Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By The Beast

ky

e raging beneath my flesh. My heart pounded, a war drum in my chest,

ripped apart with a few cruel words. But here, in the depths of the forest, ano

me, his golden eyes gleaming wit

ping back. Distance. I needed distance be

something I chose?" He closed the gap between us in a single stride, hea

e mate bond doesn't work that way. I already had a m

back on what was given to him. Fate does not tolerate weakness

le storm I couldn't control. "You don't know me

his unreadable expression o

unsettled, instincts screaming that nothing about this moment was normal. The mate bond

can't you?" he mur

the lie past my lips. Every nerve in my body was att

ispered, more to myself

If I were not meant to find you, I wouldn't have." His fingers twitched at his si

d left me raw, open, vulnerable. But Julio's words st

y screamed for me to run, to flee from whatever this was be

to accept it tonight," he said, voice quieter now. "But th

e shadows, his presence lingering lon

my arms around myself, star

tr

already changed. And I wasn't su

s Mat

l clung to the air, a bitt

ghting the urge to chase after her. Nikky was gone. She had

ace in an Alpha's heart. The pack needed a Luna who could stand at my side without

my pack still ec

jecte

ed mate, and he

of Alpha

ed to show it. Nikky would understand one day.

ll throb in my chest. The bond was severed. She meant nothing to me now

ky

rough the dense canopy of trees. Sleep had evaded me,

ection. The pull of somethi

m my arms. The forest had been my refuge, a place to hide from t

Not a wolf. Something else. The scent hit me first-sharp, metallic. Blo

Three of them. Their bodies tensed, poised

I was an easy target. My wolf snarled, but she was weakened, her

rogue swiped at me, claws raking across my arm. A choked cry left my lips. I wouldn't survi

ous blur of movement. The sound of bones snapping filled the a

li

e nothing more than leaves in the wind. Blood splattered across the ground, bodies

, golden eyes burning with something raw and danger

watched me like he was waiting for s

pulled me from the edge of destruction without hes

ath left my lips

smile never reached his e