Page 58 of Nyte's Rejected Luna

“Thompson,” I gasped, looking at the Beta at my side.

“Why would I have rejected you as Luna?” Thompson yelled back at Silva, seeming not to have heard me call out to him. “I loved you like a sister! I still care about you!”

“You won’t remember,” she spat. “The spell I put over you to forget is still as strong as ever. But the rejection of the pack is not forgotten by me. The only one who was there for me was Lord Aidas. He accepted me as his chosen mate, and I accepted the power he offered me.”

“He tricked you!” I yelled, gaining back the attention of the Beta and dark witch. “He manipulated you and the pack. He forced you into solitude so he could be the only one there for you.”

She rolled her blackened eyes at me, dismissively flicking her wrist at me. “Aidas doesn’t have that power over me. You should know just as well as me that vampire’s compulsion doesn’t work on witches.”

“No,” I agreed. “But it does work on werewolves.” I pointed to Thompson, his eyes widening as he looked between me and who should have been his Luna. “He compelled the pack to reject you. Isolating you from those who cared about you the most and whispered promises of love and acceptance. But his words were empty.”

A sharp dart of magic flew past my ear, the buzz mixed with the whooshing sound of the air.

“Stop trying to distract me!” she shrieked. “He loves me! He loves me more than anyone ever has! He chose me!”

“Markus chose you!” I yelled back. “And even as your spell confused him, he still chose you! He wasn’t looking for me. He was always looking for you. The missing piece of his soul, darkened by the curse you placed on him to forget your bond.”

“No!” she screamed, hurling more magic at me. I narrowly blocked her barrage, pulling Thompson to my side to protect him from the ricochet of her powers. “Markus rejected me for his pack! He didn’t want me! He didn’t want a witch for a Luna!”

“And yet, he kidnapped me because in his confused state, he still knew that his Luna was a witch. Even with your spells, he still chose you!” I yelled back, pushing against her power. “To his dying breath, he swore that his mate was a powerful witch. He threatened his own pack if they didn’t accept that. He loved you so powerfully that all the magic in the world couldn’t stop him!”

“NO! Stop it! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” the witch screamed, her attacks becoming more frenzied.

I could feel her panic in each burst of magic against my shield and her confusion at my words. The truth in my voice as I told her. They were the truth, I had seen it all. I saw the way the vampire lord slipped past the werewolves, whispering into their ears to reject the witch they had all grown up with.

He filled their minds with fear of the power she possessed — lies of how she could turn on the pack. She wasn’t good enough for the pack. She was a danger to the pack. It was those words, compelled into the minds of the pack members, that had turned them against their would-be Luna. And the words that slipped into the mind of Markus were just as cruel and filled with lies. He had convinced him that she had cast a spell over the Alpha, leading him to believe that their bond was false.

“I saw it!” I yelled over the noise of her power going out of control. “The fates showed me it all in a vision of the past. He doesn’t care about you, Silva! He never did! He just needed a witch to help him with his quest to return to the old ways—the way he lived before awakening to this new world. He felt your power and knew you were the perfect candidate to help him. He just needed you to trust him and only him!”

“You’re lying!” she screamed, a harder wave of magic hitting against my shield. She was so filled with fury and heartache as she knew deep in her soul that I was telling the truth. No matter how hard she was fighting against it. “You’re the one trying to manipulate me! I don’t believe you!”

I pushed a pulse of my magic at her, knocking her off her balance as I did. A rush of despair rushed through the bond from Nyte. I turned to look at the void, screaming out to him to not give up and reminding him that he could do this. He was the only one who could. My shield held as I reassured my mate, my attention returning to the dark witch on the other side of the spring water as I felt his confidence return. Her gaze was now on the vortex of miasma, fear sparkling in her eyes as she must have known what was about to happen. This was the end, but I wouldn’t allow her to go without knowing and understanding the truth.

“Silva, look at Thompson. Look at the emotions in his eyes. The compulsion is gone. Your spell to make him forget the bond ever existed removed the compulsions from his mind. He cares about you as only a Beta could care for his pack Luna.” I stepped closer to the water's edge, sending my ice magic out to form a bridge to walk across. “He would never have willingly rejected you. He cares about you. Markus cared about you. I can see it in your eyes that you still hold love for them. That it kills you inside to be against them. Let me show you what the fates shared with me.”

I held out my hand to her, watching her eyes move from me to the vortex at the center of the cave as its winds began to slow, the power inside shifting.

“Let me help you,” I begged, dropping my shield.

Thompson yelled for me to stop. Madi’s voice soon joined his on the other side of the spring, but I ignored them both. I stared into the inky depths of Silva’s eyes, willing her to trust me, if only for a moment. Her hand clasped into mine, the sparks of the vision flashing between us, and I showed her everything.

Memories belonging to Markus flashed around us. The moment he knew she was his mate. The joy filling his heart filled our chests. His adoration and admiration of her power and ability. I watched her eyes fill with tears, glistening like polished onyx stones. Then, the vision shifted, revealing the truth of the vampire she had claimed as her chosen mate—the darkness he leaked into her and how he accomplished it. She watched as the man she thought was her savior turned everyone she had ever cared for against her.

As the visions slowed, coming to an end, she watched as her true mate’s life ended, his heart shattered and mind scattered as he searched for the mate he felt but couldn’t find. She let out a shaken breath, releasing my hand as she fell to her knees and clutched at her heart. A pained scream filled her lungs. Markus’s name was on her lips as she mourned his loss.

“Do it,” she gasped out, looking back up at me with tears in her eyes. “Send me back to my mate. Cleanse my soul of this darkness so I can be with him again.”

I gathered the magic I needed in my hand, whispering the cleansing spell required to help save her. I closed my eyes against tears, feeling a tear escape.

“I fill you with light and send your soul to Summerland to rejoin with your other half. May the gods guide you safely.”

Chapter twenty-eight

Nyte

Dust filled the air of the cave, the sounds of retreating vampires stampeding through the tunnels of the caves echoing around. Their leader was gone. The ancient vampire lord was nothing but dust in the wind. This fallen aura was proof of his end, and now his minions flooded the caves in an attempt to escape.

I could hear their screams as they met with the other packs at the entrance of the cave. If all went according to plan, no vampire would leave this forest alive. My attention moved in search of my mate, searching for her purple-streaked hair. Although I could feel her near, her life force strong through our bond, the lack of visuals spiked my heart rate.

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