The Alpha’s Public Rejection

I paused, savoring the way his face drained of color in an instant, then delivered the final blow:

"Remember this—your pup was lost in a miscarriage... Do you understand?"

Those words, "lost in a miscarriage," I spoke so softly, yet the pain of them nearly stole my breath.

"No!"

Darian grabbed the clay vessel from the bedside and hurled it at me.

"You're lying! This is my pup! Mine!"

Selene followed him in, her expression troubled.

"Selene, you can't let him take our pup away!"

Darian turned to Selene for help. That word "our" cut into my ears like a blade.

Selene looked at me, her face full of conflict.

"Kael..."

I leaned close and whispered in her ear:

"The eastern territory... Elder Alaric values it greatly. It happens to be in the hands of my close ally."

Selene's body went rigid.

That eastern territory was the Ashbourne Pack's most important strategic expansion for the next decade. It was also the key to proving her worth to Elder Alaric.

She whipped her head around to look at me. There was anger, unwillingness, and a trace of fear in her eyes.

She drew a deep breath and said to Darian: "The pup... let Kael raise him. It will be proper and legitimate."

I turned to my pack liaison and gave the order:

"Go. Bring that pup to my transport."

I walked out of the healers' chamber and made another call.

"Handle all the arrangements."

"I need healer records showing my mate Selene lost a pup due to an accident. And prepare new birth-mark registry documents for this pup. The mother's name will be Selene Ashbourne. The father's name can only be Kael Stormclaw."

Soon, louder arguing erupted from the chamber—the sound of things being thrown, and Darian's anguished howls tearing through the air.

I looked down at the young boy who had been forcibly brought to my carriage.

He stared at me with eyes so like Selene's, filled with fear and hatred.

A cold smile curved my lips.

Selene left the healers' den quickly, but though her body returned to our estate, her heart remained with Darian.

Her message crystal was always glowing with communications from that male.

Selene, I miss Rowan so much. Can you make him give our pup back to me?

I don't want anything else anymore. I just want our pup.

Selene, I can't go on living. That day his wolves pushed me down and I hit my head. The healers say I have damage to my skull. Am I going to die?

This pretty-faced rogue knew exactly how to manipulate Selene.

He never attacked me directly. He only kept emphasizing his suffering and his longing for the pup.

All to make me look "cruel" and "heartless."

Every time she read his messages, her brow furrowed deeper, and then she would find some excuse to rush away.

One early morning, Selene was gone. The pup was locked in his room by my order.

Darian appeared at my den's entrance like a ghost, his eyes full of venom.

"Kael Stormclaw, don't think you've won."

"Your unlucky pup—I'm the one who told Selene to get rid of it."

"That night, Selene had too much moonwine. She kept sending me messages through the bond-link."

"I simply told her that your pup would become an obstacle for me someday..."

"I asked her to spend more time with me."

"I never expected that after she ended our connection, she would actually go arrange the termination. What happened after that..."

"Your pup was lost because you weren't strong enough to protect it. You can't blame anyone else."

"You're just raising my pup for me. Don't celebrate too soon!"

He finished his gloating words and turned to leave.

Every word was like a red-hot brand, searing into my heart.

So that was how it happened...

I closed my eyes. My hands, hanging at my sides, trembled violently. My claws dug deep into my palms until the thick taste of blood spread through my mouth.