Chapter 24
Avelyn’s POV
It had only been a little over a month since I last set foot in the Moonveil Packhouse, my parent’s home, but as soon as I crossed the boundary stones, I knew-
Something was wrong.
The scent in the air had shifted. Not just the musk of unfamiliar wolves, but something fouler… something rotting underneath. The place no longer felt like my birth pack’s home. It felt like a
lair-hers.
Claire and I barely made it to the front gates before we were intercepted.
A low-ranked she-wolf blocked my path, baring her teeth slightly.
“Who are you?” she snapped. “Without Ma’am Lexie’s clearance, no outsiders are allowed inside the Alpha’s house.”
My wolf stirred under my skin, furious.
Outsiders?
“I’m Avelyn Moonveil,” I said coldly. “The firstborn of this bloodline. This was my home long before Lexie slithered into it. Since when does a mutt like you get to question me?”
“Leave!” she barked again, but there was a tremble in her voice now.
Before I could snap back, a line of burly wolves stepped forward from the shadows. Bodyguards. Lexie’s, no doubt. Their matching black suits did little to hide their scent-unclaimed rogues bound by coin, not loyalty.
One stepped forward. “Ma’am Lexie gave strict orders. You are not allowed inside.”
Claire moved closer, whispering sharply, “Avelyn, something’s wrong. I messaged my brother when we got here. Let’s wait for Riven-”
“No,” I interrupted, my gut twisting. “We wait, we lose time. My mother’s voice… she said ‘she needs help.” My heartbeat was thunder. “I didn’t think much of it then-but now… someone might already be dying.”
Claire didn’t argue. She simply turned and signaled to our guards.
Riven had assigned me his elite: warriors handpicked from the Ashton Royal Pack. Swift. Lethal. Wild.
In less than a minute, Lexie’s thugs were flat on the ground, groaning and unconscious.
I didn’t look back. My wolf had already taken over, adrenaline flooding my limbs.
I threw open the doors and raced up the stairs-taking two at a time, ignoring the surge of fear in my gut.
The scent hit me first.
Decay. Mold. The unmistakable stench of neglect.
I kicked the master bedroom door open and froze mid-step.
My parents lay motionless on the bed. Skin pale faces sunken. The once-immaculate Alpha quarters looked like a crumbling ruin. My father’s breathing was shallow, his eyes shut. My
Happy Rejection. My Alpha
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mother-barely awake-looked like she hadn’t fed in days.
“What the hell happened?” I choked out. “Where is Lexie?”
Myra’s eyes filled with tears as she reached for me with trembling fingers. “Avelyn… Lexie-she’ not one of us. She’s a monster. She tried to kill us!”
My heart stopped.
“I was wrong. We were all wrong,” she sobbed. “All those years… I turned my back on you. And she-she used us. Turned this pack into something sick.”
Claire crossed her arms at the door, her expression stone-cold.
“Now you cry? Where were you when Avelyn begged you to believe her? You didn’t care when she was thrown out of the house. And now you want her help?”
Luna Myra bit her lip, guilt dark in her eyes. “I was blind. We wronged you. I-I know that now.”
I didn’t respond. Not out of cruelty-but because there was no time.
“We’ll talk later. Claire, help me lift her. Take the right side.”
Claire gave a dramatic sigh but stepped forward.
We’d barely touched Myra when her eyes widened in sudden terror. “A-Avelyn… behind you!”
I turned-but too late.
Pain exploded at the back of my skull.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
When I woke up, the coppery tang of blood hit my nose. My wrists burned, bound with silver-threaded restraints that dug into my skin.
I was tied to a chair.
And across from me, in a wheelchair, sat Darius, alpha of the Nightbane Pack.
His scent-once familiar-was now twisted. Feral. Unstable.
“Darius!” I hissed. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
He leaned forward slowly, his eyes glazed with desperation-and madness.
“You promised me,” he whispered. “You said you’d be mine forever. You gave me your bond mark Avelyn.”
I growled, the sound low and wild. “And you broke it when you bedded Lexie like a mutt in heat.” His expression twisted. “You’re marrying Alpha Riven? The wolf who crippled me?! The one who tore my pack apart?! You’re choosing him-after everything we had?”
“I’m choosing myself,” I snapped. “And if you have any sense left, Darius, you’ll let me go before Riven finds out what you’ve done. You know what he can do, he’ll burn this entire house down.”
Darius’s face twitched, his claws emerging slightly.
“Do
you know how long I waited for this chance? It took weeks just to lure you here. There’s no way I’m letting you go.”
A growl vibrated in my throat.
“You don’t get to keep me prisoner,” I snarled. “I’m not your mate anymore. I’ve already broken
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the bond, Darius-and in case you’ve forgotten… I’m Luna-to-be of the Ashton Pack.” His jaw clenched.
“And I’m your unfinished past,” he spat. “The one man you can’t erase.”
I looked him in the eye-and let my wolf rise.
7:09 pm
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.