The Alpha's Rejected Blossom

Leon didn’t come home that night.

After I refused to cook for Elara, he blocked my number, severing the last thread that bound us. I didn’t bother with the aftermath of his tantrum; instead, I took a trip back to my hometown, hoping to gather fragments of my childhood, a time when life felt more innocent and less entangled in deception.

felt a familiar unease settle in my stomach, as the bus rolled to a stop, I had no idea what Leon had told my mother. The moment I stepped off the bus, I saw her waiting at the door, her eyes scanning the street for Leon, when she realized he hadn’t come with me, her face darkened, like a storm cloud threatening to unleash rain.

“What’s wrong with you? Haven’t you both made up yet?” she asked, her voice strained with a mix of concern and disappointment.

“We're not going to,” I replied, a spark of defiance igniting within me. But the moment the words left my mouth, my mother’s hand flew across my cheek. The slap stung, a sudden heat blooming on my skin, and before I could react, she followed up with furious blows, her rage unrestrained.

“Finding a man as good as him is a blessing you’ve earned over several lifetimes! Can’t you see how lucky you are?” she spat, wielding a wooden stick like a weapon, striking me with a viciousness I hadn’t experienced since childhood. Each hit seemed to echo the disappointment she felt, reverberating in my chest as I fought back tears.

“You listen to me you ungrateful girl!,” she screamed, “I don't care how you do it—begging, getting pregnant—you better find a way to marry Leon! Don’t bother coming back here if you can't!”

The cold wind howled, and rain began to pour, drenching me as I stood there, helpless and heartbroken. My mother stopped only to shove me away, throwing my belongings out into the storm, each item a painful reminder of the life I had lived under her expectations.

I bent down, trying to salvage the scattered memories of my youth, when a Bentley rolled to a stop beside me. Leon emerged, an imposing figure against the downpour, holding an umbrella in one hand and grabbing me with the other, his grip like a vice.

“Celeste, have you finally learned your lesson?” he barked, dragging me into the car. “No one in this world will ever love you except me, be a good girl and come back home, apologize properly to Elara, and you’ll still be the future Mrs. Maddox.”

He threw his coat over my shoulders, the scent of Elara's perfume clinging to the fabric, nauseated me. I turned my head to look out at the rain-soaked streets, feeling utterly numb inside, like a wolf stripped of its pack.

I used to consider Leon my salvation before, confiding my deepest fears and desires to him, now I realized he'd manipulated those very pains to control me, his love twisting into something toxic. He had never been my refuge. If I wanted to escape this nightmare, I had to sever everything single thing binding me to him.

I sat in silence, contemplating my next move, Leon’s phone rang, breaking the tension. “Leon, why aren’t you here yet? Everyone’s waiting for you,” a voice chirped on the line.

“They’re questioning me about the pack's camp retreat, ” Leon replied, irritation lacing his tone. “They want to know how it's going to be this time around according to them, It can’t just be the boss attending while his mate is nowhere to be found, I’m running out of ways to respond to them…”

He shot me an awkward glance, the gears in his mind turning as he realized the optics of leaving me behind wouldn’t be favorable. “Celeste, why don’t you come along to the camp retreat?”

The invitation felt like a cruel twist of fate. In the past, I was never allowed to set foot in his world. Even when I brought him meals, I had to wait outside, a mere shadow of his life. This was an unprecedented ‘gift’—one that I couldn’t refuse.

I took out a tissue to wipe the blood from my forehead, the metallic tang mixed with the rainwater on my skin. I felt the familiar pang of rejection rise within me, but I forced myself to respond slowly, “Okay.”