Unwanted Luna
Description
Daphne has spent two years trying to be enough for her mate, Alpha heir Connor Blackthorn-but she's wolfless, weak, and a constant disappointment. When he publicly rejects their bond at the pack gathering, claiming another woman in front of everyone, Daphne thinks she's lost everything. But her humiliation catches the attention of two dangerous men: Connor's brother Xander, whose cruelty might hide something darker, and Alpha Hector himself, whose sudden interest in a worthless omega raises questions no one dares to ask. As Daphne fights to survive in a pack that's marked her as disposable, she'll discover that some rejections are blessings in disguise-and that the truth about who she really is could destroy them all.
Chapter 1
Nov 20, 2025
[Daphne’s POV]
I force my smile wider as Connor's hand finds the small of my back and for a moment, just a moment, I let myself believe tonight would be different. That my mate would finally see me. Really see me.
The girl who'd loved him since we were kids, who'd spent two years trying to resurrect a marriage that had been dead on arrival.
The musicians strike up the traditional mate dance, and Connor leads me toward the center of the gathering. I can feel every packmember's eye on us—the Alpha heir and his disappointing mate.
I'd practiced for weeks, memorizing every step until my feet bled. Because maybe if I was perfect enough, graceful enough, beautiful enough—maybe tonight he'd remember why the Moon Goddess had chosen us for each other.
He's just stressed about taking over the pack. He doesn't mean to be cold. Give him time, Daphne.
The lies I told myself had become a lifeline.
When he came home at dawn reeking of whiskey and strange perfume, I pretended to sleep. When he forgot our anniversary last month, I convinced myself he'd been planning something special that fell through.
When he hadn't touched me in six months, I blamed myself—maybe I'd gained weight, maybe I needed to try harder. Maybe if I just loved him enough for both of us...
"You look handsome tonight," I whispered, desperate to spark something in those emerald eyes I used to drown in.
I'd chosen this dress because it matched them exactly—the deep green fabric chosen specifically because Connor once mentioned he liked this color. He hasn't noticed.
His jaw clenched, that muscle I'd memorized like a warning sign. Strong fingers barely grazed my waist, like touching me physically repulsed him.
But still, I smiled. Still, I hoped.
"Remember our first dance?" I tried again, my voice soft with the memory. "You said I looked like moonlight, that you couldn't wait to—"
"Stop talking," he muttered, eyes scanning the crowd over my shoulder.
Looking for her, probably. Talia.
Beautiful, powerful Talia with her graceful black wolf and her perfect laugh that sounds like music instead of desperation. I've caught him watching her more times than I can count.
I've pretended not to notice, because that's what I do. I pretend, and I apologize, and I make myself smaller. Hoping that somehow small enough will finally be acceptable.
I try to lose myself in the movement, in the fantasy that maybe tonight will be different. Maybe tonight he'll look at me the way other mates look at each other.
Maybe tonight—
My foot catches on the hem of my dress. I stumble, just slightly, my weight shifting against Connor's chest and his hand tightens on my waist.
"Try not to embarrass me more than usual, sweetheart," he hissed the last word against my ear.
The words slice through me like silver blades.
"I'm sorry," I whisper automatically, the apology already on my lips before my mind catches up. "I didn't mean—"
"You never mean to," he cuts me off, his smile never wavering for the watching crowd. "Yet you always do."
"I know, sorry," I whispered, the words automatic. "After the ceremony, we could go to the lake. Like we used to. I made your favorite—"
"Goddess, Daphne, do you ever stop?"
No, I couldn't. Stopping meant accepting what everyone else already knew—that my mate didn't want me.
The melody reached its crescendo. This was when he should dip me, kiss me, show the pack our bond was strong. I lifted my arms, ready to fall into him like I always did, trusting him to catch me.
His hands moved to my shoulders and for one beautiful, stupid second, I thought he was pulling me closer. But the shove sent me sprawling.
My palms scraped raw against the ground as I hit the surface with a force that knocks the air from my lungs.
The music cuts off mid-note. Silence crashes over the gathering so complete I can hear the bonfire crackling, can hear my own ragged breathing. I sat frozen on the ground, my dress pooled around me, staring up at Connor's face.
And Goddess… There wasn't even anger there. Just nothing. Like I was nothing.
He's looking at the crowd, his chin raised, his shoulders squared with an authority I've never seen him claim before.
"I, Connor Silvermoon, heir of Shadow Ridge Pack, reject you, Daphne, as my mate and my future Luna."
The words detonate inside my chest. I feel the mate bond begin to tear and it's not the clean snap I've read about in stories. It's agony.
Like claws raking through my ribcage, shredding everything soft and vital. Leaving nothing but raw, bleeding emptiness. I can't breathe. Can't think.
Can't do anything but sit here and feel myself being unmade.
Connor extends his hand toward the crowd, and Talia glides forward, her cream-colored dress catching the firelight. She takes his hand without hesitation, and he pulls her close with an ease that makes my stomach twist.
"I declare Talia Summers as my true mate," Connor announces, his voice ringing across the stunned gathering. "As is my right and duty as Alpha heir to choose the strongest match for our pack's future."
The whispers start then. A rustle of shock and judgment that grows louder with each passing second.
"Poor thing, but she should have seen it coming..."
"No wolf at twenty-two? What did she expect?"
"Spreading her legs won't keep an Alpha..."
Alpha Hector's voice cuts through the murmurs. "Connor, what the hell is going on?"
My mate—my former mate—turns toward his father, and I watch his face transform into something cruel and righteous.
"I refuse to waste my life on the weakest she-wolf in the pack. A frigid, infertile bitch who hasn't even met her wolf." He spits the words like venom. "I won't be shackled to someone I fucked once just because she spread her legs in her heat years ago."
The gasps ripple through the crowd. Horror blooms hot across my face, my neck, my chest.
He's telling them. He's telling everyone my most intimate shame. But Connor continues, his voice carrying to every corner of the gathering.
"Two years of trying, and she can't even give me a child!" His lip curls with disgust. "I have a responsibility to this pack. I need a mate who can produce strong offspring, not… her."
Each word is a knife. Each revelation another layer of my dignity stripped away and displayed for public consumption.
I can feel pieces of myself dying. Not the dramatic death of battle or sacrifice, but the small, humiliating death of being exposed as fundamentally unworthy of love.
Someone moves through the crowd and I see Connor's older brother materialize like a storm. Xander’s face twisted with rage I've never seen directed at his family before.
"You fucking disgrace—" His fist connects with Connor's face with a crack that echoes off the trees.
Blood explodes from his nose, and he staggers backward, shock replacing arrogance.
"That's your mate!" Xander roars, grabbing Connor by the collar and shaking him. "Even if she's pathetic, you vowed before the Moon Goddess to protect her, and this is how you treat her? You're an excuse for an Alpha heir! You don't deserve any mate!"
"Enough!" Alpha Hector's command snaps through the air like a whip. He wrenches Xander away from Connor, physically pulling them apart. "Both of you, stop this now!"
Then his hand is under my elbow, surprisingly gentle as he helps me to my feet. His fingers brush against my bare shoulder and something flickers through his expression.
Concern? Pity?
I can't tell through the blur of tears I'm desperately trying to hold back.
"Daphne," he begins, but I can't.
But I can't stand here while they debate my worthlessness. Can't let them see me shatter completely.
I tear away from Alpha Hector's gentle grip and run.
Unwanted Luna
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