Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the King

The morning sun filtered through my office windows, casting long shadows across the mahogany desk where I'd spent most of the night reviewing pack documents. Sleep had been impossible after the ceremony—every time I closed my eyes, I saw that boy's innocent face calling Mason 'daddy' in front of our entire pack.

A soft knock interrupted my brooding. "Come in," I called, not bothering to look up from the inheritance papers spread before me.

Mason entered, his usual confident stride replaced by something more cautious. He'd changed from his ceremonial robes into casual clothes, but the tension in his shoulders remained rigid. The mate bond between us felt like a severed nerve—raw, painful, and utterly broken.

"Annabelle, we need to talk." His voice carried that familiar Alpha authority, but I heard the uncertainty beneath it.

I finally raised my eyes to meet his, noting how he avoided direct eye contact. "About what, exactly? Your seven-year-old revelation? Or perhaps the forum posts detailing your secret family?"

He flinched at my cold tone. "About moving forward. About what's best for the pack."

"How noble of you to suddenly care about the pack's wellbeing." I set down the legal document I'd been studying—a detailed analysis of bloodline inheritance rights that would prove very useful soon. "What do you want, Mason?"

He straightened his collar, that nervous tell I'd learned to recognize over the years. "Ethan—the boy—he deserves opportunities. I want to enroll him in our elite youth training program."

The audacity stole my breath. "You want me to approve your bastard child for pack training?"

"Don't call him that." Mason's voice sharpened with protective anger. "He's innocent in all this. He has strong Alpha traits, Annabelle. The bloodline is undeniable."

"Undeniable." I repeated the word slowly, tasting its bitter irony. "Yes, his parentage was certainly undeniable last night, wasn't it?"

Mason stepped closer to my desk, his hands braced on the polished surface. "He needs proper training. As a friend's pup, he could—"

"A friend's pup?" I stood abruptly, my chair scraping against the hardwood floor. "You want me to legitimize your affair by pretending your son is just some random child we're helping out of kindness?"

"It's the best solution for everyone involved."

"For everyone? Or just for you and your mistress?" The words came out sharper than intended, but I felt no regret. "Tell me, Mason, how long did you plan to keep this charade going? Another seven years? Until he was old enough to challenge for Alpha status himself?"

His jaw clenched. "You're being unreasonable."

"Unreasonable?" I laughed, the sound hollow in the spacious office. "I think I'm being remarkably reasonable, considering my mate has been living a double life for most of our relationship."

"The boy didn't choose this situation," Mason said, his voice taking on that pleading quality I'd never heard before. "He deserves the same opportunities as any pack child."

"Then perhaps you should have thought of that before you decided to father him in secret." I moved around the desk, putting distance between us. "My answer is no."

"Annabelle—"

"No." The word carried the full weight of my Alpha bloodline, and Mason actually stepped back. "I will not approve his enrollment. I will not pretend your betrayal is some charitable act. And I will not enable your continued deception."

Mason's composure finally cracked. "He's just a child! Whatever anger you have toward me, don't take it out on him."

"My anger?" I touched my father's signet ring, drawing strength from the legacy it represented. "You mistake me, Mason. I'm not angry—I'm done."

Something in my tone must have warned him, because his Alpha instincts sharpened. "What do you mean?"

But I was already moving toward the door, the inheritance documents tucked securely under my arm. "I mean I have some research to do. Elder Marcus Thornfield and I have much to discuss about bloodline inheritance rights and pack leadership authority."

Mason went very still. "Annabelle, what are you planning?"

I paused at the threshold, looking back at the man who had been my destined mate, my partner, my greatest betrayal. "I'm planning to remember who I am, Mason. Something I should have done years ago."

As I walked away, I heard him call my name, but I didn't turn back. The Robertson bloodline had tolerated enough humiliation. It was time to reclaim what was rightfully mine.

My phone buzzed with another forum notification—Natasha's campaign was escalating, just as I'd expected. But let her try to tear me down publicly. She had no idea what she was truly up against.

After all, she was just a pack member with ambitions.

I was Alpha-born.