The Rejected Luna (Avery and Kaden) novel Chapter 2

**Between Then and Now by Mark Twain 2**
**Chapter 2**

“What’s this?”

Isla’s voice broke the silence as she picked up a braided bracelet that lay abandoned beside the counter. The moment her fingers brushed against it, I felt a wave of recognition wash over me. The bracelet was crafted from a military-green cord, its clasp stained with the remnants of dried blood, and a tiny silver bullet casing dangled from it like a grim reminder of the past.

I lifted my gaze, and there it was—the “protection charm” I had given Adrian all those years ago, a token of my promise to keep him safe. Back then, he was not the celebrated Alpha warrior adorned with shiny insignia on his shoulders; instead, he was just a lost teenager, abandoned at the fringes of our pack territory, left to fend for himself after the scandal that had tarnished his Alpha father’s reputation.

I recalled that fateful winter night when I first stumbled upon him by the lake. The air was bitterly cold, and the world was cloaked in a thick blanket of snow. He had been battered and bruised, curled up in a snowdrift like a fragile bird seeking warmth. In a moment of desperation, he had reached out, grasping the hem of my pants as if I were his last hope.

Against the protests of my mother and brother, I had made the decision to bring him back to the pack. I had spent my allowance to pay a healer—an act of compassion that pulled him back from the brink of death. Sixteen-year-old Adrian had become a part of the Darkstone Pack from that day forward, my loyal shadow, a constant presence in my life.

Whenever I had dared to sneak out of school, climbing over the wall in search of freedom, he had been there to catch me, breaking my fall with his sturdy frame. During those long hours of punishment when I was forced to stand in the corridor, he had kept me company in silence until the clock struck midnight. And when the bullies had come, he had been the first to step up, willing to take the blows, emerging black and blue but undeterred.

As our friendship blossomed into something deeper, we had found solace in the lavender bushes of the pack house garden, stealing kisses and giggling like two children who had pilfered candy from a hidden stash. Those moments felt timeless, until the year he turned nineteen, when he made the bold decision to enlist in the most grueling pack border unit.

“Hazel, wait for me,” he had said, his voice filled with determination. “When I’ve earned my merits and restored my father’s honor, I’ll return and claim you as my Luna—proudly.” He had kissed my hair repeatedly, his touch gentle yet fervent. “I’ll come back. I promise. You’re my only mate for life.”

That night, I had stayed awake, tears streaming down my cheeks as I baked his favorite chocolate chip cookies, pouring my heart into each batch. I had slipped the bracelet into his duffel bag, a small token of my love and hope.

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