Rejected Not Forsaken The Alpha Kings Beloved by Michy Gaza

The heavy oak doors of the Pack Hall creaked as they swung open, releasing a chill gust of autumn wind. Aveline stood silently near the far end of the hall, her fingers brushing over the polished wood of an old armchair that once belonged to her father. She was waiting with the Elders, Beta Jack, and her best friend Hazel, all of whom wore expressions of mounting unease. The Pack Hall, usually brimming with the warmth of pack camaraderie, felt cold and hollow.

"It's not like him to be late," muttered Elder Oswin, his voice gravelly with age. He glanced at Aveline with an attempt at a reassuring smile, but even he seemed uncertain. Aveline didn't respond; she was focused on the emptiness beyond the open door, her chest tightening with every passing second.

Hazel, standing beside her, leaned in and whispered, "Are you sure you don't know what this is about?" Her concern seeped through her words like a leak from a cracked vase.

Aveline swallowed hard, her throat dry. She wanted to shake her head, but something kept her still. There was a tightness in the air, something heavy and foreboding. She couldn't tell Hazel that she, Luna, had been kept in the dark. The silence from Killian these past days had been unlike anything she had ever felt in their three years of marriage.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway. They all turned toward the entrance just as Killian appeared. But he wasn't alone.

A tall, slender woman trailed at his side, her arm looped through his, with a proud smile on her lips that seemed almost unnatural. Morgana. Even her name carried weight-a whisper from a bitter past. She was dressed in deep crimson robes that clung to her frame, standing out sharply against the dark stone of the hall. Aveline's heart sank, the color like a scar on the once familiar world she knew.

Killian's eyes were cold as he scanned the room, stopping momentarily on Aveline before moving on, as if dismissing her existence. Aveline's breath caught, and the world seemed to shift beneath her feet. It was a look she had never seen in him before-detached and calculated.

"Killian?" Aveline's voice came out hoarse, almost a whisper.

Ignoring her, Killian cleared his throat and faced the Elders. His posture was rigid, authoritative. He was the Alpha, and he wore the title like armor. But beneath the confident exterior, Aveline saw something unfamiliar-hesitation.

"This is Morgana Vesper," Killian declared, his voice echoing in the hall. "Your new Luna."

The words landed like stones thrown into a silent lake. Aveline felt each one sink into her chest, each one ripping the breath from her lungs. The Elders exchanged confused, concerned glances, but no one spoke. Hazel's hand tightened around Aveline's wrist, grounding her, but it wasn't enough to steady the storm now raging inside her.

"What do you mean... new Luna?" Beta Jack's voice broke the silence, his brows knitted in a frown. Jack had always been Killian's closest confidant, and the doubt in his eyes spoke volumes.

Killian turned to face Jack directly. "Aveline and I are no longer..." He hesitated for a moment, but continued, "Aveline and I are no longer bonded. Morgana is my true mate."

Aveline's blood turned to ice. True mate? The term held sacred weight in their world. A bond that superseded any other-a connection granted by fate itself. But how could that be? She had been Killian's wife, his Luna, for three years, and they had faced so many trials together.

Morgana, with her serene smile and unwavering gaze, tilted her head slightly. "It seems fate has a way of righting wrongs," she murmured, the words as soft and sharp as a whispering blade.

Aveline's pulse quickened. She knew who Morgana was. An omega from the Red Moon Pack, once nothing more than a maid-a whisper of a shadow from Killian's past. Rumors had circulated that she had been more than that, whispers of her as a mistress. Yet here she stood, as the supposed true mate.

"Killian, you're mistaken," Aveline forced out, her voice trembling with the effort to stay calm. "We've been through-"

"This isn't up for discussion, Aveline," Killian interrupted, his tone clipped. His eyes flickered with something-regret, anger, fear? She couldn't tell. "Morgana was my first mate, and now that she's returned-"

Aveline didn't hear the rest. His words seemed to blur, the world becoming a distant, distorted hum. Her thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind, only a single question clawing its way to the forefront-Why?

Suddenly, Morgana's gaze met hers, and in those dark, gleaming eyes, Aveline saw a quiet triumph. It was the look of a victor, a conqueror.

"I-I don't understand..." Aveline's voice faltered, her words barely more than a breath.

"It's simple," Morgana replied softly, almost gently, as if explaining a simple fact to a child. "You were given a second chance, Aveline. But you were never meant to be his first."

The finality of those words shattered the last remnants of Aveline's composure. She felt her hands begin to tremble, her vision narrowing until all she could see was Morgana's smug expression.

"Killian..." Aveline managed one last attempt to find some shred of the man she knew.

But Killian simply turned away. "It's done," he said, the words as empty as the echo that followed them.

The Elders remained silent, unwilling to challenge their Alpha in front of his chosen Luna. Hazel opened her mouth, but Aveline shook her head slightly, signaling for her friend to stay silent. It was over.

Killian took Morgana's hand, and together they left the hall, their footsteps echoing down the long corridor until the heavy doors shut with a dull, resounding thud.

Aveline was left standing in the quiet, her heart echoing with the question she could no longer ask aloud-Why?

The silence in the Pack Hall hung heavy, like a shroud that choked the breath out of the room. No one moved. No one spoke. Even the Elders, who had seen decades of leadership turmoil, seemed stunned into an unusual paralysis.

Aveline's legs felt weak beneath her, and for a moment she thought she might crumble right there on the stone floor. Her entire world had collapsed in the span of a few heartbeats, and the remnants of her life now lay in scattered pieces around her.

"Breathe," Hazel whispered, her voice trembling. She wrapped an arm around Aveline's shoulders, trying to pull her back to reality. "Just... breathe."