THE BILLIONAIRE WHO REJECTED HIS LUNA

ADRIAN

The doors closed behind Elena, and I didn't move. For several seconds I could still see her standing there in my mind - the tears in her eyes, the trembling of her hands, the way she'd looked at me as if I'd become someone she no longer recognized.

My wolf was howling. *Go after her.*

I clenched my jaw. *We have to bring her back.*

*No.* I couldn't. Not yet. If I ran after her now, everyone would know the rejection had been a lie, and if the wrong person discovered that, Elena wouldn't make it through the night.

"Adrian."

My uncle's voice pulled me back. I turned slowly. Damien Sterling stood at the edge of the ballroom, his expression as calm as ever - too calm. "Was that really necessary?" he asked.

I stared at him. "You told me it was the only way."

"It was."

My hands curled into fists. "You promised me she would be protected."

"She will be."

"You don't know that."

Damien's eyes narrowed. "Control yourself."

A bitter laugh escaped me. "Control myself?" I stepped closer. "I just rejected my mate in front of the entire pack."

"You did what was necessary."

"Necessary?" My voice dropped. "She looked at me like I killed her."

Damien didn't respond. He didn't care - that was the problem. He had never cared about Elena. Not once.

I turned away from him. My mother's voice came from behind me.

"Adrian."

I looked at her. She was pale. "You need to leave," she said quietly.

"I know."

"Now."

I frowned. "Why?"

Her eyes moved toward Damien. Something passed between them, something I didn't understand.

"Mother?"

She lowered her voice. "Go find Elena."

I stared at her. "Uncle said-"

"I don't care what your uncle said."

Damien's expression hardened. "Margaret."

My mother ignored him. "If you truly love that girl, go."

I looked between them. "What aren't you telling me?"

Neither answered.

Then my phone vibrated. I pulled it from my pocket - one message, unknown number. I opened it, and my blood turned cold.

A photograph of Elena, walking through the forest. The picture had clearly been taken tonight. Underneath it, six words:

*You have until midnight to choose.*

I stared at the screen. Another message arrived.

*Her life or your kingdom.*

My breathing stopped.

Damien noticed my expression. "What is it?"

I showed him. For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes. "Where did you get that?"

"Someone is watching her."

He took the phone from my hand, his face hardening as he read the message. "Don't go after her."

I snatched my phone back. "What?"

"You heard me."

"You just told me she was safe."

"I said she would be."

"You lied."

Damien's jaw tightened. "There are things you don't understand."

"Then explain them."

"I can't."

"Can't?" I stepped toward him. "Or won't?"

He looked at me for a long moment. Then he said something that made my blood run cold.

"If you go after Elena tonight, people will die."

I stared at him. "Who?"

He didn't answer.

"Who, Damien?"

"Everyone."

The word hung between us. My wolf growled. I looked toward the doors, still feeling the broken mate bond - a faint ache, like a wound that refused to close.

Elena thought I didn't love her. She thought every moment we'd shared had been a lie. Maybe that was better. If she hated me, she might stay away. If she stayed away, perhaps she'd survive.

I closed my eyes. Five years ago, I had made a promise - that I would never hurt her. Tonight I had broken it. But there was something she didn't know: I'd been forced to choose between breaking her heart and watching her die.

I chose her heart, because I could survive her hatred. I couldn't survive her funeral.

I opened my eyes. "I'm going after her."

Damien stepped forward. "Adrian."

I ignored him. "Get the security team."

"You're making a mistake."

"No." I looked him directly in the eyes. "I've already made one."

I walked away. Behind me, Damien's voice followed. "If you find her, don't tell her the truth."

I stopped. Slowly, I turned around. "What truth?"

He said nothing. I waited. Still nothing.

Then my mother whispered, "Your father knew Elena's family."

My entire body went still. "What?"

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "That's why this started."

I stared at her. "What did my father know?"

Before she could answer, the lights in the ballroom suddenly went out. A scream came from the hallway. Then another. The security alarms began blaring.

My wolf surfaced instantly. *Something is wrong.*

I reached for my phone. No signal. I looked at the doors as two guards came running inside.

"Alpha!"

"What happened?"

"We've lost contact with the northern security team."

"Where?"

"The forest."

My stomach dropped. "Elena."

I ran.

---

### ELENA

The rain had turned the forest into a blur, and I could barely see where I was going. My dress was soaked, my feet were bleeding, but I kept running. I didn't know who was chasing me. I didn't know why. I only knew that stopping meant dying.

A branch caught my arm. I cried out but didn't slow down.

Behind me - footsteps. Someone was coming, fast. I glanced back. Nothing. Only darkness.

Then I heard it. A growl, deep and close. I froze. My wolf stirred. *Not human.*

Something moved between the trees. I stepped backward. "Who's there?"

Silence. Then two silver eyes appeared in the darkness, and my heart slammed against my ribs. The creature stepped forward - a wolf, huge, black as midnight. I couldn't move. It stared at me, not like a predator, but like it knew me. Then it lowered its head.

My wolf whispered one word: *Run.*

I turned. Too late. A hand clamped over my mouth, and I struggled violently as a man's arm wrapped around my waist.

"Don't scream."

I bit his hand. He cursed and released me. I spun around. A stranger stood before me - black clothes, a black mask, a knife in his hand.

"Where is it?"

I backed away. "Where is what?"

"The pendant."

My hand instinctively moved toward my neck, toward the silver pendant my mother had given me when I was sixteen. His eyes followed the movement. "There."

I ripped it off. He lunged. I threw it into the darkness. He swore and ran after it, and I turned and sprinted.

But after three steps, I heard a gunshot. The stranger screamed. I stopped.

The enormous black wolf stood over him, blood staining its muzzle. The stranger crawled backward. "Please-"

The wolf growled. Then it looked at me. Our eyes met, and something strange happened - my chest warmed, and my wolf went completely silent. The black wolf turned and disappeared into the trees.

I stood there, trembling. Then I heard another sound: a car. Headlights appeared between the trees. I stumbled toward the road as a black SUV stopped, and the passenger door opened.

A woman stepped out. She looked at me, then at the blood on my dress, and her face changed. "Oh, goddess." She rushed toward me. "Elena?"

I froze. "How do you know my name?"

She grabbed my hand. "Because your mother told me to find you."

My heart stopped. "My mother?"

She nodded. "She said that if Adrian rejected you-" she looked toward the dark forest, "-I was to take you somewhere safe."

I stared at her. "Where?"

The woman opened the car door. "Somewhere even Adrian can't find you."

I hesitated, then looked back at the forest. For one strange second, I thought I saw those silver eyes again - watching me, protecting me.

I didn't know who the wolf was. I didn't know who was hunting me. And I certainly didn't know why my mother had prepared an escape route years before tonight.

But I knew one thing: my life had changed the moment Adrian rejected me. And whatever happened next, I would never be the same woman again.