All Chapters of Rejected then Claimed by the Alpha: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Serena’s POV Mirah’s perfume reached me before her voice did, cloying and over-sweet, as if someone had poured syrup over something already spoiling, trying to mask the rot instead of cleaning it. “I thought you’d be gone by now.” I didn’t turn toward her because I didn’t need to. Only one woman in Moonclaw knew how to smile as if it were a blade, and I recognized her presence before her words even finished echoing. Mirah. She stepped into place beside me on the stone path as though we were two old friends taking air together, but every movement of hers carried the calculation of a performance. Her heels clicked gently with each step, her dress pressed so perfectly it seemed ironed into her skin, the color of it deliberately chosen a white too deliberate, too practiced, too planned. She looked like peace, but she carried war in her hands, and I knew it before she even opened her mouth again. I chose silence, because silence was the one thing she couldn’t twist into somet

Serena’s POV Later that night, when I sat on the edge of my bed with the photo clutched in my hands, staring at the face of the man who had abandoned me before I even existed, I couldn’t decide what I felt anger for what he never gave me, grief for what I would never know, or hunger for a connection that maybe was never truly there. His features looked sharp but not unkind, his eyes steady but not cold, and his mouth almost almost like mine, though I wasn’t sure if it was real or if I was forcing the similarity because I wanted it too badly. I didn’t hear the door open, but I felt itthe shift in the air, the weight of his aura filling the room before the man himself appeared. My grip on the photograph tightened, and slowly, I lifted my gaze. Kael. He stood in the doorway, tall and broad in black, his presence cutting through silence with that unbearable gravity he always carried, his eyes finding the picture before they found me. He didn’t speak for a long moment, only watch

Third Person POV “Why are you avoiding me?” Mirah’s voice struck the air before Kael even had the chance to move further into the room, and although it carried no scream, it clung sharp to the walls, filling the space as though she had rehearsed it. Kael didn’t flinch, nor did he bother to mask the stillness that wrapped around him; he simply closed the door behind him with deliberate care, turned the lock with a soft click, and let silence settle heavy between them. She stood near the bed, her robe tied tightly at the waist as if it were armor, her hair pinned in that careful, half-loose way that gave the illusion of effortlessness while betraying the hours of calculation behind it. She looked, as always, like the Luna everyone bowed to. But to Kael, she no longer looked familiar—she looked like a stranger rehearsing someone else’s role. “I’m not avoiding you,” he said, his voice flat, steady, as he moved to the window and placed one large hand on the frame. The moon hung

Serena’s POV The knock came sharp and cold, cutting through the silence like a blade. I didn’t need to ask who it was. Only one person knocked like the world owed her something. I opened the door slowly. Mirah stood there in cream silk, her pregnant belly on full display now, her expression lit with fury that she didn’t bother to mask. “You think this is over?” she hissed before I could speak. “Think you’ve won?” I blinked once. “What?” “You told him something,” she snapped, stepping into my space without permission, her voice like venom. “You poisoned his mind, that’s why he ordered that test behind my back.” I didn’t move. “I haven’t spoken to Kael.” Her eyes narrowed, disbelief flashing across her face. “Don’t play innocent with me. He wouldn’t have doubted me unless you planted something—some whisper, some look. You’ve been dripping lies into his head ever since you walked back into this house.” “I didn’t know he ordered a test,” I said quietly. Mirah laugh

Serena’s POV He picked me up that cool evening and told me we were going for a ride. That we didn’t have to talk or do anything more like he already knew what I was going through and just wanted to do something for me. Little did he know how much I needed this. I didn’t ask where we were going. I didn’t even care. The silence in the car felt different from the silence at home. This one wasn’t heavy or suffocating it was lighter, almost gentle. The windows were down, the night air rushing in, carrying that salty tang from the sea even though we hadn’t gotten close yet. Kael didn’t fill the space with useless words. He just drove. One hand on the wheel, the other resting loosely against the leather of the armrest. His jaw was relaxed, eyes forward, like he had all the time in the world. Like the world wasn’t falling apart inside me. The city lights blurred behind us as the roads stretched wider and emptier, and I found myself leaning back against the seat, letting the wind lift