Rejected By The Alpha, Chosen By Fate

Chapter Eight – The Alpha Who Would Claim Me

The pack house buzzed with unease for days after the battle. Everywhere I went, I felt their eyes on me—measuring, whispering, wondering if the glowing wolf was truly meant to lead them.

I thought the whispers were the worst of it. Until Adrian returned.

I smelled him before I saw him—cedar and smoke, sharp and foreign. Warriors at the border shifted nervously as he strolled into the courtyard as if he owned it. His golden eyes found me instantly, burning with an intensity that made my stomach twist.

“There she is,” Adrian said, his voice smooth, dangerous. “The wolf fate marked. I wondered how long you’d hide from me.”

The courtyard stilled. Wolves froze, torn between their Alpha’s authority and the stranger’s raw presence.

Damon appeared in a blur, his steps heavy, power radiating off him in waves. His silver eyes narrowed at Adrian. “You’re trespassing.”

Adrian’s smirk deepened. “Am I? Or am I standing exactly where fate intended?”

He turned to me, ignoring Damon’s growl. “You’ve felt it, haven’t you? That surge in your blood, the light in your veins. It’s because you’re not meant to waste yourself on a wolf too blind to see your worth. You’re mine.”

Gasps cut through the courtyard. My throat went dry, my wolf pacing inside me.

Damon’s snarl ripped through the silence, feral and unrestrained. “She is not yours.”

Adrian only tilted his head, amused. “Funny, coming from the Alpha who tossed her aside like she was nothing. Tell me, Damon—why does your wolf rage now, if she truly means nothing to you?”

The pack shifted uneasily, eyes darting between the two Alphas. For the first time, doubt flickered in their faces—doubt in Damon.

My heart pounded. Adrian’s claim was a chain, Damon’s rejection a wound, and both were tightening around me. But deep inside, beneath their voices, fate whispered louder.

Choose. Or be chosen.

I swallowed hard, forcing my voice steady. “I’m not a prize to be claimed by either of you.”

Adrian’s smile didn’t falter. Damon’s glare only darkened. And I knew, in that moment, that this was only the beginning of a war not just between packs—

But between the two Alphas who both wanted me in ways they refused to admit.