REJECTED BY THE ALPHA KING

CHAPTER 5: THE EVENT

Kai's POV

"Is the security company confirmed?" I asked Ravi as we rode in the car toward the charity gala venue. The car was sleek and dark, tinted windows showing nothing of the inside to the world outside. The leather seats were comfortable, and soft classical music played from the speakers.

"Yes, Alpha," Ravi said, reading from his phone. "Sharma Security Solutions. They are the best security company in the entire city. Very professional, very expensive, and very exclusive. The owner is personally going to oversee the event tonight. She apparently does not do many events in person anymore, so this is a big deal that she is coming."

I nodded, not really thinking about it too much. The business summit had left me with a strange feeling that I could not quite shake off. That woman I had seen at the summit, the one I caught the familiar scent from... I could not stop thinking about her. My wolf wanted her. Needed her. Craved her. And I could not explain why this was happening or what it meant.

The event was a charity gala for an orphanage in the city. It was good press for me as the Alpha King, and it was genuinely helping people who needed help. Even an Alpha King could care about that kind of thing, I suppose. Children deserved protection and care, regardless of whether they were wolf or human.

When we arrived, the venue was stunning. It was decorated beautifully with white flowers and gold lights that made everything shimmer. Hundreds of people in expensive clothes mingled and drank champagne. Classical music played softly in the background. Security was tight everywhere. I could see cameras on every wall and guards standing at every entrance and exit. Everything was under control. Everything was secure.

Then she walked in.

It was her. The woman from the summit.

She was wearing a long black dress that hugged her body perfectly, showing off every curve and muscle. The dress was simple but elegant, expensive but not flashy. Her dark hair was down now, falling in thick waves past her shoulders like dark silk. She moved with absolute confidence, like she owned the entire room. She looked like a goddess of war and vengeance. She looked powerful and untouchable and dangerous.

And something about her was making my wolf go absolutely insane inside me. He was howling and pacing and desperate to claim her as his. He wanted to run to her, to pull her close, to never let her go. The sensation was overwhelming and impossible to control.

"That is Asha Sharma," Ravi said quietly, following my intense gaze. His voice sounded careful, like he was walking on thin ice. "The owner of Sharma Security Solutions. She is supposed to brief you on the security protocols before the event really starts. She looks impressive."

Asha.

The name hit me like a punch directly to the chest. All the air left my lungs. My heart stopped beating for a moment. Time seemed to stop.

No. It was impossible. My Asha was back at the pack. She was probably mated to some other wolf by now. She had probably forgotten all about me and moved on with her life.

And yet, as I watched this woman walk toward me with absolute confidence and power, I could not shake the feeling that I had made a terrible, terrible mistake five years ago. A mistake that had cost me everything that mattered.

She stopped in front of me, her expression completely professional and cold. But when our eyes met, I saw something in them. A flicker of pain. A flicker of anger. A flicker of something that looked like raw betrayal and hurt.

"Alpha King," she said, her voice cool and polite and distant. "I am here to discuss the security protocols for tonight's event. We have cameras positioned at every entrance and exit. We have armed guards stationed throughout the venue. We are monitoring all exits and entrances carefully. No one will be able to get in or out without our knowledge."

But as she spoke, I caught her scent again, and underneath the expensive perfume and the professional business suit, I could smell something else.

I could smell home. I could smell my pack. I could smell her. The real her, underneath everything else.

"Have we met before?" I asked slowly, my voice sounding strange even to my own ears. I already knew the answer. I could feel it in my bones.

Her jaw tightened. For just a moment, her perfect professional mask slipped, and I saw something raw and painful in her dark eyes. Something that looked like the ghost of the girl I had rejected all those years ago.

Then her mask came back up, and she was cold again.

"No," she said firmly and coldly. "I do not think we have, Alpha King. I do not remember meeting you before."

But even as she said it, I knew she was lying. I could hear the lie in her voice. I could see it in the way her hands clenched into fists at her sides. I could feel it in the way her wolf was responding to mine.

And I knew, with absolute certainty, that this woman was my mate.

The girl I had rejected five years ago had come back.

And she was here for revenge.

As I stared at her, the realization hit me like a thunderbolt through my entire body. She was no longer the weak girl I had rejected. She had become powerful. Strong. Untouchable. Successful. Everything I could have wanted in a Luna if I had only been smart enough to see it back then.

And for the first time in five years, my broken heart started to beat again. It hurt. It ached. But it was alive.

And I knew that no matter what it took, I was going to fight for her.