A LUNA’S REJECTION

Chapter 3

Rejected By My Mate.

When I wake up, I realize I'm in the infirmary. It's a small clinic we have besides the hospital. It's mostly for small injuries, things that can be solved easily. As I try to sit up, I groan slightly. My head is absolutely killing me.

"Mia," I hear Clara's voice before I see her. She moves into my eyesight, her gaze glancing at me up and down.

"What happened?" I ask in a daze.

"Olive kicked you pretty hard. You've been knocked out all night and most of today."

"Did she win?" I grumble.

"No," Clara smirks. "She made it to the semi-finals but lost."

I'm not sure if I'm happy or disappointed. With my head feeling like absolute s**t, I'm kind of glad she didn't win. But if she had won, it would have at least made me look a bit better. Losing against a champion is less embarrassing in our pack. If anything, it shows courage that I fought her.

"Who beat her?" I ask.

Clara smiles. "Me, silly. She hurt my best friend."

My eyes widen. "You made it to the semi's?"

"Yeah," Clara sighs. "But I lost the next round to that b***h, Emery."

That's the moment I realize Clara's bruised arms and neck. Her injuries are already fading away, so they're very light on her skin. Somehow, she managed to avoid the damage to her face, or it's already healed by now. Whereas I'm sure my eye is totally black. I can see out of it, but it's lowly throbbing. I can taste blood on my lip but figure that if my lip was busted, it's already healed.

Suddenly, my heart starts beating faster. "Clara," I tell her suddenly. "I had the Glaze."

Clara's eyes widen. "What?"

I nod as much as I can through the soreness. "I had the Glaze. I feel the connection. I found my mate."

Clara nearly jumps out of the chair. "Shut up! Who is it?"

I open my mouth but feel cut off as the drape from my infirmary opens up. A warmth starts to spread in my body, tips of my fingers and toes tingling like they've fallen asleep. My gaze turns upwards as I stare at Bren.

His eyes are intensely looking me over, scanning my face and body. They then land on Clara, who looks absolutely shell-shocked.

"I need to speak to Mia," Bren says.

"Yes, Alpha," Clara doesn't even hesitate. She walks out of the room, head bowed low. I start to wonder if Bren mind-linked her. It would mean that Clara completed the ceremonial process last night and she has the pack's brand on her wrist.

I quickly glance at my wrist, but there's nothing there. Our sigil isn't engraved into my skin. The image of a shield and sword are still missing.

I tilt my head at Bren. "I'm your mate."

"Don't talk too loud," he practically orders, his eyes glancing down at his hands. He pulls on the chair Clara had taken before taking a seat. "How are you feeling?"

I can't tell if he's actually concerned. There's something about his demeanor that's wrong. Like the friendly side of him that talked to me yesterday doesn't exist. My wolf presses me to reach out to him, like she knows he needs comfort.

"What's wrong?" I ask point blank. I feel a strong pull to him. He's never smelled so good and I feel like his features have intensified. I never knew he was so stinking handsome. With brown dreamy eyes and large hands that I couldn't wait to hold.

Bren hesitates. I can see him clench and unclench his jaw. It's almost like a mutter under his breath, but with no one around, I can hear it perfectly.

"I don't think I'm ready for a mate."

I frown, my heart instantly picking up pace. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes. And the King has made his stance on mates extremely clear. Hearing him say this only seems to confuse me and my wolf.

"I'm not ready," Bren practically yells at me, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

"What makes you think I'm ready?" I tell him.

"Great, then I guess that's settled."

I shake my head, the floor feeling like it's spinning below me. "What's settled?"

"You're not ready, I'm not ready. We're both not ready. So, we'll reject each other," Bren says matter-of-factly.

The word reject instantly feels like a knife being plunged into my soul. Like something inside me has snapped the way a broken heart does. Even my wolf is too stunned by his statement to really express any emotion.

"What the f**k are you talking about?" I nearly shout. "I don't want to reject you."

Bren frowns. "You just said—"

"Just because I said I'm not ready doesn't mean I'm not going to try, Bren. What the f**k, why would you say something so evil? You can't possibly mean it."

There's a hint of hesitation. He must feel what I feel, like two magnets trying to pull each other together. I can almost hear his heart beating or the way his breath is rising and falling when he's trying to figure out what to say. For a split second, I think he feels remorseful. But then he quickly changes into someone I've never recognized.

"Fine, you want the truth?" He narrows his eyes. "You lost in the first round, Mia. You really think I want someone as my Luna who is too weak to even defeat one opponent? I need someone strong. Someone who understands the true meaning of being part of this pack. And you're just a book nerd. You barely have what it takes to be a part of here."

This couldn't possibly be happening. This can't be happening. I've been waiting years for this. I know people who found their mates at sixteen, then eighteen, and nineteen. I might just be twenty-two, but I also believe in fairytales, and this is not how I thought mine would go.

"I spoke to my Beta," Bren continues, "and Jake. We all believe that I should be with a Luna who is stronger. I'm not ready for a Luna, but when the day comes, I would want her to be... more than what you are."

"You can't reject me." My breathing goes heavy. My wolf is starting to panic. She wants me to salvage this, but what am I supposed to say? Why should I have to defend myself to Bren? He knows me. I helped him pass his courses. We used to hang out by the lake with Clara and Jake like a bunch of friends. Why doesn't he want to accept me? Your mate is always supposed to accept you.

"Watch," he nearly growls.

"The King will be furious!" I shout in a plea.

"The King isn't going to give two shits about a petty little thing like this, Mia." I can almost feel anger radiating off of him. I think he's angry at me. I think he's angry with the Moon Goddess. Maybe he really doesn't want me.

"He said—"

"It doesn't matter what he said," Bren argues. "The King is too busy with the rebellion to give a damn about mates right now."

I push back tears. I don't want him to see me cry, not when he's accusing me of being too weak for our pack. In desperation, I reach for his hand. As soon as our skin touches, tingles spread from my fingertips to the end of my arm. The sensation of being pulled becomes stronger. At first, Bren seems to soften. Then he only gets angrier.

He pulls his hand away aggressively, his face almost red with anger. Without any warning or hearing my plea, he makes his promise come true.

"I, Alpha Bren Stevens, sever all ties with my mate Mia Holm, and reject our connection crafted by the Moon Goddess."

It doesn't sever the connection the way he wants it to. It's almost as instant as when we had the Glaze. The moment our eyes turned silver, I felt a pull. Now I feel like a giant chasm has been formed between us. The connection is still there, but weaker and dying.

It's painful. It's worse than feeling a heart break. My wolf starts howling in my head and I feel like I'm going to pass out again. Bren stands up abruptly, only to have to grip his chair for a split second. Once he's regained his composure, he exits the infirmary.

I sit in my small cot, my wolf charging back and forth wanting to be let out. Pleading with me to go after our mate. But he doesn't want us, so what more can I do? He's already officially rejected me. There's no way to seal a chasm...

Clara runs back into the room, her eyes wide. "What happened?"

I'm at a loss for words. Part of me thinks this is all a nightmare that I must have fallen into. The pain in my chest is too real though, and it only takes a few moments to realize the reality. Fairytales or not, my Glaze is short-lived. The joy and happiness I felt when I connected eyes with Bren is totally gone.

"Mia." Clara's hands gently rest on my shoulders. She's trying to search my eyes, but I feel hollow inside and out. "Mia, what happened?"

I finally stare into my best friend's eyes and remember the countless times we dreamed about finding our mate. The one person who is meant to understand and love us for who we are. I can't hold it in any longer. I break down. I start shaking, throwing anything I can grab a hold of and slamming it on the ground. A pillow, a cup, some stupid clipboards on the side of my bed. Clara decides to sit beside me, placing her arm across my shoulder.

I need this moment. Just one single moment of the weakness that Bren has accused me of. My entire life has been molded by Sparta because my parents left me here. Never have I had any choice in doing what I want or being who I want to be.

Sparta has always been about pushing down your emotions. Of never letting your mind succumb to your body. In this moment, I don't care. I've never been a Spartan and maybe that's what Bren could see.

My parents left me here. My mate doesn't want me. I'm allowed to have one moment of self-doubt that has plagued my entire existence. Because I know, once this moment is over, I'll be stronger.

I have to be...

'You will be, Mia', my wolf reassures me.

I let myself cry into Clara's side. I start to feel the weakness that Bren rejected me for. The emotions hitting me like waves in my chest. My inability to fight. I could barely fight for him. And now I'm here. Rejected by my mate.