All Chapters of Rejected by my Alpha, claimed by his mate: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The Blood Crescent warrior smiled.Actually smiled.Like this entire situation amused him.My pulse hammered violently as he stepped fully into the room, splintered wood crunching beneath his boots.Behind him, the hallway had become chaos again.Shouting and growling.The unmistakable sound of fighting.But none of it compared to the fury tearing through the bond.Darius was close.Very close.And absolutely enraged.The warrior tilted his head slightly while staring at me.“You’re smaller than I expected.”I backed away immediately toward Miranda.She was already pushing herself upright against the wall, breathing unevenly.Blood stained the corner of her mouth.My chest tightened.The warrior noticed.“Aw,” he mocked softly. “Protective already.”“What do you want?” I demanded.His black eyes shifted back toward me slowly.“You.”Simple answer.Terrible answer.Another pulse of rage slammed through the bond so hard my chest physically hurt.The warrior’s smile widened.“There it is

The room went deathly silent.Even the storm outside seemed quieter somehow.My pulse hammered painfully in my ears as I stared at the Alpha King.“She’s not who you think she is.”The words repeated in my head over and over without making sense.Darius’s body remained rigid in front of me.Protective and threatening.His hand still rested near my waist like he was prepared to tear apart anyone who came closer.Including a king apparently.The King held Darius’s stare calmly.But tension thickened the air instantly.Dangerous tension.“What exactly are you implying?” Darius asked coldly.The King’s gaze shifted back toward me slowly.His expression had changed.Not just shock anymore.Recognition.And somehow that felt worse.“What’s your mother’s name?” he asked quietly.I frowned immediately. “What?”“Answer the question.”Something sharp entered his tone that made my instincts recoil.Darius noticed too.“You don’t interrogate her.”The King ignored him completely.His eyes never l

The silence afterward felt dangerous.Not quiet but dangerous.Darius still held me firmly against him while shattered glass glittered across the floor around us. Rain poured violently through the broken windows, cold wind tearing through the room.But none of that mattered compared to the look in everyone’s eyes.Miranda looked stunned.The King looked deeply concerned.And Darius, Darius looked like he’d just realized something he both wanted and feared at the exact same time.“You’re responding to me.”The words echoed heavily in my head.“No,” I said immediately.Too quickly.Too defensively.Darius’s jaw tightened slightly.The bond pulsed again.Not anger, not hurt just fantastic.Because apparently now I could emotionally injure people telepathically.“I didn’t mean”Another violent wave surged beneath my skin before I could finish.Pain ripped through my chest again.I gasped sharply.Darius reacted instantly, one hand moving against the back of my neck while the other tighten

The room exploded into silence.Not shock, Nlnot confusion but domething worse.Disbelief.My pulse stumbled violently as Kael’s voice echoed through the fortress again.“Return the heir… or watch your kingdom burn.”Every instinct inside me rejected what I’d just heard.No.No, that didn’t make sense.Kael came here to warn Darius.Kael fought Blood Crescent warriors.KaelThe bond between me and Darius twisted sharply.Suspicion, anger, protectiveness but not directed at me instead at Kael.The King’s expression darkened instantly. “He’s with them.”“No,” I said immediately.Too fast and too emotional.Darius noticed.Of course he did.His gaze shifted toward me slowly.“You still trust him.”“I didn’t say that.”“But you want to.”The words hit harder than they should have.Because part of me did.Despite everything, despite the rejection, despite the humiliation.Part of me still struggled to believe Kael would become this.A traitor.Outside, another distant explosion rattled the

The silence afterward became unbearable.Nobody moved, nobody spoke.My pulse hammered painfully against my ribs as the guard’s words echoed through my head.He’ll kill Kael first.Outside, the fortress continued shaking beneath distant explosions and battle cries, but suddenly all of it felt far away.Because despite everything, despite the rejection, despite the humiliation, despite the confusion, the thought of Kael dying still hurt.Darius felt it instantly through the bond.Pain twisted sharply between us.Not jealousy.Something sadder.Like he already knew exactly what I was thinking.The King broke the silence first.“This is manipulation.”“No,” I whispered quietly.Everyone looked at me.“He means it.”The Black Wolf wasn’t bluffing.I somehow knew that with terrifying certainty.Darius stepped closer immediately. “You are not leaving this fortress.”I looked up at him slowly. “And Kael?”His jaw tightened.The bond darkened painfully again.“He made his choices.”The words