The Rejected Luna and The Cursed Nephilim

Escape Night

"Lady Isabella, are you okay—"

"Enough, Rory. Don’t say another word to me."

I swiftly raised my right palm to stop Rory—my private maid—from asking any more questions. The young she-wolf had not fully shapeshifted yet and was assigned to work here until she could transform completely.

However, that was not the issue right now.

I lifted the tip of my long-fitted deep purple dress and walked down the corridor, with Rory following behind me.

As if understanding what I was thinking, Rory did not say anything and just trailed along silently. Somehow, that only made me more irritated because it meant that now I was slapped with the reality that I was no longer the Luna of the Eclipse pack, but rather an ex-fiancee cast aside and humiliated in public.

I gritted my teeth weakly, trying to keep my composure as I passed servants or guests who were outside the hall. They looked confused as to why I, who should be inside and happy, was instead leaving the hall with a face as cold as ice, avoiding the room.

I already knew that Adrian had never liked me since childhood. I have known Adrian since we first met as children.

Adrian, the man with dark red hair, despised being controlled and confined. He rejected the idea of arranged marriages between families since a long time ago, but the adults thought it was just the mischievous behavior of a teenage boy, not realizing that Adrian could be this adamant.

I was lost in my own thoughts for too long. I did not realize I had reached the door of my room—or soon to be Grace's room. This room in front of me was supposed to be a gift when I ascended to the position of Luna, but now it would not be mine, or never.

"Go away, Rory. I want to be alone."

"Alright, My Lady. If you need anything, I'll be behind the door." Rory complied and bowed her head obediently.

I nodded a little and walked past Rory, slipping into my own room. It was spacious, for sure, with a fancy, huge bed right in the middle. It had white silky sheets and fluffy pillows that were just shouting "luxury." The walls had nice coquette tapestries on them, and these twinkly crystal things were hanging from the ceiling, making the whole place glow softly and feel a bit magical.

My style was all over the place–feminine, elegant decorations and classy stuff everywhere. Clearly, I did not like messy things. Maybe it was because I grew up in a big house where I did not have to do much. Being the future Luna of some important group had its perks. I had a bunch of servants ready to help with anything I needed, from getting me ready for the day to picking out my dresses.

And then, out of nowhere – Bugh!

I dramatically flopped onto the giant bed, hiding my face with a pillow. I was so annoyed... like, seriously annoyed!

"Arghh!"

"Damn Adrian, damn, damn!"

Ugh, ugh, ugh!

I punched that innocent pillow with raw emotion, creating a muffled thud and a rather deep dent in the light white cushion that matched my hair color.

"He's really messing with me. You think you're the only one struggling all this time? You think you're the only one feeling like your neck's being choked by family rules? You selfish bastard, I'll definitely kill you if I see you again..."

I stopped myself in the middle of my rant as I mercilessly attacked the pillow in my hands, treating it as if it were Adrian's ugly face—though he was kind of handsome, I almost liked him back when we were teenagers—and stared at it for quite a while.

"Ugh, Bella, what on earth are you doing?" I asked myself, feeling embarrassed and depressed because I could not control my emotions.

I had managed to keep them in check all this time, but all my pent-up emotions exploded when that selfish jerk acted on his own and humiliated me and the Hawthorn family, which had been a cornerstone in the Eclipse alliance for generations. Almost every decade, the Eclipse pack's Luna had always come from the Hawthorn family, seen as the right person to lead alongside the Belmonts.

I fell silent for a moment, lost in thoughts about what my life would be like if I did not become a Luna. I could not imagine anything beyond being a Luna, as my entire life had been dedicated to preparing for it, and now everything was shattered.

"I bet Mom will take me to another alliance and try to make me their Luna," I muttered. I was not sure if I felt relieved that my mom, who failed to become a Luna and instead married a Beta, now ambitiously wanted me to take that position, or if I felt sad because I had no path of my own.

"No, I can't be sad. Let Adrian have that human girl as his Luna. I'll go to another pack, a stronger one, with an alpha who's more handsome, way handsomer than that damned Adrian. I'll ask Mom to find me—"

Once again, I paused mid-sentence, my expression turning somber. I clenched my fists, feeling ashamed of myself for still relying on my mom for a problem I should handle on my own.

"I have to sort this out without involving anyone," I murmured while biting my lower lip. I was determined to find a way out of this mess on my own. Even though I was unfamiliar with the outside world, I knew that having two Luna in one pack was not possible. One of them had to leave, or worse, be eliminated to avoid threatening the other Luna.

"If this continues, Dad will surely be furious and cause a commotion. There might be a war within the alliance, and if that happens, the safety of my people will be at risk, hunted by Adrian and his troops." I sat with a worried expression. I could not let this situation get worsen.

I needed to do something about it.

I needed to prevent it from happening.

I closed my eyes and tried to come up with a plan, keeping them shut for a good five minutes before reopening them with a plan that seemed beyond rational.

"Sigh—I don't know if this will work or not, but I have to try. I don't want to put the Hawthorn people in danger because of me."

The Hawthorns really care about their pride, and they would not accept if their pride is slightly hurt. And that foolish Adrian... he ended up waking an old sleeping werewolf.

I then stood up, took a determined deep breath. I quickly searched the bedside table, grabbed a piece of paper, a pen, and an inkwell. I wrote something long, switching papers when I made mistakes. After finishing the letter, I neatly folded it and put it on the table next to my bed.

"That should do it," I mumbled, exhaling with relief, hoping that this letter would be enough to halt the impending war in the alliance, a consequence of Adrian's foolishness.

I then continued to pack my belongings into the cloth bag I usually brought for picnics. I filled the bag with a few long dresses, a couple of sets of underwear, and a jewelry set, along with a box of gold coins for emergencies.

Indeed, I was planning to run away from home. By doing so, my father would not start a fight over his daughter's failure to become Luna and the being underestimated in the alliance.

However, I was not truly running away. It was just a fake escape.

The truth was, I intended to head to the private Hawthorn villa on the south side of Forks, the suburbs territory of the Eclipse alliance. I would stay in the villa until my mother found a new place for me to live without facing further embarrassment.

I had also penned a special letter to my mother, stating that I would return once she found a new pack with an alpha much more handsome and charismatic than that cursed Adrian–of course I meant it, I did want a revenge too when someone hurt my pride.

"Hmmm, this should be enough," I gazed at my packed belongings with a satisfied feeling. It was my first time packing my stuff, so I was not sure what else to bring. I did not want to call Rory because she would just create ruckus and failed my fake escape attempt.

"Oh, should I bring Mr. Shelby?"

Mr. Shelby was my beloved wolf plush, a gift from my father on my 7th birthday.

"No... you're grown up now, Bella. You don't need to bring Mr. Shelby," I firmly shook my head.

I had to leave quietly if I did not want to be forced back. That was why I had to leave tonight so that by tomorrow morning, I would already be at the villa. I double-checked all my belongings and grinned slightly.

"Alright, I'm ready to go now."

But when I opened my room door to hurry away, my eyes widened as I saw two figures in all-black clothes standing behind the door, welcoming me. Each of them held a dagger and stared at me with fierce eyes—their faces covered by black fabric, leaving only the eye area shining with bright red pupils under the moonlight.

"W-who are you?" I took a step back, ready to escape.

Are they here to kill me? Is it because I'm no longer a Luna candidate? Did... Adrian send them? Does he hate me so much that he wants to kill me?

"We're nobody. Just doing our job, so relax and come with us, young lady."

My eyes widened as one of them stepped forward towards me. I screamed loudly, "No! Anyone, please—hmmmppp! Ahhhh!"

Bugh!

My vision started to darken as a harsh impact hit the back of my neck. Damn—how did they know my weakness?

I began to lose consciousness as my body was forcibly carried away from the Belmont mansion, into the darkness of the woods.

Who on earth that... sent them?