The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: Crown of Thorns Chapter 03

The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: Crown of Thorns Chapter 03

Through rain-soaked forest, through the no-man’s-land between pack territories where rogues prowled and the law

was teeth. Branches whipped my face, roots clawed at my bare feet, and my wolf howled inside me with every stride,

pushing me faster, harder, desperate.

When I burst through the hospital doors, I didn’t stop for the receptionist’s shout. I followed the room number burned

into my memory, slammed the door open-

Lily.

My baby girl.

She was curled on the hospital bed, so small she barely made a shape under the white sheets. Her face was pale, her
eyes swollen shut from crying, and there were bruises-finger-shaped bruises-on her tiny arms where someone had

gripped her too hard.

I shattered.

I fell against her, pulling her into my chest, my sobs ripping out so violently my whole body convulsed. Her small hands found my shirt and fisted it, and her voice-hoarse, broken-whispered the only word that mattered.

“Mama…”

“I’m here,” I choked. “Mama’s here. I’ll never leave you again. Never, never, never-”

I rocked her until her trembling slowed, until her breathing softened, until the terror loosened its grip on her tiny body.

The world outside could burn. Nothing existed beyond this room.

The door opened.

A man walked in-tall, broad, moving with the kind of casual power that made the air shift. His smile was sharp, his eyes sharper. Two massive wolves in human form flanked him like living walls.

“Sera Voss,” he said, like we were meeting at a cocktail party. “Name’s Roman. I work for Damien.”

The doctor who’d been hovering vanished so quickly I barely registered it.

Roman leaned against the bed rail. “Damien handled the wolves who took your daughter from Blood Moon’s pack

house. Would you like to know what’s left of them?”

My stomach lurched. “No. Please. I just want Lily safe.”

He chuckled softly “Thorough work Damien’s specialty. They won’t be guarding anything ever again His gaze sharpened Curious who ordered them to hold her, though? Ravenna gave specific instructions. She told the enforcers to-and I quote-‘discipline the brat until she stops crying for her mother.”

Lily whimpered against my chest.

I tightened my arms around her and turned my back on Roman completely. “I don’t care about Ravenna right now!

only care about my child.”

Roman’s smile widened. “Very well. Damien will arrive within the week. You have seven days to sever your pack bond with Kael completely. When the week ends, he’ll come for you himself.”

My throat tightened. “Thank you,” I whispered, because it was the only thing I had left to give.

His eyes glittered with something knowing. “Don’t thank me, little wolf. Damien doesn’t want gratitude. He wants

possession. Your wolf. Your soul. Everything you denied him before.”

He straightened, winked like it was all a game, and left with his men melting into the corridor.

The room felt heavier without them. Smaller. Lily shifted, whimpering in her sleep, and I rocked her gently, humming a lullaby through tears while the night pressed in like the walls were closing.

I don’t remember falling asleep.

The buzz of my phone dragged me awake. Lily’s small hands rested against my collarbone, her breath warm and

steady. For one merciful moment, I thought it had all been a nightmare.

Then I saw the screen.

Kael.

My hand shook as I answered.

His voice exploded through the phone like a detonation. “Where the hell are you? My enforcers say someone

breached the pack house and took the girl. If you think you can steal pack property and humiliate me-”

I looked down at Lily-her fragile face, the bruises on her arms, the way her lashes brushed her cheeks.

I ended the call without a word.

I powered off the phone.

The silence that followed was thick-but it tasted like rebellion. For the first time, I chose quiet instead of his fury.

By morning, my body ached and my clothes were stiff with dried rain and sweat. Lily stirred, and I smoothed her hair,

forcing a smile

“Mama will be right back, sweetheart. I’ll get us clean clothes. Then I’ll come back looking pretty for you, okay?”

I stepped into the hallway.

The world tilted instantly.

A gurney rushed past, wheels shrieking. Medics crowded around it. On top lay Ravenna’s son-Asher, Kael’s

five-year-old heir-pale, clutching his stomach, crying in sharp, piercing howls. Ravenna ran beside the gurney, shrill

and frantic, screaming at the doctors. Kael followed, barking orders, panic cracking his Alpha mask.

Then he saw me.

He broke away and seized my arm, fingers crushing bone.

“Sera!” His hand cracked across my face before I could blink. The slap split through my cheek like lightning

“You poisoned him,” he snarled, grip tightening. “One of the omegas confessed-she said you ordered wolfsbane put

in Asher’s food. You tried to murder my heir.”

My cheek burned. My chest burned worse.

I swallowed the scream clawing up my throat. No denial would matter. Kael had already decided his truth.

Asher wailed louder. “Daddy! Daddy, it hurts!”

Kael released me and sprinted after the gurney, chasing the child he cherished. Over his shoulder, he threw one last

sentence that sliced me open.

“We’re not done, Sera.”

Ravenna passed by moments later, her perfume thick and cloying. Her lips curved ever so slightly.

Calm. Satisfied.

That was all the proof I needed.

She had poisoned her own son-and pinned it on me.

I bit down hard and kept walking, spine straight, refusing to break where she could see.

At the elevator, I pressed the button and waited. When the doors slid open-

Ravenna.

She leaned against the frame, blocking my path, smile sweet as nightshade

“How’s little Lity” she asked lightly. Still breathing?” She tilted her head. “I told those enforcers to squeeze her arms until she stopped screaming for you. Pity they didn’t squeeze harder And when your bonding with Kael is fully severed. She leaned closer “I’ll make sure Lily ends up in the rogue lands. Alone. At night. Let the wild wolves decide

what to do with her.