Lycan Prince Saves Rejected Mate

The basement of the pack house was cold and damp, the only light coming from a small barred window near the ceiling. Three days had passed since Emma's funeral—a ceremony I wasn't allowed to attend. My daughter was gone, buried without me, and I was left with nothing but the echo of Matias's rejection and the weight of Amelie's triumphant smile.

I curled into the corner of the stone floor, my body aching from the Alpha command that had kept me immobile for hours after I'd tried to leave with Emma's body. The walls seemed to close in around me, but in this isolation, something stirred within my mind—a connection I'd almost forgotten.

"Kyle," I whispered into the darkness, focusing on the faint thread of our childhood bond. "Kyle, can you hear me?"

It had been years since I'd reached out through our mind-link. As children, before he left for the European Lycan Kingdom, we'd been inseparable. His grandmother had found him injured near our territory border, and I'd been the one to comfort him during his recovery.

To my surprise, warmth flooded through the link almost immediately.

"Vivian?" Kyle's voice in my mind was just as I remembered—deep, gentle, concerned. "Is that really you?"

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me. "Yes, it's me."

"I've been trying to reach you for months," he said, his mental voice filled with relief. "What's happened? Are you hurt?"

"I should have left with you," I whispered, the words catching in my throat. "Eight years ago, when you asked me to go to the Lycan Kingdom. I should have gone."

Silence stretched between us for a moment before Kyle responded, his voice firmer now. "I never stopped waiting for you, Vivian. Not for a single day."

A sob escaped me as I pressed my forehead against my knees. "Emma's gone," I whispered. "Matias rejected me publicly, and the shock... it killed her. Our daughter is gone."

I felt Kyle's anguish through our connection, his rage at what had been done to us. "I'm coming for you," he promised, his voice low and determined. "Hold on, Vivian. I've loved you since we were children, and I'm not letting him destroy you."

"I've loved you too," I admitted, the words feeling like both a confession and a release. "I was just too blind to see it."

A sudden alarm blared through my mind, cutting our connection. The basement door burst open, flooding the space with harsh light. Amelie stood there, her perfect features twisted in mock concern.

"Oh, Vivian," she cooed, holding up her phone. "Did you really think pack surveillance wouldn't catch your little mind-link session?"

My blood ran cold as I realized what had happened. She'd recorded everything.

Within minutes, I was dragged before Matias in his study. The recording played on repeat—Kyle's voice promising to come for me, my confession of love, our plans to leave.

"Betrayal," Matias snarled, his Alpha aura expanding until it pressed against my chest like a physical weight. "Conspiring with the Lycan Prince against your own pack."

"She's not conspiring against the pack," Amelie corrected sweetly. "Just against you, darling."

Matias's eyes flashed dangerously as he stalked toward me. "Confess," he growled, his Alpha command forcing the word from my lips.

"I confess," I whispered, unable to resist.

"To conspiring with enemies of the Moonstone Pack," he pressed, his aura slamming me against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.

"Yes," I gasped, blood trickling from my lip.

Matias grabbed my throat, lifting me until my feet dangled above the floor. "I should exile you to rogue lands right now," he hissed. "Let you face what's out there without pack protection."

Amelie's hand on his arm stopped him. "Not yet," she murmured. "First, let's remind her of what happens to the weak."

Hours later, rain lashed against the windows of the old training facility as thunder cracked overhead. Matias had dragged me there, his grip bruising on my arm.

"You need to learn your place," he said coldly, shoving me inside.

The door creaked open behind me, and I turned to find Jackson—the rogue who had assaulted me years ago—standing there with an evil grin.

"Well, well," he drawled, stepping closer as lightning illuminated his scarred face. "Look how far the mighty Luna has fallen."

My lungs constricted as panic clawed up my throat. "No," I whispered, backing away until I hit the wall. "Please, no."

From the doorway, Matias watched impassively as Jackson advanced toward me, his eyes gleaming with malice in the storm's intermittent light.

"This is what happens to weak wolves," Matias said coldly. "You'll face the consequences of your weakness, Vivian. And you'll learn your place."