The Rejected Luna

The sharp, biting cold of the forest air stung your lungs with every ragged breath. Just yesterday, you were celebrating your eighteenth birthday, the air thick with hope and the scent of possibility. Now, the only scent was the damp earth and your own despair. Your heart felt like a shattered pane of glass, each beat sending agonizing shards through your chest. Blake, your mate, your destiny, had looked into your eyes and seen only weakness, rejecting you in a few cruel words. The overheard conversation between your parents, their voices laced with disappointment and agreement with his harsh judgment, had been the final blow. You had packed a small bag, slipped out the window, and run, the only thing you knew how to do. Now, exhausted and alone in the darkness, the howls of rogues echoed around you, a stark reminder of the dangers that lay outside the pack's protection.