The Rejected Luna (Avery and Kaden) novel Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I found myself paralyzed, as if caught in the grip of a malevolent dream from which there was no escape. The piercing pain in my chest felt all too genuine, and the pitiful whimpers of my wolf echoed in my mind, insisting that this was no illusion.

With a surge of desperation, I lunged forward, tearing them apart with a force fueled by raw emotion. Lavender petals flew in all directions, scattered like my shattered composure. In a moment of heated recklessness, I raised my hand and brought it down with all my strength, delivering a slap that echoed against Adrian’s cheek, a sound that resonated with the fury within me.

Surprisingly, Adrian remained unfazed, his expression steely and unyielding. But the moment I turned my gaze toward Eden, he suddenly seized my wrist, his grip like iron, and shoved me back with a force that sent me sprawling onto the lawn. The sharp gravel bit into my palms, tearing at my skin, yet all I could focus on was the way he stood protectively in front of Eden, his voice dripping with disdain, “Eden’s your sister. What gives you the right to lay a hand on her?”

My heart raced, and I felt a surge of indignation. “Hazel, look at yourself—you look completely unhinged,” he added, his tone cold and dismissive.

Eden, trembling and heartbroken, leaned into Adrian’s chest, her sobs muffled against him. “I’m sorry, Hazel… but if Adrian and Infurikendove had been swapped, I would have been the one to meet him first.” Her words hung in the air, heavy with regret and confusion.

The remnants of their kiss shimmered on her lips, a stark reminder of what I had lost. “I can apologize, but I won’t give Adrian back to you,” she declared, her voice firm yet filled with an underlying sadness.

In that instant, something inside me shattered, a final thread of sanity snapping like a frayed rope. Overcome with rage, I seized a flower pot and hurled it at them, my voice rising in a cacophony of vicious curses that spilled from my lips like venom.

Adrian merely sneered, his expression a mixture of amusement and contempt. “You really should check yourself into a psych ward,” he retorted, dismissing my fury as if it were nothing more than a child’s tantrum.

When Mother and Mike finally arrived, their faces contorted with disapproval, I could feel the weight of their judgment pressing down on me. “Hazel, stop making a scene,” Mother said sharply.

“Eden’s your sister—must you make this so ugly?” Mike added, his voice laced with irritation.

But ultimately, the warriors of the Darkstone Pack overwhelmed me, dragging me away as I fought against them, my fury igniting a fire within me. Even when I smashed everything I could reach, my rage spilling over in a chaotic frenzy, and held a silver dinner knife to my own throat, all I received was a sharp slap from Mike. “Hazel, haven’t you caused enough trouble?” he scolded, his voice a mixture of anger and concern.

“You stole twenty years of Eden’s life! All of this is what you owe her!” I shouted, my voice cracking with emotion.

They confined me in the pack dungeon, sliding only a moldy piece of bread through the cracks each day, a meager sustenance that barely kept me alive. The darkness wrapped around me like a suffocating blanket, the silence grinding down every sharp edge of my resolve, dulling my spirit until I felt like a mere shadow of my former self.

Then, one day, the heavy iron door creaked open, and there stood Adrian, his silhouette framed by the light behind him. “The Alpha King has ordered me to seal the mate bond with you,” he declared, his voice steady and unwavering.

“Hazel, you will be my Luna,” he continued, the weight of his words settling heavily in the air between us.