THE ALPHA WHO REJECTED ME

Three years changed everything. Lena stood in front of a huge glass building in the heart of the city. She wore a black tailored suit, her long dark hair falling over one shoulder. People who passed her stepped aside. Nobody would have recognized the frightened eighteen-year-old girl who had fled the Blackthorn Pack. She was now twenty-one. Successful. Independent. And a mother. A little boy ran toward her. "Mommy!" Lena smiled. She bent down and caught him. "Slow down, Noah." The boy giggled. He was two years old. Dark hair. Pale skin. And eyes that were impossible to ignore. Black. Exactly like Kael's. Lena gently brushed his hair away from his forehead. "Did you miss Mommy?" "Yes!" A man approached them. He was tall, dressed in an expensive gray suit. His name was Damien Cross. One of the most powerful Alphas in the city. He looked at Noah and smiled. "Ready to go?" Lena nodded. "Yes." Damien looked at her carefully. "Are you sure about returning to the Northern Territories?" Lena's smile disappeared. "I have unfinished business there." "You know who controls that territory." "I know." "Kael Blackthorn." Lena's eyes became cold. "That's exactly why I'm going." Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Kael Blackthorn stood in his office. Three years had passed since Lena disappeared. He had told himself he didn't care. He had told everyone she meant nothing. But sometimes, late at night, he still remembered her face. He hated himself for remembering. His secretary entered. "Alpha, the Cross Corporation has arrived." Kael looked up. "Cross?" "Yes. Damien Cross." Kael's expression changed. Damien was a powerful rival Alpha. "Why is he here?" "He has acquired several businesses in our territory." Kael stood. "Bring him in." The door opened. Damien walked inside. But he wasn't alone. A woman followed him. Kael froze. Three years vanished in an instant. That face. Those eyes. That woman. Lena. She looked directly at him. There was no fear in her expression. No tears. No desperation. Only cold confidence. Kael couldn't breathe. "Lena?" She smiled faintly. "Hello, Alpha Blackthorn." Then a little boy walked into the room. Kael's eyes moved toward him. The boy looked up. Their eyes met. Kael felt something inside him snap. Those eyes. His eyes. The same black eyes. The child stared at him curiously. "Mommy, who is that man?" Kael looked at Lena. His voice was barely a whisper. "Who is his father?" Lena's expression didn't change. "You don't need to know." Kael's heart stopped. He already knew.