainted blood" all along.

He was terrified that a pup born from me would weaken his hold on the Alpha throne.

I looked at Bailey's smug smirk, then at the attendants outside pretending to be busy while straining to listen.

Everything I had given over the past 3 years collapsed into a silent, brutal slap to my face.

Without another second of hesitation, I signed my name cleanly across the page.

"Generous terms," I said, tossing the pen aside with a smile. "I wish the Alpha and his new Luna a long, miserable forever."