From Rejected Luna To Lycan Queen (Eloise and Edward) novel Chapter 1

ELOISE.

The Blood Moon hung high above the Autumn Pack, casting a crimson glow over the clearing. The air was filled with the scent of pine and the sweat of hundreds of wolves watching me.

Tonight was the Mating Ceremony under the Blood Moon, the night my life was supposed to fall into place.

“The Moon Goddess casts her blessings upon us,” the Pack Elder announced, his voice was raspy but still loud enough over the wind. “Tonight, Alpha Edward marks his destined mate, uniting the pack’s strength. Eloise Lockwood, step forward.”

I stepped toward the stone altar in the center of the field. My white ceremonial dress felt heavy, and the silence from the crowd was tense.

Edward stood before me, as the Alpha, he should look proud that he was about to mark me; he should have been radiating possessiveness, but instead, he stood before me with his jaw clenched tight, and he refused to look me in the eyes. His wolf, who was always present and strong in my mind, felt distant.

“Alpha,” the Elder called gently. “It is time to place your mark on the future Luna of this Pack.”

Edward hesitated.

The seconds dragged on as if we have been here for a lifetime, his hands stood frozen by his side and he wasn't moving. He didn't lean in to smell me, or bare his teeth to mark thag spot on my neck. He just stood there, looking like a man who was forced to be here.

Whispers broke out among the Pack members.

“What is going on?”

“Why isn't he marking her?”

“Does the Alpha reject the bond?”

“Did he realise that he can't be with her because of her connection with the rogues?”

The humiliation burned my skin hotter than the fire touches surrounding us. I stretched my hand to meet his arm, my fingers barely grazing him.

“Edward,” I whispered, pleading with my eyes. Hundreds of people were here; it wouldn't make sense if he backed out now. “Please, the whole pack is watching.”

He flinched at my touch. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe he wanted to apologize or reject me. But we wouldn't know because the smell of fresh iron and rot hit our noses.

Blood.

A rustling sound came from the edge of the woods, and then a body thumped onto the grass.

I squinted my eyes at the scene to see who it was. It was one of the patrol guards; his shredded armor gave him away. Deep claw marks were all over his chest, and he was dragging one leg. He collapsed when he finally got to the stone altar.

“Alpha….” the guard choked put, blood bubbling from his mouth. “Rogues….at the Northern Border…”

Edward’s demeanour changed immediately; he dropped to a knee beside the injured guard. “Report. How many?”

“T-Too many…” The guard gripped Edward’s arm, his eyes wide with terror and fear. “They have Lady S-Summer. She's surrounded by them, I-I couldn't he—” he couldn't get the words out as another round of blood poured out of his mouth.

The color drained from Edward’s face.

“Summer?”

“She's trapped among the rogues. She's hurt very bad and I d-dont think she will last another ten minutes.”

Edward rose to his feet immediately. The hesitation from moments ago is gone, replaced by raw panic.

“I don't have a sister,” I said coldly. “Summer is nothing to me.”

“You monster,” my eldest brother growled. “If Summer dies, it's on your hands.”

“If she dies, it's because she's weak,” I answered in the same tone he used. “It's time you people chose who you want between Summer and me.”

“Eloise, stop this childishness and madness. Be a good Luna and stay here. I just need to go and save her. I'll be back.”

“Edward,” I called in a calm tone.

“If you leave this circle right now,” I said, my voice echoing in the silence of the clearing. “If you chose her over the mate bond right now…dont bother coming back. We are finished.”

The wind growled around us, and the pack held its breath.

Edward stiffened. I thought he would stay. I thought maybe the sacred vows of our land would make me win.

“Im sorry,” he muttered. “But she needs me more right now.”

And then he leaped down from the altar, his body cracking and reshaping mid-air until a massive black wolf landed on the grass. He didn't look back; he sprinted into the darkness of the woods.

One by one, my father, my mother, and my brothers all left me alone by myself, on the stone altar, under the Blood Moon, forsaking the vows we hadn't even taken.

I looked up at the Blood Moon, feeling a strange and cold clarity washing over me. I wasn't going to wait for him to come back. I wasn't going to be the pathetic Eloise waiting at the altar anymore.

I closed my eyes and made my choice.