The Rejected Luna Returns Chapter 04

The Rejected Luna Returns Chapter 04

Adrian’s silhouette was indistinct, haloed by the harsh light.

I was released, and preparations for the mating ceremony began in a hurry.

The night before the ceremony, Mother spoke offhandedly in the pack house living room,

“Now that you’ve come to your senses, get ready properly. Eden’s been emotionally unstable lately—go apologize to her when you have time.”

Mike flicked ash from his cigarette, “Hazel, be obedient. That way, the pack can still spare you some dignity.”

I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t even have the strength to curl my lips.

Weeks of confinement and torment had leached all the vitality from me; even my wolf had grown numb and silent.

Seeing my silence, Adrian’s tone turned sharp, “The bond-sealing deal’s been approved—what more could you possibly want?”

“If we’re keeping score, everything you have now was stolen from Eden anyway, wasn’t it?”

“Keep acting out, and neither your pack nor I will have any use for you.”

Eden, sheltered between them, spoke softly, “Hazel, I’m craving the chocolate chip cookies you make.”

“The ones… you used to bake specially for Adrian.”

Chocolate chip cookies.

I’d stayed up all night baking them for him the day his father was sentenced, when he’d been delirious with a high fever.

Later, they’d become our little secret, our promise to each other.

Adrian had once pinned me against the kitchen counter and made me swear on our bond that I’d never, ever bake them for another living soul.

Now, they’d become a tool for him to charm another.

A laugh burst out of me—long-suppressed hatred finally breaking free.

I grabbed the scalding coffee pot and hurled it at Eden’s feet.

Glass shattered, and brown liquid splashed up her calves.

She screamed and threw herself into Mother and Mike’s arms, while Adrian slapped me hard across the face, “You’re beyond saving.”

I was committed to a werewolf psychiatric hospital on charges of “assault” and “endangering the pack with mental instability.”

The signatures on my commitment papers belonged to Adrian and my brother, Mike.

Meanwhile, Eden wore a custom wedding dress and completed her mating ceremony in the pack hall.

As I lay in restraints undergoing forced treatment, they were consummating their bond on my wedding bed.

Three months later, I was dumped on the icy steps like a piece of discarded trash.

It snowed heavily that night—just like the day I’d found Adrian—but there was no one to extend a hand to me.

No one asked after me, no one came looking. The only thing I had left was the blood-stained bracelet clutched tightly in my hand.

“Hazel, are you okay?” Isla touched my hand.

I snapped back to reality, pinching her cheek gently.

It was over. I’d survived.

I’d left the pack, left that territory, and drifted until I finally settled in Roseford, scrimped and saved for years to buy this little place.

I’d thought I’d never see them again—but fate had other plans.

“Throw it away,” I said, staring at the bullet casing bracelet in Isla’s hand. “It’s just trash.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, the glass door flew open.

Adrian had returned, his breath ragged as he stopped in front of the counter.

His eyes fixed on the bracelet, his eyes suspiciously bright,

“Hazel, we need to talk.”