The Alpha’s Unexpected Luna: The Rejection

BRYNNE

A sharp pain jolts through my heart. The pen in my grip slips to the annex’s table, and I clutch my chest.

Someone close to me is hurt.

The chair creaks as I jump to my feet. Opening the mindlink, I run a quick check on my siblings.

They are fine. Three of them.

My mind drifts to Soma, and I stare at the words on the page and the cream envelope beside it. The table is a mess, with multiple letters bunched in frustration.

Since we’re not bonded, I wouldn’t be able to feel Soma, let alone her pain. What if she’s not my mate?

Doesn’t matter, James whispers inside my head.

He’s right. I don’t care. She’ll be my Luna anyway. But I want us to have a better relationship. Why else am I alone in the annex, making a formal invitation letter to ask her to the Ball? What if she rejects me again?

She won’t.

Flowers and words didn’t work. If this invitation letter doesn’t do the trick, my dick will. I know she loves it.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I fold the letter, sliding it into the envelope before retrieving the phone.

Lilith’s name blares on the screen. Is Father okay?

“Where’s Soma?” she asks as soon as I answer.

“Soma?” I let out a nervous laugh, half-confused by her directness and question. “Her room? I don’t know.”

“Get her on the line,” she barks, and the call goes dead.

It’s official. Kade has lost his spot in Lilith’s heart to Soma. I grab the book on the table, sliding the envelope into it. My step falters as I start for the door, and I skip to the minibar to grab a red bag of chips. Just in case I need it. This flavor is Soma’s favorite.

The skies have gone darker by the time I exit the annex. Students hurry in the same direction, some of them whispering in hushed tones. I have half a mind to stop and query one of them, but Lilith made her request sound so urgent.

Granting part control to James, my speed increases, and my feet pound faster against the floor. I reach the house in half the time and throw the front door open. My footsteps echo throughout the house as I jog up the stairs.

I knock once and open Soma’s door, not pausing to catch my breath. The living area is empty. I stride to her bedroom, already sensing the emptiness before I enter.

Empty. I check the bathroom. No one’s there.

Where is she? I’ve been in the annex all day. Classes don’t resume until a week after the Ball, so I doubt she’s in the library. Unless she’s in the dorm with her maid. Instead of charging there, I head to Tristan’s room first, pushing the door open without knocking.

He startles, shooting to his feet like I caught him doing what he shouldn’t. “What are you doing here?”

“Excuse me?” I mutter. His mouth opens, but I wave off whatever he has to say. “Where’s Soma? I can’t find her.”

“What do you mean, where’s Soma?” he growls. For a guy who claims he likes Soma as a sister, he gets too defensive at the mention of her name. “You’re supposed to be meeting with her in your class?”

“Why would—”

Tristan rushes past me before I finish, and I follow him out of the room. Something tightens in my chest. James’ emotions flood mine, both of us growing restless with each second.

As we near the Year 5 building, we slow down. There is a crowd. Too many students, most of whom I saw earlier.

“What the hell?” I whisper, eyes narrowing at the glass shards glinting in the grass.

Tristan halts beside me. “This isn’t right.”

None of the students attempts to enter the building. They linger at the entrance, murmuring and pointing toward the structure while exchanging theories.

Bunch of cowards.My jaw locks as I step forward.

“Scram!” I say.

The effect is instantaneous. They scatter like flies, their curiosity no match for my fury. Tristan steps forward, careful to avoid the broken glass in our path as he enters the building. I let him take the lead, both of us silent.

Dread coils tighter with every step, and my muscles tense. The moment we step into my class, time seems to stand still.

It’s a mess. A bloody mess.

Soma is slumped against the wall, her arms locked around someone who looks too much like Jade.

What the fuck happened here? Jade’s head is tilted at a strange angle. Blood stains the corners of her mouth and stomach, and an uncomfortable amount pools around her, like she bled out in Soma’s arms.

Both of them are unconscious. My chest constricts, and James pushes to the surface, scouting for another scent.

“Jade.” Tristan’s voice shreds the silence as he bolts across the room. He surprises me by dropping to his knees beside the maid, his hands shaking as he cradles her face. “No, no. Jade, wake up. Please wake up. Fuck.”

His voice rumbles against the wall, his pain seeping into that sound. He carries her in his arms, his tears falling onto her cheeks.

What’s happening? Shouldn’t he help Soma first?

My gaze snaps to Soma, and my body finally remembers how to function. I rush to her, my hands sliding into her blood-streaked ones. She looks like she’s been through hell.

Her hair is a tangled mess. Her fingers are raw, like the skin has been torn from constant pressure, and her white dress is stained. There is dried blood on her cheeks, like someone had cut her there. But she’s alive.

A relieved breath shudders out of my lungs.

She’s alive.

Barely.

But it’s something. I scoop her into my arms. Her body’s limp, and her skin cold to the touch. Her pulse is faint, like she’s slipping away from me.

Tristan lets out a broken sound, and my head jerks up. His face is pale, the most broken I’ve ever seen him. Without a word, he rises and starts for the door, clutching Jade to his chest, like he’s scared she will wither or vanish. I glance around. All the table lamps have been blown out, and the windows are gone. The tapestries have dents, and some of the furniture is broken.

There are no enemies in sight, no sign of a brawl, and yet my classroom looks like a war zone with only two casualties. Silence lingers in Tristan’s absence. I take a step forward, and my foot brushes something.

A bloodied dagger.

Jade’s face shimmers in my mind. The blood. Her stomach wound. My gaze drops to Soma, and an absurd theory takes root in my head. No, it can’t be.

Soma will never hurt her maid, so who did? Where are they? Are they still lurking around?

The academy is supposed to be the safest place in Shadowspire. I bend low, my arm tightening around Soma as I reach for the dagger. Before my fingers touch it, I pause.

If there’s a chance of getting the killer’s fingerprints from the weapon, then I don’t want to mess with it. Straightening up, I open the mindlink to Kade and say: Call Lilith. Let her know I found Soma, and it’s not good.

Before he replies, I shut it off and venture out of the class. Night gives me cover as I start for the room. Either I scared the students or the incident put them off, but the campus is quiet.

Kade and Sienna are waiting by the door when I arrive. Sienna sucks in a breath, and Kade chokes on a whimper.

“What happened?” he whispers, clutching fistfuls of his hair like he’s in physical pain. “Tristan won’t talk to me. I saw blood on his shirt. What’s happening?”

“It’s not his blood,” I say.

They step aside to let me enter. Both of them follow behind me, but Kade, as always, can’t keep quiet.

“Whose blood? Can someone tell me what’s going on?”

A bitter laugh sputters from my lips as my foot lands on the stairs. “I wish I knew.”

We step into the hallway in silence, and Sienna rushes forward to open my door. I flash her a grateful smile, using my body to block the entrance.

“We need to be alone,” I murmur.

“But—”

“Okay,” Sienna interrupts before Kade finishes. She grabs his hand, giving him one hard look that quiets whatever rebuttal he has. “We’ll check on Tristan.”

Space is what Tristan prefers, but given his reaction in the class, I doubt it’s what we should give him now. I nod, shutting the door with my foot.

James stays quiet, while my heart palpitates. I place Soma on my bed and strip her, both of us exhaling when her familiar scars come into view. No wounds.

Satisfied, I rush to the bathroom and fill the tub with water. Grabbing healing ointments from the cabinets, I apply a few drops into the water. Lilith always sends us to school each semester with enough to fill the academy’s infirmary. It works faster than magic.

Back in the room, I lift Soma into my arms and return to the bathroom. She doesn’t make a sound as I lower her into the tub.

“Somi,” I say, my fingers caressing her bruised cheek.

What were they doing in my class?

Why didn’t security notice anything?

A sob rises in my throat as reality crashes hard. My mind centers on that image of them in my class, and my chest tightens so badly I grip the edge of the tub.

Soma could have died. I could have lost her.

“What happened to you?” I whisper.

Tears well in my eyes as I wash the blood off her skin. The water turns pink with each swipe, mocking my incompetence. I should have been there to protect my Luna. But I failed. A tear trickles down my cheek, landing on the surface of the water with a big splash.

“Somi,” I breathe. “I’m sorry.”

But my words have zero effect on her. I run more water through her hair, my breath catching when the tips of one side change color. White streaks the ends, spreading upward until half of her hair is white, and the other half retains its natural chocolate brown color.

Author’s Note: If you’re reading this book without reading The Alpha’s Unexpected Luna: The Selection, this book will make zero sense to you.