Die?
I didn't understand.
He looked as strong as a tree trunk with his broad shoulders, strong arms, the kind of presence that could silence a room with a glance.
So how could a man like him die just because his mate rejected him?
It sounded ridiculous.
No, it was indeed ridiculous.
The most ridiculous part was I couldn't even bring myself to reject him because the wolf inside me wouldn't shut up about how I'd feel guilty if I did.
Guilty?
Why should I feel guilty?
No one cared about my pain.
No one had ever cried for me, protected me, or spared me when I was the one suffering.
So why should his death matter to me?
Why should I care about the pain of a stranger?
"Don't you dare reject him!" my wolf screamed again, her voice slicing through my skull and making my headache even worse.
And as if things weren't already bad enough, Theron started speaking again.
"The Moon Goddess never gave me a Luna," he said quietly. "And the elders told me no Lunas were left in this world."
He stepped closer until his body completely caged mine. "Because of the war, all the Lunas were hunted down and killed by humans."
Ah, I knew this stories.
There was a great war around sixty years ago, a war that broke out between werewolves and shifters against the human race.
For centuries, humans had feared us.
They believed the shifters would one day wipe them out, so they decided to act first by hunting the shifters down, one by one.
Eventually, the shifters fought back, with brutality, rage, and blood.
And it was the werewolves who responded with the most rage.
But then the humans found our weakness: They discovered that when an Alpha marks his Luna, he unlocks his full power.
So what did they do?
They turned their efforts toward the Lunas, hunting them with no mercy.
All Lunas were born with a crescent moon birthmark on their backs.
So when human soldiers captured female werewolves, they stripped them in front of laughing crowds, searching for the mark.
If they had the crescent mark, they were executed immediately.
If they didn't, they were kept as toys, being used and abused until their bodies were too broken to endure any more pain.
The war left deep scars in the hearts of the shifters, especially the werewolves.
All of their Lunas were slaughtered.
And now?
Every time a Luna shows signs of awakening, she's hunted before she can even rise.
Therefore, the shifters cut ourselves off from human civilization.
Some built their own hidden kingdoms, far from human lands.
Others lived on the move, always traveling with their packs, never staying in one place too long, always watching their backs.
It was almost like the Moon Goddess couldn't bear to see another Luna die.
After so much bloodshed, after so many were hunted down and slaughtered, it was as if she had stopped choosing them altogether.
No Luna had been born.
No Luna had awakened.
Not for more than fifty years.
So how the hell could I be a Luna?
An ordinary mate? Maybe. That would at least make sense.
But a Luna?
A fucking Luna?!
I laughed bitterly in my head.
I didn't even have a crescent mark on my body.
"Are you sure about that?" my wolf's voice cut in suddenly, making me doubt my own mind. "You haven't really looked at yourself since you touched Theron, have you?"
I clicked my tongue quietly, silently cursing myself over and over for accidentally bumping into Theron and awakening something that was clearly going to bring disaster into my life.
All I wanted was a simple, quiet life in a small, cozy house. Was that really too much to ask?
"So, tell me …" Theron asked again, "How is it possible that my wolf told me you're my Luna?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "How should I know? Maybe your wolf is broken." I shrugged. "You can reject me if you want. I don't care."
It's not like I could die anyway, so maybe it would be better if he rejected me instead of the other way around.
"You're an idiot."
Excuse me?
I was really starting to have an issue with my wolf.
If she had a physical body, I'd kick her butt and drag her straight to hell.
'So what if he rejects me? I only feel pain, not death. Where's the problem?' I snapped at her in my mind.
"I told you before, you have five mates!"
'And?'
I still didn't see the issue. If Theron rejected me, I'd still have four left, right?
"No. You don't understand."
"All of you are connected by the same thread of fate. If Theron rejects you, it's as if you've been rejected by all five of them."
"The pain you'll feel won't just sting, it will tear you apart. Every second. Every breath. It will feel like your heart is being stabbed over and over again, and you'll never get used to it."
I swallowed.
That sounded worse than anything I'd ever experienced.
Worse than fire.
Worse than drowning.
Worse than being buried alive.
"Reject you?" Theron growled, lowering his head like he was struggling to breathe. "That's not even a choice. My wolf … he won't let you go."
I held my breath. "Then what about you?" I asked firmly. "Do you even want me?"
There was nothing good that came with me.
People called me a monster with a pretty face, but what's the use of beauty when all I bring is pain?
Everyone I loved even ended up in pain.
My mother died giving birth to me.
My father and my pack were slaughtered when I was just a child.
Theron would gain nothing from marking me as his mate.
"I want you," he said suddenly.
His voice was rough as he suddenly slammed his hands against the wall beside my head, caging me in so I couldn't run.
He said, "But what I want doesn't matter."
I blinked in confusion. Why didn't it matter?
He was an Alpha. If he wanted to, he could mark me right here and now, whether I liked it or not.
He didn't even need my permission.
But instead … he asked. "What do you want, Evelyn?" His voice got lower with every word.
I could see it through his burning eyes, his wolf was fighting to take over.
His wolf urging him to take what was his.
To claim me.
To own me.
To shove his dick into me and make me his without caring how I felt.
But … Theron waited for my answer.
Did it even matter?
"What do I want?" I let out a bitter laugh, like I was mocking myself. "I just want to feel something … anything other than pain."
I'd lived with pain for so long that I couldn't feel anything else.
Happiness? Sadness? Fear?
All those emotions had been buried deep inside me.
Too deep.
Because if I ever dared to feel them, I'd be seen as weak, and in this cruel world, there was no room for weakness.
"Then, go," Theron said suddenly, his voice so quiet I almost missed it. "Stay away from me for now."
I blinked in confusion. "What?"
Then he lifted his head and looked me dead in the eyes.
His voice exploded like thunder. "I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME!"