The Omega Who Dared

Bella's POV

Jaxon rose from the bed immediately, unmistakable shock flashing across his face the moment the words left my mouth.

For a brief second, he simply stared at me. Control was everything to him.

He thrived on commanding others, on being obeyed without question, on watching people bow beneath his authority.

The thought that I—an omega, worse, the illegitimate shame of his father's beta—would dare stand before him and reject him was something he had never imagined.

He stepped closer, his eyes roaming around the room as though searching for the true speaker.

It was as if he refused to believe those words had come from me.

"You are an omega," he said at last, his expression hardening into one of contempt. "My beta's illegitimate disgrace. Wolfless on top of that, with no hope of ever awakening your wolf."

A mocking scoff escaped him.

"Reject me?" He let out a cold laugh. "I think I didn't hear you correctly, Bella."

"You've never wanted me, Jaxon," I replied quietly, meeting his gaze without looking away. "For three years, your eyes have always been on Peony—your lover."

I paused, drawing in a slow breath before continuing.

"Isn't it better if we finally end this charade and go our separate ways? Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Even as the words left my lips, I knew they would never reach him.

Only moments ago, I had walked into these chambers intending to reconcile with him.

I had planned to warn him about my family's schemes and stop their plans from succeeding.

Even after everything...

Even after years of neglect, betrayal, and humiliation...

A part of me had still wanted this marriage to survive.

Jaxon slowly shook his head, disbelief still clouding his features.

"You can't reject me, Bella," he snapped, his voice rising. "Without me, you are nothing."

He took another step closer until barely any space remained between us.

"The title you carry. The clothes on your back. The respect people pretend to give you."

His lips curled into a cruel smile.

"I gave you all of it."

His voice grew colder with every word.

"How dare you be so ungrateful as to think you can reject me?"

His anger swelled, as though sheer force alone could push me back into submission.

I didn't understand.

Wasn't this what he had wanted all along?

Hadn't he spent the last three years treating me like an unwanted burden, counting the days until tradition would finally release him from our bond?

Even Peony looked taken aback.

She hurried toward him without the slightest hint of embarrassment, wrapping herself around his arm as though staking her claim.

"Come on, Jaxon," she coaxed sweetly. "Just reject her before she rejects you. Isn't this what we've always wanted?"

She smiled confidently.

"The three years are finally over. Why are you hesitating?"

"I never told you I was going to reject her," Jaxon muttered sharply as he pulled Peony closer, completely unaware that every word reached my ears.

"She is my fated mate."

His jaw tightened.

"Without her, my wolf weakens."

He lowered his voice further.

"I told you I would make you Luna tonight and demote Bella to a concubine."

His next words made something inside me shatter all over again.

"My wolf needs her."

Peony's smile faltered.

For the first time since I had entered the room, uncertainty flickered across her face.

That wasn't enough for her.

She had never wanted to share.

"Are you rejecting the Alpha because he loves me instead of you, Bella?" she asked suddenly, turning toward me with innocent-looking eyes and a voice soft enough to fool anyone who didn't know her.

I remained silent.

I knew exactly what game she was playing.

"It's not my fault he never wanted your bed," she continued smoothly as she took another step toward me.

"It's not my fault he never looked at you during the three years you were together."

A smug smile tugged at her lips.

"You should have known what you were getting into when you stole my lover from me."

She tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Are you angry because he bought me gifts?"

Her smile widened.

"Or because he chose to spend your third anniversary with me instead?"

I met her gaze without flinching.

"Say whatever you came here to say, Peony," I answered calmly. "Just make it quick. I don't have time to waste."

There had once been a time when those words would have destroyed me. Now they barely stirred anything inside me.

I wasn't rejecting Jaxon because of Peony.

She still didn't understand that.

"You see, Peony?" Jaxon sneered, his confidence returning. "She can't reject me."

He laughed mockingly.

"She was bluffing."

"My father's wealth rivals even that of the Lycans."

"I gave her power and status. Without me, she is absolutely nothing."

His gaze settled on me with complete certainty.

"And she knows it. The Moon Goddess herself knows she'll come crawling back to me."

His words pushed Peony closer to the edge.

I could see the realization settling across her face.

Jaxon had never intended to reject me. Not once.

No wonder Father and Paul had been so desperate to frame me for infidelity.

After three long years...

Every one of Peony's attempts to replace me had failed.

Whenever Peony tried framing me for crimes I had never committed or turned the pack against me, she had always failed.

The pack respected me for everything I had done for Moonstone Pack.

At least, most of them weren't blinded the way Jaxon and my father were.

They still remembered how Peony's decisions in the past had thrown the pack into disorder, and how I had been the one forced to clean up the aftermath each time.

That was why her countless attempts to replace me had never truly succeeded.

"No, Jaxon," I said, my voice sharp, steady, and completely unwavering. "I, Bella Maxwell, reject you as my mate and my Alpha. Under the skies that bore us, I sever the bond that binds us together."

I spoke before he could sink any deeper into his arrogance.

Before he could convince himself that I would always remain beneath his feet.

"How dare you, you lowly omega!" Jaxon roared.

For the first time since I had known him, genuine shock crossed his face.

He had never believed I would actually go through with it.

The rejection struck him immediately.

His body staggered backward as the force of the broken bond crashed into him.

Blood spilled from the corner of his lips, and he quickly wiped it away before forcing himself back to his full height, refusing to show weakness before anyone.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't amusement.

It was cruel.

The laugh of a man who believed he still held all the power.

The moment he noticed my own strength rapidly draining away, satisfaction flickered across his face.

"I won't accept your rejection, Bella," he mocked, his voice dripping with contempt. "I am an Alpha. My blood is strong enough to withstand this pain."

His eyes narrowed as he looked down at me.

"But you..."

He smiled without warmth.

"You're just a weak, pathetic omega."

His voice dropped lower.

"Tell me... how long do you think you'll survive once my refusal begins tearing you apart?"

Agony spread through every part of my body.

It felt as though invisible claws were ripping through my chest, trying to force the bond back together against my will.

A scream rose to my throat.

I swallowed it.

I refused to let him hear my pain.

He couldn't bear the thought of being rejected.

Especially not by an omega he had spent years looking down upon.

This had never been about love.

It was about control.

And for the first time, that control had slipped through his fingers.

Realizing there was nothing left for me in Moonstone Pack, I slowly turned toward the door.

I couldn't remain here any longer.

Not after everything that had happened.

Not after finally finding the courage to walk away.

I had barely taken a few steps before more than a dozen warriors stormed into the room.

Jaxon had summoned them through the pack mind link.

They surrounded me in an instant before rough hands seized my arms, preventing me from moving any farther.

"Lock her in the dungeon!" Jaxon commanded, his voice echoing through the chamber.

"No food or water."

His expression twisted into something terrifying.

"And anyone who dares help her..."

He paused just long enough for fear to settle over every warrior present.

"...will watch their entire bloodline beheaded."

"Let me go!" I cried as they dragged me toward the door.

I struggled with everything I had left.

I kicked and pulled against their grip.

I fought with every ounce of strength still remaining inside me.

It was useless.

They were stronger than I was.

More importantly...

They feared Jaxon's wrath far more than they pitied my suffering.

As they dragged me away, my eyes found Peony's.

I had expected satisfaction.

Instead, she looked furious.

Her eyes burned with frustration rather than triumph.

Not because I had rejected Jaxon.

But because Jaxon had refused to let me go.

Instead of rejecting me, he intended to imprison me until I broke, surrendered, and begged him to take me back.

That was never the outcome Peony wanted.

A chill crept down my spine as our eyes remained locked.

I knew that look.

I had seen it before every scheme she had ever orchestrated.

This time...

She wouldn't be satisfied with exile.

She wouldn't stop until I was gone for good.