The Lycan King Rejected Bride

Chapter 4 -Mine To protect

Kael’s growl shook the cabin walls.

The air became thick with violent Alpha power as his golden eyes locked onto the hand around my waist.

“Take your hands off her,” he said coldly.

The stranger beside me only smirked.

“No.”

The single word was enough to make Kael snap.

In one terrifying movement, the Lycan King lunged forward, slamming the stranger across the cabin. Wood shattered beneath the impact.

I screamed.

Both men shifted partially, claws tearing through skin, eyes glowing like monsters beneath the moonlight.

The stranger wiped blood from his mouth slowly.

Then laughed.

“You rejected her,” he said darkly. “You don’t get to act possessive now.”

Kael’s jaw tightened violently.

“She is still my mate.”

The words hit me harder than they should have.

Mate.

Not queen.

Not Ariana.

Just his possession again.

Rage burned through my humiliation.

“You don’t get to claim me after throwing me away,” I snapped.

Kael’s eyes flickered toward me.

Pain crossed his face for the briefest second.

But it vanished quickly beneath anger.

“You don’t understand what’s happening,” he growled.

“Then explain it!”

Silence.

The stranger stepped beside me again, deliberately placing himself between Kael and me.

“She deserves the truth,” he said.

Kael’s wolf nearly surfaced completely.

“Stay out of this, Lucien.”

So that was his name.

Lucien smiled coldly. “Or what? You’ll reject her twice?”

Kael attacked again.

The cabin exploded into chaos.

Furniture splintered.

Claws flashed.

Growls echoed through the room while raw male dominance filled the air.

And through all of it—

Both of them looked at me like something worth fighting for.

Something worth destroying each other over.

My pulse raced uncontrollably.

Lucien grabbed Kael by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

“You lost her the moment you let another man touch her soul bond.”

Kael roared and threw him backward.

Then suddenly—

The mate bond between me and Kael pulsed violently.

Pain ripped through my chest.

I collapsed to my knees, gasping.

Both men froze instantly.

“Ariana!”

Kael reached me first.

His hands gripped my face gently, panic breaking through his cold mask for the first time.

“Look at me,” he ordered softly.

His touch burned.

Familiar.

Dangerously comforting.

I hated that my body still reacted to him.

“You rejected me,” I whispered painfully.

Something shattered inside his expression.

Then his thumb brushed away my tears.

And his voice dropped to a rough whisper near my lips.

“I never stopped wanting you.”

My breath caught.

The tension between us snapped tight.

His gaze lowered to my mouth.

Slowly…

Painfully slowly…

Kael leaned closer.

Like he was about to kiss me.

Then Lucien’s furious growl echoed behind us.

“She’s not yours anymore, King.”