REJECTED

CHAPTER THREE** — REJECTED

*HAZEL*

“The… mating bond,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes widened in shock, and his grip loosened as if he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just felt.

“Impossible,” he said, shaking his head.

No way.

No way in the goddess’s cursed earth.

Don’t tell me Lucian D’Ardern, Alpha of the Silver Crescent Pack… is my mate?

He stepped back, putting distance between us as if I were fragile glass. But that space twisted something tight in my chest. I wanted him closer—closer enough to feel the heat of his touch, the brush of his breath, the pull of his scent.

This… this was a feeling I’d never experienced before. Or maybe this was what a mating bond did—made you feel the impossible, the things you weren’t supposed to feel yet.

My phone buzzed.

Caller ID: Lyria.

I hesitated. Should I answer? Or focus on Lucian, who—no, who was my mate?

Before I could decide, he turned and walked away, that shocking look still lingering, each step heavy, tense with…something I couldn’t name.

“Wait!” I ran after him, gripping his arm. “Where are you going?” My voice was soft, almost fragile.

“I need air,” he sply, his hand slipping from mine.

Air. Of course. He was still in shock. The girl he’d bought as property… was now his mate.

I swallowed, a strange mix of envy and longing tightening my chest. I had to make a choice.

I raised my phone. “Hey… Lyria.”

“Where in God’s name are you?!” she demanded, sharp panic slicing through the line.

How could I possibly explain the whirlwind of everything that had just happened? That I was sold—and that the Alpha King himself was now my mate?

“I… found my mate,” I managed to say, my voice trembling.

The line went dead. Lyria’s last scream still echoed in my ears, but I barely heard it. My thoughts were consumed by him—the Alpha who had just changed my life forever.

***

Night fell. Lucian still hadn’t returned.

I tossed in my room, restless, aching, the bond tugging at me like an invisible thread. Something inside me whispered, find him… find him… he’s yours…

I stripped off my clothes, the air on my skin doing nothing to cool the heat that pulsed through me.

A knock.I opened the door.

Lucian.

Not the confused one from before.

This one—Alpha, predatory, claiming.

He pressed me against the wall, mouth crushing mine, tongue searching, teeth grazing.

“I will make you mine, Hazel,” he breathed against my lips.

“It’s… my first time,” I whispered.

“It won’t hurt,” he said.

And yet, it hurts. Pleasure and pain tangled, intoxicating.

When he thrust inside me, everything shattered and rebuilt in one breath. Something sharp grazed my neck—

“Ah—” I gasped.

He bit down. Marked me. Claimed me.

I belonged to him.

And he to me.

***

Morning light.

I reached beside me—he was still there, staring.

“Lucian…” His name felt sacred on my tongue.

“Hazel,” he murmured. “Your soul and body belong to me now.”

He rose and dressed, precise, elegant, Alpha.

“Can I call my friend over?” I asked quietly.

“Yes. I’ll see you later.”

“When?” I whispered.

“The ball.”

Before I could ask why, he was gone.

Evening. The living room was no longer a living room.

It was a ballroom—wide, royal, glittering. Music floated, soft and elegant. Noble wolves and ranked members moved in expensive clothing.

My heart hammered, as my eyes caught him.

Why was he holding a mate-seeking ball… when he already had a mate?

My gaze froze.

Lyria.

At the entrance.

Silver silk. Eyes narrowing.

She wasn’t supposed to know. I haven't even told her.

Before I could react, Lucian’s voice boomed:

“I will be claiming my mate today”

Goodness. He is finally dropping the news, my stomach curled with excitement.

“Lyria Nightwell,” he announced, pointing the mating ball at her.

My stomach sank. What’s Lucian doing? Am I your mate, Lucian? I muttered under my breath. And why the darn hell is he calling out Lyria?

Lyria walked toward him, elegant and confident. She looked ravishing, which alone made my heart twist. I wasn’t half of what she looked like.

“Lyria Nightwell bears the mark of the true Luna. You all will have to follow her as the new pack Luna.”

“Lucian!” I screamed, and everywhere went silent. The fact that he told me he would meet me on ball night, and now he was claiming Lyria as his mate—and totally making me look invisible before him—was driving me crazy.

“I’m your mate! What are you doing? What do you have with her?” I said as I darted my eyes over to Lyria. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

All eyes on me almost made me fall.

I don’t know what she’s thinking, but this is not the Lyria I know. The Lyria I know wouldn’t want to hurt me, regardless of how much she knows about me.

“Speaking of which, my hands got to this,” he said, a paper dangling in his hand, his voice echoing, “because someone else cared enough to bring it to me.”

His gaze fell on me—it was cold as ice.

My stomach churned

My heart thudded violently. What’s he talking about? What does that have to do with… this whole thing?

He raised the letter to the room.

Then he read aloud:

“Lucian will be announcing our union sooner or later. When he does, I will be his luna. I will make sure our pup is safe till you arrive and claim the silver pack.”

Gasps erupted.

“That’s not me!” I muttered, my hands visibly shaking. “I didn’t write that!”

“Lucian,” I whispered. “I never wrote—”

 “—Are you doubting if it's actually written by you?” he said, cutting me off, ice in his tone.

“Yes. I don’t… I don’t believe it’s mine.”

He descended the platform, standing right before me.

“Look,” he said.

He brought the letter close to my face.

Every stroke, every curl, seemed to be mine.

It was my handwriting, perfectly.

“No!” I gasped. “Lucian, that’s impossible—someone forged it—”

“That is your script. We both know it,” he said, voice sharp.

He continued.

“He won't find out I used black magic for a mate bond. With that, he will have to claim me faster, so the pup will look like it's his.”

Hazel.

I staggered backward, terror and disbelief crushing me

He didn’t blink.

He didn’t breathe.

“Hazel Valenhart,” he said, voice final, cold. “I reject the mating bond. This was fabricated with black magic. A trick. A lie; A way into my pack.”

My heart splintered, and I felt the threads ripping my heart apart. “Am your mate Lucian.” Tears were already streaming down my cheeks.

“With black magic. I don't think you will survive outside of this pack with your pup and foolish self” 

“She.” I followed his finger as he pointed.

Lyria.

“bears the mark of the true luna, ” I could sense the thread lingering between them

Those words struck me like a physical force, I was back to being an object, tossed like dirt am always referred to as, I was never close…never close to becoming what I wanted.

“He waves his hand at me, dismissing me. “Take her away.”

“No!” I scream at him in agony. “Lucian!” I shout again, but it falls on deaf ears as I’m dragged out of the mansion.

And then…Lyria. Smiling, Eyes glinting with poison.

She whispered just for me:

"You really shouldn't have taken what's mine, Hazel."

I read those words through her lip movements.

“I hope you survive what's coming next, Lucian,” I screamed, almost ripping out my throat.