AFTER REJECTION: THE OMEGA RISES

The next day, I heard that Selene had gone abroad.

I thought it must have been due to the rejection, and neither did I ever think that she was coming back.

Who knew that she would come back and sweep my man into her arms? Isn’t that ironic?

Unlike me, Selene had this bright, cheerful smile and her pale frame just seemed to bring out a certain charm around her. If one were to see her, the first word that would pop up is how innocent she looked.

She had this charm that could make no man say no to her, but I, on the other hand, was notoriously known as the man hunter in school.

I sat still for a moment, staring at my hands cradled in his. Darius’s touch, once a source of warmth and safety, now felt cold and foreign. His hands had been mine once, always holding me through storms and laughter.

But now, my thoughts churned with images of where they’d been, who they’d touched—Selene.

A knot of disgust twisted in my stomach, and my wolf stirred within me, her anger simmering just below the surface.

The thought of him with Selene, their moments of intimacy, made my wolf’s snarl reverberate in my mind. I wanted to scream, to lash out, to let my wolf take over and shred his betrayal to pieces.

My chest burned with emotions I couldn’t name, and before I could stop myself, I yanked my hand away from his as if his touch had scalded me.

Darius blinked, clearly surprised. “Nia,” he said, his voice tinged with confusion. “What’s wrong? I already said I was sorry. Why are you giving me this attitude?”

“Attitude?” The word tasted bitter on my tongue. My voice rose, fueled by a fire that had been smoldering for weeks. “Oh no, Darius. If I were giving you attitude, you’d already be on the ground.”

His face hardened, his brows furrowing as the warmth in his voice evaporated. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I’m weak?”

I let out a bitter laugh that scraped against my throat. Shaking my head, I muttered, “Who knows?” My tone was sharp, mocking, and I could see the flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

Darius’s frown deepened, and his hands clenched at his sides. “I came here after a long day, Nia. I wanted to see you, and this is how you treat me? Is this the thanks I get?”

“Treat you?” I shot up from the couch, the movement abrupt and jarring. My chest heaved as I glared at him. “You think you deserve kindness from me? Thanks? After what you’ve done?”

His jaw tightened, and his gaze sharpened. “This is exactly why I spend time with Selene,” he snapped, his voice sharp enough to cut. “At least she knows how to be gentle.”

The words struck me like a physical blow. I froze, the air sucked from my lungs as the room tilted slightly. My chest tightened, and my wolf howled in fury, her growl echoing in my head. My mind raced to process what he had just said.

“Selene?” My voice trembled, the single word heavy with disbelief and pain. “You’re blaming me for your running to her?”

He didn’t meet my eyes, shrugging as he muttered, “You just don’t get it.” Reaching for his coat and laptop bag, he added, “I didn’t come here to fight, but you always make things harder.”

The indifference in his tone ignited something deep within me. My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms as I fought to keep my voice steady. “If that’s how you feel, then go. Run back to her. That’s what you’ve wanted all along, isn’t it?”

He paused at the door, his back to me. For a brief moment, I thought he might turn around, say something, anything that would make this pain less unbearable. But he didn’t. Instead, he walked out, the soft click of the door echoing in the silence.

The room felt suffocatingly quiet. My legs gave out, and I sank onto the couch, burying my face in my hands. Memories flooded my mind—Darius holding my hand during our first hunt, laughing as we raced through the woods, his whispered promises under moonlit skies. He had been my everything, my protector, my home.

And now, he was gone.

Tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. My wolf whined softly, her sorrow intertwining with mine. She had always been fierce, unyielding, but even she couldn’t mend the gaping wound in my heart.

As I sat there, the faint chime of a phone broke through the silence. My eyes landed on the device resting on the coffee table—Darius’s phone. He must have left it behind in his hurry to leave.

“Great,” I muttered, my voice hollow. I didn’t intend to touch it. I didn’t want to invade his privacy, even after everything. But as the screen lit up with a notification, curiosity clawed at me.

The message was from a contact labeled “My Queen.” My stomach twisted, and my wolf’s growl rumbled in the back of my mind. I didn’t need to guess who it was. I knew. Selene.

My fingers hovered over the phone, hesitating. A part of me screamed to leave it alone, to walk away and hold on to the last shred of dignity I had. But another part, the part consumed by anger and betrayal, urged me to look.

The message wasn’t just text. It was a picture. My breath hitched as I swiped at the screen, trying passwords I’d memorized from years of being by his side. His, mine, ours. None worked.

Frustration mounted, and my hands trembled as I tried the last option I’d sworn I’d never use. Selene’s birthday. The numbers burned into my memory from years of watching her shadow our lives.

The phone unlocked.

I let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow and broken. Of course, it worked. Of course, she was the one he trusted with his secrets.

I opened the message, the image downloading with agonizing slowness. Each second felt like a lifetime, my chest tightening with every breath. When it finally loaded, the picture was a hospital report.

The words leaped out at me, cruel and undeniable: Pregnancy Test. Positive.