The Rejected Luna (Avery and Kaden) novel Chapter 86

**Chapter 2**

**Selene’s POV**

After I finished signing the Severance Scroll, I found myself seated in the stark emptiness of the meeting room, the golden rays of the afternoon sun streaming through the tall windows, casting elongated, solitary shadows across the polished floor. The atmosphere felt heavy, almost suffocating, as I absorbed the gravity of my decision.

The words of the Pack Attorney reverberated in my mind like a haunting refrain.

“The Severance will be finalized within one moon cycle. Once the Elders approve, your Mate Bond with Alpha Julian Blake will be fully dissolved.”

Thirty days. Just thirty days until the last thread binding us together would finally snap, leaving nothing but silence in its wake.

Logically, I should have felt a surge of relief, a weight lifted from my shoulders.

But instead, a hollow ache settled deep within my chest, spreading like a slow poison that tainted my very essence.

“It hurts,” my wolf whimpered, her voice a faint echo within the confines of my being.

I know, I replied silently, my fingers curling into a tight fist, my nails digging into my palms, a small act of defiance against the pain.

My wolf was right. The dissolution of the Mate Bond was not merely a legal formality; it was a wound carved deep into my soul, a brutal severing that left me feeling exposed and vulnerable. Piece by piece, I felt myself unraveling, like a tapestry fraying at the edges.

That night, Julian chose not to return to our shared quarters. He remained in the study, as he had done countless times before, burying himself in work and empty responsibilities while I withered away in the silence of our once-vibrant life together.

The following morning, when I finally emerged from the cold, desolate bedroom, I found Julian already dressed in a crisp black suit, his silver cufflinks glinting under the dim hallway lights.

Upon seeing me, he offered the same familiar smile that had once warmed my heart—effortless, charming, utterly oblivious to the storm brewing beneath the surface.

“I have urgent matters today,” he said, adjusting his tie with a practiced ease. “I won’t be able to accompany you to the pup’s prenatal check. Go ahead yourself, alright? I’ll bring back your favorite strawberry cake tonight.”

The mention of the pup sent a sharp pang through my chest, twisting so violently that for a fleeting moment, I struggled to draw breath.

There was no pup.

There was no future.

Only a hollow woman standing before a man who didn’t even recognize the enormity of what he had already lost.

Meeting his expectant gaze, I forced my lips into a mechanical smile, nodding as if everything was perfectly fine.

He chuckled warmly, playfully gesturing toward his cheek.

“Leaving a kiss?”

A ritual from a time when I still believed that love was enough to conquer all obstacles.

Now, it felt like a cruel mockery of what we once shared.

I shook my head lightly, my voice flat and devoid of emotion. “You’re running late,” I replied. “You should go.”

Julian looked momentarily perplexed, then chuckled again, ruffling my hair as if I were a child he was humoring rather than a mate he cherished.

Without another word, he turned and left, his scent lingering in the air—a scent that had once enveloped me in a cocoon of safety but now felt like a suffocating shroud.

As the door clicked shut behind him, the weight in my chest became unbearable, a crushing force that threatened to swallow me whole.

I sank to the floor, pressing a trembling hand against my heart, willing it to stop racing.

“Don’t cry,” my wolf murmured weakly, her voice a gentle whisper in the chaos of my thoughts. “He’s not worth our tears.”

I’m not crying for him, I thought bitterly, my heart heavy with regret. I’m crying for the fool I used to be, the girl who believed in fairy tales and happy endings.

Finally, summoning the strength to rise, I changed into a plain, loose sweater and a pair of jeans.

Today wasn’t about the clinic.

It was about survival.

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