Chapter 5:The fallout
545 Words
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Chapter 5: The Fallout
Eli’s POV
The second Eli stepped outside, the cold air hit him like a sharp slap. He barely noticed.
His thoughts were too loud. Too heavy.
He had been preparing himself for rejection for a long time. He had always known that some omegas found their mate only to be ignored, dismissed, or left behind.
He just never thought he’d be one of them.
Eli sat on a bench near the garden, wrapping his arms around himself. His scent was dull, barely noticeable, drained from the emotional weight pressing against his chest.
Two mates.
One had rejected him without even realizing it.
The other…
Lucian’s gaze had been different. Sharp. Protective. But it didn’t change the fact that Eli’s heart still hurt. It didn’t change the fact that part of him had been waiting—hoping—that Kieran would turn around and see him.
But he hadn’t.
And now? Now Eli didn’t know what to do.
The sound of footsteps made him stiffen.
At first, he thought it was Mason, coming to check on him. But when he turned—it was Lucian.
His tall frame was silhouetted against the dim garden lights, his expression calm but unreadable. Yet his eyes—they were focused only on Eli.
Eli inhaled shakily. “I just… need a minute.”
Lucian didn’t move closer, but his presence was steady. Solid. “I know.”
He didn’t push. He didn’t demand anything.
He just stood there.
And for the first time that night, Eli felt like he could actually breathe.
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Lucian & Kieran’s POV
Kieran was annoyed.
Lucian had barely said anything before stalking off after that omega—Eli. And now, as Kieran leaned against a column inside the ballroom, watching the way his brother had dropped everything to follow someone outside, a strange unease settled in his gut.
Lucian was rarely affected by anything. He was calm, logical, never reckless.
But the way he had looked at Eli? That wasn’t normal.
“What the hell is going on with you?” Kieran muttered under his breath.
Before he could dwell on it, he felt someone approach.
“Hey, Kieran.”
Kieran turned his head. It was Mason—Eli’s best friend.
He didn’t know Mason well, but they had spoken a few times before. Tonight, however, Mason’s expression was different. He looked like he was barely restraining himself from punching something.
Or someone.
“What do you want?” Kieran asked, bored.
Mason’s jaw clenched. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
Kieran raised an eyebrow. “Get what?”
Mason let out a bitter laugh. “You’re an idiot.”
And then he said the one thing that made Kieran’s entire world shift.
“You rejected your own mate tonight.”
Silence.
Kieran felt the words hit like a slow, creeping wave of cold realization.
Mate?
His own mate?
And then—**like a floodgate opening—**it clicked.
The slight pull he had felt earlier but ignored. The reason Eli had looked at him like he had just shattered something fragile. The way Lucian had immediately understood what Kieran hadn’t.
Kieran’s stomach dropped.
Eli was his mate.
And he had walked right past him.
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