From Rejected Mate to Luna Chapter 13

Nathan's POV

I slammed my fist on my father's desk, making the nameplate that read "Robert Reynolds, Alpha" rattle. It was a plaque that would soon bear my name instead, yet he continued to undermine me at every turn.

"You just embarrassed me in front of a Beta and his daughter," I snarled, pacing like a caged animal. The morning light filtering through the blinds did nothing to brighten my mood. "What kind of message does that send to the pack?"

My father leaned back in his leather chair, observing me with that infuriatingly calm expression I'd grown to hate. His salt-and-pepper hair and the lines around his eyes marked him as a seasoned Alpha, but his methods were becoming outdated. Weak.

"What kind of message does it send when the future Alpha throws a tantrum because someone spoke their mind?" he countered, his voice measured. "This isn't leadership, son."

I scoffed, turning to look out the window at what would soon be my territory. The community center bustled with morning activity—pack members going about their business, security team members patrolling the perimeter, all of them soon to be under my command.

"Julia White disrespected me," I said through gritted teeth. "She questioned my authority."

"She questioned your behavior," my father corrected. "There's a difference."

What my father couldn't understand—what no one seemed to understand—was how utterly unworthy Julia White was to be my mate. The Moon Goddess had made a mistake, plain and simple. Julia was nothing—a quiet, awkward girl who preferred plants and books to proper pack activities. The very thought that she could have been destined to stand beside me as Luna was laughable.

"You're too easily angered lately, Nathan," my father said, interrupting my thoughts. He stood up and walked around his desk, placing a hand on my shoulder that I immediately shrugged off. "Perhaps it's time you visited some neighboring packs."

I narrowed my eyes. "For what purpose?"

His expression softened in a way that made my skin crawl. "Maybe the Moon Goddess will give you a chance. A fated mate connection could help stabilize your emotions."

"What?" I spat out the word like it was poison. "I don't need a mate to 'stabilize' me!"

The very suggestion was insulting. I was Nathan Reynolds, future Alpha of the Star Shadow pack. I didn't need anyone to complete me or make me whole. And I certainly didn't need my father suggesting I was somehow broken without a mate.

"Is this about Julia White again?" I asked, unable to keep the disgust from my voice. "That girl will never be worthy of respect in this pack, no matter how many times you defend her."

My father's expression hardened. "Watch your language. Julia is a member of this pack and daughter of our Beta. She deserves basic courtesy."

I laughed bitterly. "Courtesy? For whom? Everyone knows she's strange. Always has been, ever since we were kids."

My mind drifted back to elementary school, when Julia would bring her little notebooks filled with drawings of plants and their supposed healing properties. The other children would gather around during lunch, fascinated by her knowledge, but I saw it for what it was—weakness. A distraction from what truly mattered in our world: strength, dominance, loyalty to the pack.

"Your mother and I think having a mate by your side when you begin your leadership would be good for you, son," my father continued. "Just as I had her."

My father had gotten lucky with his mate—my mother was beautiful, socially adept, the perfect Luna who hosted pack gatherings and mediated disputes with grace. She complemented him in every way.

Julia White was nothing like that. She was quiet, awkward, always hanging back at pack events instead of participating like a proper wolf. Even after her transformation in high school—losing the baby fat, growing into her features—she was still fundamentally the same Julia who preferred squirrels and plant samples to pack politics.

"Julia White was always a liability," I muttered. "A Beta's daughter who acted like she didn't belong in our pack. Who would prefer to study bugs and leaves than attend social functions."

"And that bothered you," my father observed, not a question but a statement.

I smirked, not bothering to deny it. "She made herself an easy target. Walking around with her head in the clouds, collecting plants when she should have been trying to fit in."

"So you admit you bullied her."

I shrugged, unapologetic. "I made sure she understood her place in the hierarchy. Someone had to."

There was a certain pleasure in seeing Julia isolated at pack gatherings, in watching her shrink into herself when I'd walk by with my friends. The way her scent would spike with anxiety when I entered a room—it had been intoxicating, a confirmation of my power even before I officially held the Alpha title.

"And now?" my father pressed. "She's gone to university now, and I can see she's trying to avoid conflict with you. But you still won't let her be."

"She may have escaped to college, but she needs to be back," I said, a slow smile spreading across my face as I thought about the future. "And she'll learn that nothing has changed. She still belongs here, degree or not."

My father shook his head, disappointment evident in his eyes. "This vendetta against her is beneath you, Nathan. It's not worthy of an Alpha."

But he didn't understand. Julia White represented everything I despised—weakness disguised as sensitivity, oddity masquerading as uniqueness. Worse, the Moon Goddess had tried to saddle me with her as a mate, a cosmic joke I refused to accept.

"When she returns from university permanently, she'll find her place," I said with quiet determination. "And it won't be as my Luna, and it certainly won't be as some respected pack healer. I'll make sure of it."

My father opened his mouth to respond, but I was already heading for the door. I'd heard enough of his lectures about leadership and compassion. Soon enough, I would be Alpha, and everyone—including Julia White—would understand exactly what that meant.

The pack was mine. And I decided who belonged in it, and how.