The rejected Luna

Selena's heart raced as she approached the large oak doors that led to Alpha Damian's pack house.

Tonight was the night all single wolves waited for, the night of the mating ritual. An event which could result in finding a partner or result in untold suffering.

She inhaled deeply and tightened her fingers on the doorknob, trying to calm herself, yet her hands were shaking from excitement and nerves.

Squirming in her belly was the vision of what was behind the door. Damian. The deadly, unreachable Alpha who she viewed like a far-away, burning incandescent sun.

Now, for the first time in a long time, she dared to dream that maybe she belonged next to him. Sighing deeply, she steeled herself for the fight ahead, relaxing her grip on the door at last.

Gazing out into the corridor, she discovered that the curtains were drawn, to reveal the space, still and quickly filled in by dawn light.

Moonlight flooded the room, and in the back part of the halls stood a stationed Damian with his back to Selena, lit by the full moon hanging brighter than any star.

The contour of the man's body threw shadows across the room, háttérs blending into the dark marble panelled walls. He appeared sculpted and invincible, the rigid outline possessing an allure of perilous tranquillity.

"Alpha," was all she managed to say, her voice almost a whisper.

He pivoted away from the window, and his steely grey eyes met hers. In his expression, there was nothing but chill.

No gaze softened her heart or reached out to embrace her.

Kindred bristled. It was a ghostly feeling.

"Get over here," he ordered, his tone more commanding than inviting.

Selena advanced toward him, chin high regardless of the threatening fear within.

She had played this scene enough in her head. How she will confidently move towards him and expect a small warmth radiating from him.

But the look on his face was nothing more than indifference. He was looking at her as though she was a stranger standing two feet away.

When she finally managed to orient herself in front of him, their eyes met, and she thought he would see something worth looking at.

He, however, continued to stare at her unchanged looking as if she was boring him with the same tension and uneventful expression that he wore earlier, the only change being the position of his jaw which spread into a slight menacing smirk that sent her heart racing, only it was not in the way that she wanted it to be.

He reached forward as well, his index sliding down her jawline and on the skin of her cheek, burning hot as it slid.

"You want to be mine, am I right?" he murmured, the tone soft yet accompanied by a more tantalising one.

The Response was 'understood' but two heartbeats after another starved herself. "Yes, Alpha," she said slowly as she tried to catch her breath.

Damian's aggressive caress was almost harsh, but there was no care, no warmth in it, none of the intimacy that she craved.

He desired her, sure but not in the manner she fantasized about. Still, she allowed herself to dream.

After this night, perhaps things will be different. She thought to herself.

But as they pulled apart, a flicker of disinterest in his eyes was too striking to be missed. It was like watching the friendly flames slowly being put off. This caused his face to lose all warmth, and he turned away from her, leaving her unshielded.

Damian's voice broke the stillness. It was flat. With no feelings attached, he stated, "I do not know what you expect." fastening his shirt as if this was just a regular conversation. "However, I can guarantee that it is not going to happen."

With a void of shots suspension, her heart stopped at every sting of his speech. "W-What do you mean?"

He looked back at her, pity as well as something worse looking back at her. Contempt. "You thought I would go for you?" he inquired, his voice barely containing shock. "You are... passable, I guess. Good looking." He looked her up and down like she was nothing special at all. "But that is it."

Selena experienced the nauseating sensation of a world catastrophically unbalanced. It was as though the ground beneath her had imploded, hanging her in the cruel recesses of his empty reproach. She hugged herself to shield herself from the hurt, but his words fell on her like ice sharp, cold and continuous.

"I don't see the need for someone like you in my life," he drawled, still looking out of the window. "There is no way I would allow you to stand next to me, and even consider you as a mate."

Screaming was all that was on her mind. How could he make her have hope? Make her wish for something beyond what she deserves.

She stood there instead; frozen and fighting to hold on to whatever bit of dignity she felt she had left. "Why did you... if you didn't care... why?"

Damian laughed, the sound low and devoid of any real humour. "Why did I sleep with you?" He shrugged as if the question was unnecessary; that the answer was self-evident.

"You were here. You were ready and easy. That's all there was." He stopped and looked at her, his eyes sweeping over her like she was something dirty. "That is all there was. This is not some make-believe tale, Selena, so do not turn it into one."

She took a deep and slightly trembling breath and made herself appear taller. "I hate that you think this way," she said, voice even despite the stinging tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

She turned to leave.

But before she could even turn, a voice that belonged to Damian cut through the air, seeming to slice it.

"Good. That is exactly what I want," he said with the icy tone he had never used before. "Don't expect anything from me, Selena. You were... an error."

Selena tried not to cry. She took a deep breath and looked back at him once again, staring into the chilliness, the expression that would follow her for long after the night ambushed her.

When Selena got to the door, she stopped, one hand searching for the knob. 'You will never be fit to stand by me' sang like a broken record haunting the stillness of the air.

Selena's throat felt like it was closing in, and her head was spinning in disbelief.

This was the moment she had been imagining. But he had gut-wrenched her, ruined her without effort as if it was not a sensitive issue.

Fighting back tears, Selena walked out of his room, her heart broken yet her pride unspoiled.

The wind howled and it was ambiguous whether around her or through her, carrying along the chase's final words as a malicious oath: "You'll never be worthy of standing by my side."