Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By The King

Synopsis

At the Blackwood heir awakening ceremony, I wore the Moon's Tear, the necklace that marked my status as Luna. My adopted son, Jackson Blackwood, tore it from my neck before the entire assembly, using the claws of a beast he could not yet control. The snapped platinum chain lashed back across my collarbone and chest like a razor, opening three bone-deep gashes. Jackson stood by the ritual stone circle, his golden eyes flashing with a feral light as he looked down at me, kneeling and clutching my wound. That cold, detached look was like his father, Dominic Blackwood. Jackson sneered, "You think that necklace makes you Luna of this pack? Once my wolf is fully grown and I take over, the first thing I'll do is mark you rogue. You'll spend the rest of your life running." The copper tang of blood mixed with something burnt and acrid, stinging my nose and drowning out the part of me that still ached to belong. I looked at the boy I had raised as my own son. At his hackles raised, his ears pricked with challenge, the muscles bunched tight to show dominance. I did not cry. Not like the submissive she-wolves who wept. The wolf inside me was strangely calm. Almost relieved. I wiped the blood from my face and drew a sharp breath. "You won't get the chance, Jackson. The contract ends tomorrow. I'm leaving."