Redemption Luna Mae

MAE – POV Sitting in a prison cell, I awaited my fate. “Walk,” the guard commanded, dragging me out of my cell. I stumbled, shackled in wolfsbane chains, as the Orion Pack cursed me, labeling me a villainess. I agreed with their condemnation as I stood on the podium. Alpha Oscar Lockwood of the Orion Pack glared at me with blazing hatred. And why wouldn’t he? I had manipulated him, used his powers, and made him fall in love with me. I even drove the she-wolves away from him, hurting my cousin Faye. She had a crush on Oscar, but rejected Faye at my request. Faye found her second-fated mate, Alpha Atlas, instead. Now, Oscar, my second chance mate, wants nothing but to kill me for my sins. From a distance, I saw Faye bringing a doctor to check on me. She whispered something to Oscar. “Alpha Oscar, kill this b***h!” the Pack roared. “She tried to harm us and hurt you, Alpha. She must be punished. Her family has caused a lot of suffering.” The cries of the Orion Pack echoed in my ears. “Calm down,” Oscar addressed the crowd, his hateful gaze piercing me. “Mae Cooper is spared under certain circumstances that I won’t disclose. However, she will be exiled from this Pack and forbidden to return,” he announced. The crowd reacted with mixed emotions. Shocked, I looked at Oscar and Faye. Why was Faye, my cousin who should be glad to see me dead, speaking to my mate to set me free? I needed answers. The soldiers escorted me to Oscar’s office. He entered alone, without Faye, her doctor, or Alpha Atlas. “Why are you—let me go,” I stammered. I had been deprived of food and water for a week and could barely stand. “Eat and drink first,” Oscar ordered, gesturing to the food and water beside me. I devoured it, my hunger and thirst overwhelming me. Oscar, meanwhile, ignored my presence, absorbed in his phone. “Go bathe and get dressed,” Oscar instructed as a maid appeared to take me away. “Why are you being kind to me?” I asked. “Follow my orders for a few hours before you leave my pack,” Oscar replied sharply. I followed the maid, too weak and guilty to resist. I had hurt Oscar deeply, and now I felt the weight of my sins. “Come on, move,” the maid snapped, grabbing my arm and dragging me along. Their scornful gazes burned with hatred. Once, this maid had respected me when I was Oscar’s fiancée and soon-to-be Luna, but now they wished for my death. I can’t blame them. The maid shoved me, then slapped me hard. I moaned in pain, too weak to fight back, my wolf still recovering and unable to defend me. I injured my arm as I fell from the push, stepping out of the shower. “Wear this,” the maid ordered, throwing clothes on the floor and stomping on them. “You’re the worst woman, hurting so many she-wolves,” another maid sneered, yanking my hair and slapping me. “I don’t know why Alpha Oscar lets this wench live,” another maid muttered. I ignored them as I changed into better clothes, discarding my ragged garments. “You know how rude she was to us,” the maids gossiped outside the doorframe as I combed my hair and stepped out of the room. They glared at me as I followed them back to Oscar’s office. Oscar looked at me scornfully, as if he saw a monster. “Now get answers,” I whispered. Oscar stood from his chair and asked everyone to leave, keeping only his Beta, Daniel—my ex-mate who hated me because I had rejected him mercilessly. “Before you leave this Pack,” Oscar said hatefully, “I want to reject you. You need to feel how you made me reject Faye, humiliated in front of the Orion Pack.” Oscar roughly grabbed my face, his venomous look cutting me to the core. “It’s your turn to feel the pain of rejection.” “Don’t reject—” I whispered. “Kill me instead…” “I promised someone to keep you alive,” Oscar said. “Faye?” I asked. “Don’t take her name with your dirty mouth,” Oscar hissed. “You made her suffer enough. I want to kill you with my own hands.” His words were daggers plunging into my heart. “What’s the real reason for setting me free?” I asked. “To make you live with guilt and suffering,” Oscar replied. “You know you’ll lose your wolf if you reject me,” I reminded him. “I don’t care if I do,” Oscar said coldly. “You will suffer if I take another woman as a second mate. It will hurt more if you don’t accept my rejection.” I stood still at his cold words. Once, he was head over heels for me, though it was only a spell of manipulation that made him feel like me. Not anymore. He pushed me away, and I fell flat on my ass, hissing as I sprained my leg. “I, Alpha Oscar Lockwood of Orion Pack, now reject future Luna Mae Cooper as my mate.” The moment the words left his lips, an unbearable pain surged through my body as if I had been struck by a bus. I couldn’t help but moan in pain. “Accept the rejection, and we never have to see each other again,” Oscar demanded sharply. “No, no. I can’t let you lose your wolf if I accept it,” I pleaded. “You don’t deserve to lose your wolf.” “I do,” Oscar retorted. “Because I put my first love and former mate through hell. I deserve the worst for causing her pain and saying terrible things.” “It was all my fault,” I insisted. “I must bear those sins, not you,” I snapped back. “Wow,” Oscar mocked. “You all seek forgiveness for your sins and expect me to welcome you back with open arms.” “No,” I replied firmly. “I will leave the Pack and get out of your hair so you can move on.” “We are still mates,” Oscar hissed. “I hate being your mate.” “You’ll have to bear with it, Alpha Oscar,” I said, trying to stand despite the pain. “You need your wolf to protect the Orion Pack if danger arises.” He scoffed as I left his office without looking back, my body and leg wracked with pain. Tears welled in my eyes as I wondered why Faye had come to save me. I needed to meet her. Guards escorted me to the territory’s edge, and I walked into my exile from the Orion Pack, facing the unknown roads ahead. Pain and grief consumed me. I managed to mind-link my friend Nancy, who also managed my family’s business. Nancy arrived to pick me up, wincing at my state. I had lost a few pounds from being starved for a week and was drained of my wolf power. “You’re not dead,” she remarked. “That’s what I need to hear from my friend,” I hissed. “Sorry, but it shocks me that Oscar let you walk,” Nancy said. I glared at her, and she fell silent. Nancy took me to a doctor to treat my wounds inflicted by the Orion Pack she-wolf soldiers who had punished me for all the sins I had committed. “Now that you’ve been treated, you need a place to lay low,” Nancy said. “You don’t have any allies left; your family has taken a lot of money and hurt many Pack families with their extortion.” “I know,” I replied, the weight of rejection heavy on my heart. The doctor had given me pills to subdue the pain, but they did nothing. Nancy took me to a guest house and took care of me, but I just twisted and turned in agony. “Why isn’t your pain subsiding?” Nancy asked, coming to check on me as I broke into a sweat, sitting up panting and in tears. “Because Oscar is with another woman,” I hissed. It hurt to even say it. I rolled out of bed. “Where are you going?” Nancy asked. “Don’t tell me you’re returning to the Orion Pack.” Tears streamed down my face as the pain became unbearable. Knowing Oscar was with someone else broke me, but I couldn’t sit here. I needed answers. I needed to see Faye. “Speak up.” “I’m going to meet my dear cousin Faye and ask her why she spared me.” Nancy raised an eyebrow, unsure of what I was discussing, as she hadn’t heard the news yet. But tomorrow, she would be aware; the whole wolf realm would know about my freedom through social platforms. I opened the door and saw Beta Daniel standing in the hideout. “Why are you here?” I asked Daniel. AUTHOR NOTE Hello, lovely readers! This is the second book in the Rejection series. The first book is titled "Rejected Luna Faye." To better understand this book, you can also read it as a standalone. Please leave your comments and votes. Thank you!