From Rejected Mate to Luna (Julia White) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Julia’s POV

Nathan’s face contorted with fury at Daniel’s words. He stepped closer to Daniel, his shoulders squaring as if preparing for a physical confrontation.

“What the hell would you know about mate bonds?” Nathan snarled, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave. “You’re just some campus nobody trying to

play hero.

Daniel didn’t back down. ‘I know enough. The mate bond is the Moon Goddess’s sacred gift–it can’t exist in only one person. That’s like saying only one end of a rope can be tied. He glanced at me, his eyes softening momentarily before returning to Nathan with renewed resolve. “If Julia isn’t your mate, then stop acting like you own her.”

Hope flickered in my chest, fragile but warm. Someone was seeing me–really seeing me–and not just accepting Nathan’s lies at face value.

Nathan’s eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, his phone rang. He checked it, annoyance flashing across his face. “This isn’t over,” he said quietly, his eyes locked on mine. Then he nodded curtly to Daniel and walked away, answering his call as he headed toward his car.

I stood frozen, watching him disappear into the darkness. My heart hammered against my ribcage as if trying to escape. The secret I’d kept–my humiliation, my shame–had just been exposed in the worst possible way. My arms wrapped around my middle, trying to hold myself together as I felt my carefully constructed walls begin to crumble.

“Julia?” Daniel’s voice was gentle now, concerned. “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t meet his eyes. What must he think of me now? The rejected mate–the wolf no one wanted. The freak.

“Are you okay?” Daniel asked gently, moving closer but not touching me.

I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Nathan had found me here, threatened me, and nearly succeeded in poisoning yet another relationship with his lies. But Daniel had stood up for me–had questioned the future Alpha when no one else would.

1–I don’t know, I admitted, wrapping my arms around myself. “Thank you for… for not just believing him.”

Daniel’s eyes were kind but concerned. “Do you want to talk about what just happened? Or would you rather go back inside and finish the documentary?”

The simplicity of the choice–to talk or to escape–made tears spring to my eyes or years, I’d had no choices at all.

“Can we just walk for a bit?” I asked, my voice unsteady. “I need some air.”

Daniel nodded, falling into step beside me as we moved away from the theater. I didn’t press me for explanations or details. He just walked beside me in

companionable silence, giving me space to breathe and think.

*Tell him,” Kaia urged in my mind. “He already knows part of it. Maybe talking about it will help.”

I stared at my trembling hands beside my leg. How do you explain something like this? How do you tell someone that you were deemed so unworthy that

your fated mate rejected the Moon Goddess’s choice?

‘I don’t even know where to start,” I whispered finally.

“You don’t have to tell me anything,” Daniel said. “But if you want to talk, I’m he to listen. No judgments.”

His kindness was my undoing. A sob escaped before I could stop it.

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Chapter 20

*Nathan was–my fated mate,‘ I managed, the words bitter on my tongue. “But he rejected me. Formally.”

Daniel’s sharp intake of breath told me he understood the gravity of what I was saying.

‘He found out I was his mate on my eighteenth birthday. He was… disgusted. The memory still had the power to cut me. He told me I wasn’t worthy to be his mate. That he’d rather suffer than be paired with me.”

I forced myself to continue, the words tumbling out now, unstoppable.

A few days later, when I got my acceptance to the nursing program, I made a deal with him. He’d let me go to college if I’d agree to the formal rejection ceremony and return to the pack after graduation. I thought it would give me freedom, but he’s still trying to control everything.” I wiped angrily at the tears streaming down my face. ‘Do you know how rare it is for a wolf to reject their fated mate? It’s… it’s unheard of. Like there must be something fundamentally wrong with me for my mate to choose loneliness over me.”