Rejected, Claimed by the Cursed Alpha King

Chapter 4

Xavier’s POV

I never should have come back to this godforsaken place, but my duty as the alpha king of the Northern Territories and Eastern Territories doesn't care about my personal feelings.

Every breath I take in the Silver Moon pack tastes like poison and bitter memories that I've spent more than a decade trying to forget.

Their pack house looms in front of me. It is exactly the same as when I left. Cold, imposing, and filled with the same oppressive atmosphere that drove me away in the first place.

Nothing has changed here, but this curse keeps eating away at me.

I adjust my shirt, feeling the black mark sear against my skin like a brand. Six months. That's all the time I have left before this damn curse kills me. I have to find my mate, claim her, and get her pregnant with my heir within the next six months.

After ten years of desperate searching across every territory, I'm finally running out of time.

Looking at my wrist watch, the alpha meeting is scheduled to start in another one hour. I step outside to get some fresh air and then it hits me.

The most incredible scent I've ever encountered crashes into me like a physical blow that makes my wolf howl with recognition inside met.

Mate.

The word echoes through every single cell in my body. After years of searching every pack, she's here. My mate is actually here.

I follow the scent like a man possessed. My heart pounding harder with each step I take. It leads me toward the detention area, which seems wrong. Why would my destined mate be anywhere near the pack prison? Is she a criminal?

Then I see the crowd gathered in the town square. My brother Aiden hovers nearby looking uncomfortable, while pack members whisper among themselves.

And there, kneeling in the dirt with her hands bound behind her back like some kind of criminal, is the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on.

She looks so terrified, heartbroken and vulnerable that something fierce and protective roars to life inside me.

White-hot rage floods through my entire system as I push through the crowd. "What the hell is going on here?"

Everyone turns to stare at me. I invoke the ancient right of protection, and claim her under my protection.

Shocked murmurs ripple through the gathered crowd like wildfire. Aiden's face turns red.

"You cannot be serious about this, Xavier."

"Dead serious." I move to the girl and gently help her rise to her feet, noting how badly her hands are shaking.

"What's your name, little wolf?"

"Lily," she says.

"I'm Xavier, and you're completely safe now. I give you my word."

I cut the ropes binding her wrists. My rage grows when I see the raw marks where they chafed her skin. Someone is going to pay dearly for every mark on her body.

"You have absolutely no right to interfere here," Aiden steps forward aggressively, and I can smell his scent all over her. My wolf snarls with jealousy and pure rage. "She belongs to this pack, and you can’t take her.."

"She belongs to whoever can actually keep her safe," I snap back at him. "And right now, that's clearly me, not you."

The ancient law is perfectly clear on this matter. As an Alpha King, I have the absolute right to claim anyone from a subordinate pack if I deem them to be in genuine need of protection. Even my father cannot refuse this without challenging my royal authority.

"Can you walk on your own?"

She nods bravely, but I can see that it's a complete lie. Without hesitation, I sweep her up into my arms and carry her toward my car.

She weighs almost nothing, so light and fragile that it makes me wonder how they could even consider hurting her.

"Why are you helping me?" she asks as I settle her in the passenger seat. "You don't even know me. You don;t know anything about me."

Because you're my destined mate. Because I've been searching desperately for you for more than ten years. You are my saviour. I need you to save my life before this curse kills me.

But I can't say any of that to her right now. Not when she's clearly been hurt by my brother and looking at me like she's afraid to hope for kindness.

"Because no one deserves to be treated the way they were treating you," I say.

The drive back to my territory takes three long hours, and Lily falls asleep within the first twenty minutes with her head resting against the window.

I keep glancing over at her, trying to process everything that just happened and what it means for both of us.

I have exactly six months to convince her to claim her, mark her and carry my child, or the curse will kill me.

This situation is so completely f****d up that I don't even know where to begin fixing it.

When we finally reach my pack house, my adopted mother Ruth comes out to greet us. She takes one look at Lily's condition, then her sharp eyes move between Lily and me with growing curiosity.

"Oh, you poor sweet thing," she murmurs while helping Lily out of the car "Let's get you inside and take care of you."

As Ruth guides Lily toward the guest room, she pulls me aside in the hallway, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Xavier, who is she?" Her eyes are searching my face intently. "And don't you dare lie to me. This is the first time you've ever brought a girl home, and the way you're looking at her… Is she your mate?"

"Yes, she is."

Ruth's eyes widen with a mixture of joy and concern. "After all these years of searching. But what happened to her? She looks like she's been through hell."

"Aiden…"

"Your brother did this to her?"

"Two years, Ruth. Two years he kept her, and from what I saw today, he was about to let them punish her publicly. After what Aiden put her through, she's not going to trust easily. She's been hurt, betrayed. How do I tell her that fate has bound us together when my brother almost destroyed her?"

We make our way to my office while the pack doctor tends to Lily. I sink into my chair. Ruth settles into the chair across from my desk.

"Give her time to heal first, then…"

A knock interrupts us, and Dr. Morrison enters.

"How is she, Doc?" I ask, standing immediately.

He closes the door behind him and looks between Ruth and me. "She'll recover. Some bruising, dehydration, exhaustion. But there's something else you both need to know."

My heart stops. "What is it?"

"She's pregnant. About two months along."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Ruth gasps softly, her hand flying to her mouth.

My mate is carrying my brother's child.

I sink back into my chair, my mind reeling. Six months to claim my mate and produce an heir, and she's already carrying another man's child.