The Rejected Luna Strikes Back

Kimmy

A sharp pain in my stomach jolts me awake, my heart pounding.

I gasp for air, struggling to control my breathing. The pain is unbearable, a sharp, twisting sensation.

I try to sit up, but a wave of nausea forces me back down. I lie still, fearing any movement will worsen the agony. I try to clear my mind, but my thoughts keep returning to the inevitable truth. I want to deny it, to ignore it, but I can't escape the reality of the situation.

The thought of him with her, of his strong, rough hands, the ones that used to run over my skin, on another woman's skin, of his lips, the same ones that kissed mine, on hers, fills me with murderous rage and makes my stomach churn more, the pain intensifying because there is no other explanation.

Harry is getting intimate with her.

The instant I concede it in my mind, Akira, my inner wolf, unleashes a mournful howl.

Her anguish courses through my veins, her fury a fire that threatens to consume me.

Our emotions intertwine, and I moan with her, a primal wail rising from the depth of our shared heartache.

"I'm sorry, Akira. I'm so sorry," I whisper, tears I've been holding back finally streaming down my face.

Akira howls again. She doesn't want to accept it. She wants another explanation, but the pain in my stomach says it all.

My mate bond with Harry has never fully kicked in no matter how hard I try.

But the fragile bond I have with him has never deceived me, and we both know, intuitively, it isn't deceiving us now.

"We can't lie here and let that bitch have him, we need to stop this before it gets too far," Akira prompted, sounding livid.

"This is no time to lie crying. Stand up! Come on!"

I clench my jaw, the muscles aching, as I will myself up. My stomach roils, a bibitter taste rising to my mouth as I swing my legs down the side of my bed.

I pause, waiting for the nausea to pass, holding onto my mattress like a lifeline.

Akira's strength courses through me, and I take slow, labored steps toward the door, clinging to the wall for support.

The journey feels endless, crossing the vast expanse of my room - a luxurious sanctuary with cream-colored walls, plush carpet, and floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a breathtaking view of the pack lands.

Nothing but the best for the pack's beloved Luna. Normally, I delight in watching the rolling green valleys, the children's laughter, and the teenagers' playful courtship rituals.

But today, I wish those windows would vanish. Anyone can gaze up and witness my weakness.

Usually, I'd wave back at familiar faces, but today, I dread the thought of being seen in such a state.

I open the door and walk as gently as possible towards Harry's room. It used to be my room too. Harry and I always slept together. Until she came back.

The hall is eerily quiet, a far cry from the usual bustle of pack members going about their routines.

Every footstep feels too loud in the silence, echoing down the corridor like a reminder of the confrontation that awaits me.

My head pounds, the pressure building behind my eyes, but Akira keeps me grounded, her fury lending me the strength I don't feel on my own.

"Don't hesitate," she urges. "We need answers."

The distance between my room and Harry's has never felt this long. It's as though the very air is thick with tension.

With each footfall, memories flash before me - Harry's laughter, his promises, and the tender moments we once shared.

But now, they seem like a distant echo, drowned out by the weight of betrayal.

He once told me, looking into my eyes with his soulful aquamarine ones, during a picnic as we lay on the grass,

"I can't imagine a better woman for me, Kimmy," his eyes bored into mine.

I felt a blush rising to my cheeks. Harry's looks were always so intense.

"Thank you." I wave the bittersweet memory away.

I pause just outside the door to Harry's room, my hand trembling as it hovers over the handle.

My heart is pounding again, not just from the pain, but from the fear of what I might find on the other side.

Akira's growl reverberates through me, and I cling to it, using her fury to mask my doubt.

"I can't do this," I whisper, more to myself than to Akira.

"Yes, you can," she snaps back, her voice filled with certainty. I'm glad she feels so. I can't feel it. "We have to."

Taking a deep breath, I force myself to turn the handle.

The door creaks open, revealing the dimly lit room.

My gaze sweeps across the familiar space, landing on the bed we used to share.

And there, sprawled across it, is Harry - shirtless, naked, I suspect, underneath the covers, his muscular form a silhouette in the faint light. But he's not alone.

She's there. Kylie Reynold. Harry's first love and his father's friend, the pack's former beta's daughter.

Her dark hair cascades over the pillow, her body wrapped in the same sheets that once only held us.

The sight of them together feels like a slap to the face, the final confirmation of what I've been trying to deny.

Akira's growl turns into a roar in my mind, and I feel her claws prick the edges of my consciousness, desperate to tear them apart.

But I'm frozen, my feet rooted to the spot, unable to move or speak.

The nausea I've been fighting all morning returns with a vengeance, and it takes everything in me not to collapse.

My heart clenches painfully, but I force myself to stand taller, Akira urging me forward.

I take in the scene before me, the sheets tangled around them, her presence filling what used to be "ours."

Harry sits up and looks at me, but there's no guilt in his eyes - just resignation.

Like he knew this moment would come, and he was too tired to pretend otherwise. Kylie shifts in the bed, slowly pulling the sheets up, but she doesn't look at me.

Her silence is louder than anything she could say.

"Kimmy," Harry says, his voice calm, steady. Too steady. His aquamarine eyes are cold. A sense of foreboding washes over me.

I knew that look, had seen it countless times. "You should've stayed in your room."

I blink, trying to process the coldness of his words, the detachment.

"I couldn't. You don't think I deserve an explanation?" My voice cracks, betraying the storm of emotions raging inside me.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not going to sugarcoat this. You deserve the truth."

He stands, and for the first time, he doesn't look like the man I thought I knew.

"Kylie's the one. She always has been."

My stomach drops, but I clench my fists, grounding myself in Akira's simmering anger.

"Then why... why did you make me your Luna? Why did you let me think we had something real?"

He shrugs, and the nonchalance of the gesture cuts deeper than any words.

"You looked like her. Enough, anyway. It wasn't supposed to get this far."

The world blurs for a moment as his words sink in. I looked like her. That's all I was.

A shadow, a stand-in for the woman he truly loved.

All those times he kissed me, he was kissing her. Everything I thought we had was a sham.

Akira's growl rattles through me, and I step forward, my voice shaking. "I was just... a replacement?"

Harry doesn't flinch. "Kylie left. She was gone, and the pack needed a Luna. I needed someone by my side. You were strong and capable, and yeah, you reminded me of her. I thought I could make it work, that maybe I could forget her. But I was wrong."

His bluntness feels like a knife to the chest. I want to scream, to cry, but the tears refuse to fall. All I feel is numb, hollow. "So that's it? All this time, everything I've done for you, for this pack - it meant nothing to you?"

"It wasn't nothing," he says, but his voice is too casual, too indifferent. "You played your part. You were good for the pack, good for me. But Kylie's back now, and that changes things."

I shake my head, trying to make sense of the betrayal. "I was never really your mate, was I?"

"No," he says, his eyes locking onto mine, unflinching. "I thought you could be. But the bond... it was never there. Not for me."

Akira howls in the back of my mind, her fury barely contained, but I hold her back. I need to hear this. I need to hear every cruel word. "You let me believe we had something. You let me believe I could be enough."

He looks at me, and for a moment, there's something like pity in his eyes, but it's fleeting. "You were never meant to be more than a placeholder, Kimmy. You were a Luna, yes, but not "my" Luna. Kylie was always that, even when she wasn't here."

I stand there, the room spinning around me, but I don't move. I refuse to give them the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart. I swallow the painful lump in my throat. "I gave you everything," I whisper, more to myself than to him.

"I know," he replies, his voice devoid of emotion. "But that's over now."

The weight of his words settles heavily in my chest. It sounds final. Akira growls, and this time, I let her, her anger mirroring mine. "I'll never forgive you for this," I say, my voice low, trembling with barely contained rage.

Harry's face remains impassive, though his wolf flashes briefly through his eyes. "I don't expect you to."

"You are going to regret this decision, Harry."

He stands, and just as I thought, he is naked, the hard slabs of his stomach muscles and more on display. The fact that he doesn't have the shame to cover himself is an even bigger slap to my face.

"No, Kimmy, I won't." He looks down at Kylie, who is now sitting up, looking at me. "I'll never regret the best thing that has ever happened to me, even if I tried."

They're looking lovingly at each other now. Kylie has a big, goofy grin on her face. I'd like to slap it off, but I'm tired. Even Akira is silent now, sensing the man-and possibly the wolf-we love is beyond our reach. Even the pain in my stomach has fled, leaving me feeling empty and desolate.

I turn on my heel without another word and stalk out of the room, my head held high. I refuse to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break. I shut the door quietly behind me and let out a shaky breath, my vision blurring as the tears finally came.

"He was never ours," I whisper to Akira, my voice thick with the pain of betrayal. She growls in response, but deep down, we both know the truth. He never belonged to us. And he never will.