His Rejected Luna

The forest shudders.

The air thickens, growing heavy with something unnatural, something that doesn't belong in this world. Shadows twist violently, stretching in ways they shouldn't, and the earth beneath us trembles as the presence moves closer.

A deep, guttural rumble echoes through the clearing—not a growl, not a snarl.

Something older.

Something ancient.

Kieran's body is a wall of rigid muscle in front of me, his golden eyes burning with unrestrained fury. His claws extend, his stance ready for a fight he doesn't understand.

Caelum stands motionless, amused, as if this isn't the first time he's come face to face with something that should not exist. His silver eyes glint, a slow smirk tugging at his lips.

The masked figure, however, is stone still. Their breathing is shallow, controlled—but I can sense the tension radiating from them.

They know what this is.

And they are afraid.

Then, from the depths of the shadows, something steps forward.

And my heart stops.

At first, it is just a silhouette—an impossibly tall figure emerging from the darkness, its presence shifting the air like a force of nature.

But as it moves closer, its form changes—ripples—like reality is struggling to contain it.

One moment, it is a shadow with no face.

The next, it is a man.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Bare-chested, his skin dark as onyx, marked with silver runes that seem to pulse with an unnatural rhythm. His hair is wild, ink-black, his features sharp enough to carve into temptation itself.

And then—

His eyes.

A deep, endless silver, swirling with a light that feels like it does not belong in a mortal body.

He is beautiful.

And he is wrong.

Because he is not human.

Not wolf.

Not anything I have ever seen before.

He stops just at the edge of the clearing, his silver eyes locking onto mine.

And then—

He speaks.

Not in a whisper.

Not in a growl.

But in a voice so deep, so darkly seductive, it feels like silk and sin all at once.

"You called for me, little star."

The moment he speaks, the mark on my collarbone flares.

A burning heat, pulsing, throbbing—like something inside me is answering him.

I gasp, pressing a hand to my skin, my vision swimming. The glow from the mark spills through my fingers, reacting to his presence, to his voice.

He is the reason I bear this mark.

He is the one I have been tethered to.

Kieran lets out a furious snarl. "Stay the hell away from her."

The stranger's silver eyes flick to Kieran, uninterested. As if he is nothing more than a distraction.

Then, slowly, deliberately, he steps forward.

The movement is fluid, unnerving—graceful like a predator that does not need to chase its prey, because it already knows it will win.

I should move.

I should run.

But my body betrays me.

Because something about him is pulling me in.

Not just the mark.

Something deeper.

Something forbidden.

His gaze drifts down, lingering on my glowing mark, and his lips curve into a wicked smile.

"So fragile," he murmurs. "And yet, they tried to erase you."

He lifts a hand slowly, as if testing a boundary neither of us understand.

I should stop him.

I should fight.

But when his fingers brush against the mark—I shatter.

A gasp escapes my lips, my knees buckling. A shockwave of heat rolls through me, sharp and overwhelming, spreading from the mark like a slow, burning poison.

His touch is not gentle.

It is possession itself.

And I don't understand why I want more.

A violent snarl breaks through the moment, and then—Kieran moves.

His body collides with the stranger's, a vicious growl ripping from his throat as he slams him back.

The stranger barely stumbles.

He does not snarl.

Does not growl.

He simply tilts his head, watching Kieran as if he is nothing more than an amusing inconvenience.

"I will rip you apart," Kieran seethes, his golden eyes burning. "I don't care what you are."

The stranger sighs, bored. "Ah, Alpha." His silver gaze flickers over Kieran like he is studying a lesser creature. "I don't believe you understand the situation."

Kieran's claws unsheathe. "The situation is that you don't get to touch her."

Something dark and amused flashes across the stranger's expression.

His gaze slides back to me, his silver eyes gleaming with something dangerous.

But he speaks to Kieran when he says, "Then you should not have given her up."

The words hit like a blade.

Kieran stiffens, his face twisting into something raw, something dangerously close to pain.

Because he knows it's true.

He rejected me.

He let me go.

And now, something else has come to claim me.

The stranger turns his full attention back to me, stepping closer once again.

His presence is all-consuming, his silver gaze pulling me under like a tide I can't escape.

"You feel it," he murmurs, voice low, knowing. "Don't you?"

I swallow hard. "Feel what?"

His lips curve into a slow, wicked smile.

"The bond."

A sharp ache pulses through my mark, through my body, and I know—

He is right.

It's not just a mark.

It's a claim.

A tether that binds us together.

And the worst part?

I don't think I want to