The Wolf King Rejects Luna (Part One)

Maya Carter is seventeen, unranked, and tired of being treated like she's disposable. She runs track at Northside High, keeps her head down, and tries to survive a town split by pack territory and street rules. But everything changes the day Kingston Blackwell—the boy everyone calls the future Wolf King—rejects her in public and makes sure the whole school hears it. The rejection doesn't just break her heart. It paints a target on her back. Now the Pack Council is watching her like she's a problem that needs to be handled. Serena Lane is smiling like she finally got permission to finish Maya off. And Southside is paying attention in a way that feels dangerous, like they're deciding what Maya is worth. Maya doesn't have protection. She doesn't have rank. She's got a mom who needs her, a best friend who refuses to let her fold, and a pride that won't let her beg for a boy who humiliated her. Kingston swears he rejected her for a reason. That it was "for her safety." But Maya's done believing pretty excuses from powerful people. If the Wolf King wants to make things right, he'll have to earn it—because this time, Maya's not the one chasing. She's the one deciding who gets to stay.