Chapter 10: The rejection

Serena

For five days, my mother asked the same question.

And for five days, I kept the answer locked behind my teeth.

“Who is he, Serena?”

It didn’t matter if I was sweeping the hallways, washing vegetables, or folding sheets—her voice would find me. Not always loud. Sometimes just a whisper when we passed in the corridor or shared silence in our small quarters. But always sharp. Always full of disbelief, disappointment… and a hint of desperation.

I’d tell her I was tired. That I didn’t want to talk. That I needed time.

But she never let it go. And I understood why.

She needed a name. Not because she was nosy. Not because she wanted to judge me. But because she wanted to protect me. And I couldn’t give her that.

I wasn’t protecting him.

I was protecting myself. From the shame. From her reaction. From the look I knew would fall over her face when I finally said the truth out loud.

Because once the name left my mouth, everything would change.

And tonight, I knew I couldn’t hide it anymore.

The storm finally came after dinner.

We had finished cleaning the main hall after the beta’s guests had left. I could still smell the red wine someone spilled on the rug. The house was quiet again. Too quiet. Like the walls were holding their breath.

Back in our quarters, I sat on the edge of my bed, trying not to throw up from the smell of the bleach still clinging to my hands. I’d barely had anything to eat. My stomach churned with a mix of hunger and dread.

Ma stood by the window, arms folded tight. She was still in her apron, her hair tied back in a bun that had started to come undone.

“I’m asking you one last time,” she said, not turning around. “Who is the father?”

My heart skipped.

“Please don’t do this tonight,” I whispered.

“I’ve asked you kindly. I’ve given you time,” she said, still calm. “But you keep choosing silence. You’ve been walking around this house like a ghost. Pale, jumpy, miserable. You’re barely eating. You cry when you think I don’t see you. You can’t keep going like this, Serena.”

I stared down at my hands. “I’m trying.”

“Trying to what? Kill yourself from the inside out?”

I bit down hard on my bottom lip.

Ma turned to face me now, and I saw it. That sharpness in her eyes, barely holding back the tears. Her voice was soft, but each word hit like a blade.

“What are you protecting him from?” she asked. “If he abandoned you, let me hate him. If he’s denying the baby, let me help you fight. But how can I stand beside you when you won’t even tell me who we’re standing against?”

I shook my head. “It’s not that simple.”

“Then make it simple.”

She took a step forward. “Is it someone in this house? A guest? A guard? A servant?”

I didn’t answer.

“Is it someone you love?” she asked gently. “Someone who hurt you?”

I looked at her.

Her breath caught. “You’re not saying anything… Does that mean you still care about him?”

That question hit too close.

She sat down beside me, and for a moment, her voice softened again.

“Serena, you are not the first girl to make a mistake. You won’t be the last. But this child, this life—your life—depends on the truth.”

I kept my eyes on the floor. I could feel her watching me, waiting.

The silence grew too loud. It echoed in my head like a drum.

I don’t know what pushed me in that moment. Maybe it was the ache in my throat, or the fact that my soul was tired of hiding. But suddenly, the name just… slipped out.

“Kael.”

She blinked.

I said it again, slower. “Kael.”

Ma blinked again. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

She stared at me for a long time, like she hadn’t heard me correctly. “What?”

I looked her dead in the eye.

“Alpha Kael. The baby is his.”

She shot to her feet.

The room spun.

“No,” she whispered. “Serena, no.”

Tears flooded my eyes. “Yes.”

She took a step back, like I had physically struck her.

“You’re telling me… Kael?” she whispered. “The Alpha?”

I nodded. “I’ve never known any other man, Ma.”

A trembling hand covered her mouth. “How… how did it happen?”

I hesitated, and then I told her everything. As much as I could get through without falling apart.

The party. The wine. His drunken stumble. The phone. Helping him up. The pull between us. The heat. The hunger. The eyes that wouldn’t look away.

“It just happened,” I finished. “I didn’t expect it. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t think he’d even look at me.”

My voice cracked.

“I thought maybe… maybe I mattered to him. Even if it was just for that night.”

Ma was frozen in place. Her mouth opened again but no words came out. Her face—usually so strong—was twisted with disbelief. And something worse.

Fear.

“You don’t understand what you’ve done,” she whispered, almost to herself. “You don’t know what this means.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“No, you don’t!” she exploded suddenly, pacing now. “He’s the Alpha, Serena! He is not a man. He’s a ruler. A beast raised in power and pride. You think a man like him wants a scandal like this tied to his name? A human maid? Are you out of your mind?!”

“I didn’t choose it!”

“But you let it happen!”

My hands curled into fists.

“I tried to forget,” I said. “I tried to pretend it didn’t mean anything. But I got pregnant, Ma. And now I don’t know what to do.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You’re carrying the child of the most powerful man in this territory. And he doesn’t even know. You think he’ll protect you when he finds out?”

I was silent.

“You think his Luna will allow it?” she said, voice rising. “You think the elders, the pack, the wolves who already see you as less than nothing, will accept this?”

She pointed to my stomach.

“Your life will be over, Serena. Both of your lives. You have no rank. No name. You’re not even a full-blooded wolf. And now you’ve brought a child into this world with the one man who can destroy everything with a single word.”

I dropped my gaze. “I know.”

“No,” she snapped. “You don’t know. Because if you did, you would’ve never kept this from me. We could have planned. We could have left.”

“I didn’t want to run,” I whispered.

She paused.

“I didn’t want to make you lose your job. Or force you to choose between me and survival. This… this is my burden.”

She let out a bitter laugh, full of pain. “You think I care about this job? I stayed here to protect you! I scrubbed floors and cleaned toilets and took orders for years just so you could grow up safe!”

“I’m sorry.”

She turned to the wall, pressing her forehead against it. Her shoulders shook as she cried silently into her hands.

I sat there, helpless. Watching my mother—this woman who had spent her life making me strong—fall apart.

It was the worst thing I had ever done.

Not sleeping with Kael.

Not getting pregnant.

But breaking her.

After a long while, she turned back to me. Her eyes were red. Her voice calmer, but broken.

“Does he know?”

I shook my head. “No. I never told him.”

“You have to,” she said. “Soon.”

“I’m scared.”

She knelt in front of me, took my face in her hands.

“I’m scared too,” she said. “But hiding this won’t save you.”

Tears slid down my cheeks.

“What if he denies it?” I asked. “What if he rejects me?”

She looked at me with eyes filled with something I hadn’t seen in days—resolve.

“Then we survive,” she said. “Like we always have.”

~~~

I had promised her.

I would tell him. Quietly. Calmly. With dignity.

Not for his sake—but for mine. For the child inside me. For the woman I was trying to become.

All morning, I rehearsed it in my head.

I imagined every version of his reaction. Denial. Rage. Indifference. I braced myself for all of it. I even told myself not to cry—no matter what he said.

But nothing could’ve prepared me for what actually happened.

The moment came late in the afternoon. The house was buzzing with activity—Mirah’s father had arrived with guests from another pack, and the kitchen staff were flying in and out preparing for Kael’s engagement party that evening. I had seen him earlier from the hallway, giving instructions to the guards.

His presence always changed the air—heavy, commanding, cold.

But today, I would speak. I would take back the power he stole with his silence.

I found him alone near the east wing stairwell, just as he stepped out of a meeting with the Beta. I tightened my fingers around the hem of my uniform and stepped forward.

“Alpha Kael?” I said, voice low.

He paused, turning. “Yes?”

I didn’t look at his eyes immediately.

“I… I need to speak with you. Just a moment. Please.”

Something in my voice must’ve caught his attention because he didn’t brush me off immediately. He glanced around, then nodded once.

“Make it quick,” he said, walking toward a quieter stretch of hallway beside the long arched windows.

I followed, my heart thudding.

He turned to face me, arms folded. “Well?”

I looked at him. The man I’d shared a night with. The man I had cried over. The man I was now afraid of.

“I…” My voice shook. “I need to tell you something important. About… that night.”

He stiffened.

I swallowed. “The night after your birthday. I know you were drunk. But something happened. Between us.”

His jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. “That night was a mistake.”

The words hit like a slap.

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said coldly. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but whatever happened—if it even happened at all—should’ve never occurred.”

My chest tightened. “You think I planned it?”

“I said it was a mistake.”

My eyes burned.

I didn’t even realize I had raised my voice until it echoed in the corridor.

Then I felt a sudden surge or energy to be bold

“Which part?” I snapped. “The part where you kissed me? Or the part where you pulled me into your arms? The way you looked at me like I meant something to you?”

He stepped back slightly, clearly surprised at my tone.

“You weren’t drunk enough to not know what you were doing, Kael,” I continued, my voice trembling with fury. “You touched me. You called my name. You made me believe, for one damn second, that I wasn’t just a maid to you!”

He looked around, growing more alert, more guarded. “Keep your voice down.”

“No,” I said, standing taller. “You don’t get to silence me. Not today.”

From the staircase behind us, I heard footsteps. Laughter. Voices.

Mirah appeared first—dressed in shimmering silver, a delicate veil around her shoulders. Her father followed, flanked by two elders. Behind them, guests arrived, all glowing with the joy of an engagement party not yet begun.

Kael’s eyes flicked to them—then to me.

“Get out of here,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “Now.”

But I stood my ground.

“I’m pregnant,” I said.

His face went pale.

“I’m carrying your child.”

The laughter behind us stopped.

Someone gasped.

I didn’t care.

Let them hear.

Let the walls themselves echo the words I’d been choking on for weeks.

Kael turned to me, horror flashing across his face.

“You must be insane,” he hissed.

“I’m not,” I said, voice louder now. “You know it’s true. I’ve never been with anyone else, and you—”

“You’re lying,” he said sharply. “You’re trying to ruin me.”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

“Because you’re human,” he said coldly. “And you’re desperate. Because you think a few tears and a scandal will force me to claim you.”

His words stole the breath from my lungs.

“I would never—”

“You’re a maid,” he growled. “A servant. You think you matter to me? You’re just a mistake I shouldn’t have made. And this… child? If it even exists, it’s not mine.”

A quiet fell over the hallway.

Everyone heard that.

Everyone.

Mirah stared, her lips curled in cold amusement. Her father looked disgusted. Guests whispered behind cupped hands. I saw the Beta frozen on the stairs, as if unsure whether to interfere or retreat.

Kael stepped closer to me now, his voice low but venomous. “You’re trying to blackmail me. To trap me. But I would never touch a human willingly. Do you understand? Never.”

My eyes filled, my knees wobbled.

“Now leave,” he said sharply, turning his back. “Before I have you removed.”

I didn’t feel my legs buckle, only the cold floor when I hit it.

Voices blurred. A scream—someone calling my name. My mother’s face somewhere in the crowd, rushing forward. Hands trying to lift me. Shouting.

Then darkness swallowed everything.

And I fell.