All Chapters of The Alpha King's Rejected Mate : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

ARIAThe dress was pulled so tight around me that breathing fully was hard. The deep red fabric pressed against my chest, squeezed my ribs, and clung to my hips, as if it had been made to keep me trapped.The high slit along my leg was the only reason I could move at all. Sitting would be impossible unless I lifted the gown first. I already knew I would not be allowed to do that.This was exactly what my father wanted.The only time my father wanted me seated was when I was on someone's lap. Straddling them. On purpose. Tonight, that lap belonged to Alpha Alaric Stonefang of the Ironwill Basin Pack.This night decided my future. Not freedom. Just a different cage. I was leaving my father's rule and stepping into another man's control. I knew nothing about Alaric. Not his temper.Not his habits. Not what he was like when no one watched him. All I could do was hope he was better than my father. That hope was small. Anyone had to be better than Victor Blackwood."Smile," Victor growled a

KAELThe small red-haired woman did not speak once during the drive. She did not look out the window. She did not shift in her seat. She did not ask where we were going. She sat perfectly still, hands clasped in her lap, her face blank, like whatever was inside her had already gone quiet.When the car stopped, my men opened the doors and helped her out. She did not fight them. She followed them to the hotel room without a sound.The trip had been quick. Fifteen minutes, maybe less. Brex's suggestion. Somewhere close, in case I never made it back to the Grand Moon Hall. He always thought ahead. Usually, I respected that.My phone buzzed in my pocket. Then again. I ignored it. Someone would pull Brex's attention away soon enough. They always did.I still did not fully understand why I had taken the redhead from the ball. At first, it was simple. A reason not to go back inside. An easy escape. But the truth came quickly after. Alaric Stonefang had found his mate tonight.And it had not b

ARIAI was pretending to be brave. I did not really know how to be rough or quick. I did not know how to be soft or slow either. All I knew was that his gaze kept coming back to me, over and over, and my heart had not slowed since the instant I noticed him.This was the first decision I had ever made without fear. I wanted Kael. I would never see him again, and he would be the only one who knew the truth.A secret. I barely had any. I wanted this one. I needed it. Something to keep. A memory that was mine alone.And Kael Nightborne of Goldenreach would be enough.His hands moved over my skin, light but sure, and my breath began to falter. When he leaned closer, my body trembled without my permission.“Are you changing your mind?” he asked softly as his hands slid under my shirt.I did not answer. I lifted the shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor. I wet my lips, afraid to speak. If I did, I might tell him to stop. Or I might beg him to keep going.He was very good at pullin

KAEL I forced my shoulders to loosen as I settled deeper into the chair. The wood creaked under my weight. I focused on breathing slow and steady. I pushed everything else aside. This was work. This was duty.“Tell me about your house,” I said.When Alaric and his soon-to-be bride finally left, I returned to my room expecting quiet. I expected empty space and clean air.Instead, someone was already there.Corvin stood by the window, looking down at the street below. He turned when the door closed behind me and scanned the room with a look of mild disgust.“I don’t think bleach will solve this,” he said. “You might have to burn the whole place before the hotel lets another soul sleep here.”He wasn’t exaggerating. I had ordered the sheets changed the moment I left that morning. I had demanded the carpets scrubbed and the furniture cleaned. Still, the air was thick.It smelled like sex.And like her.“You were at the Grand Moon Hall,” I said.Corvin lifted one eyebrow. “And you weren’t

ARIA Her story sounded unreal, but I knew my father too well. Victor was praised by the Ironwill Basin Pack as an alpha who could do no wrong. They saw the golden wolf with the easy smile. The strong leader. The man everyone trusted. Most of them never saw what lived underneath that image. I did. I knew about the hunger he carried. I knew how badly he wanted control of Ironwill Basin. That was why my marriage to Alaric had been arranged in the first place.I had believed the bond would be political. A marriage to tie power together. I never thought it would be sealed with blood instead of vows. But the more I thought about it, the more it fit. Killing to gain power was exactly something my father would do.“Rook found me,” I said quietly. “You already got what you wanted, Lyra. Why did you come back?”“Alaric is a beast,” she said in a whisper. Her voice cracked under the weight of it. “I came back to see my father, and to get supplies. I needed to run. I can’t marry him. One day h