The Alpha's Rejected Second Chance

Chapter 2: The Return

The Northern Kingdom had not changed.

The same black stone castle pierced the sky. The same silver banners flapped in the wind. The same guards stood at the gates, looking at everyone like they were dirt.

Except now, I was not dirt.

I pulled my cloak tighter around me and held Kael's hand. My son looked up at the castle with wide golden eyes — Liam's eyes. At three years old, his wolf was already showing.

"Mama, it's so big," he whispered.

"And it's yours," I whispered back. "Remember what I told you? Don't say your last name. Don't show your wolf. And if anyone asks, you are Kael Shaw. Just Shaw."

He nodded seriously. My brave boy.

Three years ago, I had run from here crying, pregnant, and broken. I had survived in the human world by waitressing, by fighting in underground wolf fights, by letting my weak Omega wolf turn into something else. Something lethal.

I was no longer Elena the orphan. I was Elena Shaw, the Rogue Queen of the Eastern Borders. The woman human packs paid to protect them. I was rich. I was powerful.

And I was back to ruin a wedding.

"Elena Shaw?"

The guard at the gate squinted at my invitation letter. Then his eyes widened. "Elena? Little Elena? By the Moon Goddess... we thought you were dead! The Alpha King..."

"Is getting married today," I finished for him, smiling sweetly. "And all former members are invited. So here I am."

He let us pass, still staring.

The courtyard was packed. Hundreds of wolves, all in their finest furs and gowns, here to see their King finally take a Luna. Music played. Wine flowed. And at the far end, on a high dais, sat a throne.

And on that throne, was him.

Liam Blackwood.

He was bigger. His shoulders broader. His black hair longer, tied back. His golden eyes scanned the crowd like a predator. He wore the Alpha King crown — a circlet of black diamonds. Beside him stood a beautiful woman in white, the Southern Princess. She was holding his arm possessively.

My heart did a stupid, traitorous thump. I hated it.

"Mama, that man looks at me funny," Kael whispered.

I followed his gaze. Liam was looking. Straight at us. Straight at Kael.

Our eyes met across three years and a hundred wolves. Time stopped.

I saw his nostrils flare — wolves scent their mates. I saw his eyes go from bored to shocked to... to burning.

He stood up. Abruptly. The Princess said something, but he ignored her. He was walking. No, stalking. Straight towards us, through the crowd that parted for him like water.

My wolf, who I thought was dead to him, howled inside me. Mate. Mate. Mate.

No. Not anymore.

I picked up Kael. "Don't look," I whispered into his hair.

"Elena."

His voice. That voice had haunted my dreams for three years. Deep, rough, commanding.

I turned slowly. He was right in front of me. Close enough that I could smell pine and winter and him.

"Alpha King," I said coldly, bowing my head just enough to not be disrespectful. "Congratulations on your Luna Ceremony."

He didn't answer. He was staring at Kael. At his golden eyes.

"What is his name?" Liam's voice was hoarse.

"My son is none of your concern."

"Your... son?" His golden eyes snapped to mine. The pain in them was raw. "Elena, is he..."

"The Princess is waiting for you," I cut him off loudly, so others could hear. "Don't keep your future Luna waiting, Alpha. Just like you didn't keep me waiting three years ago when you threw me out."

Gasps around us. People were listening now.

Liam's jaw clenched. "We need to talk. Now."

"We have nothing to talk about." I tried to walk past him.

He grabbed my wrist. His touch burned. The sparks — those damned mate sparks I thought were gone — shot up my arm.

Kael, protective even at three, growled. A tiny, but very real, Alpha growl.

The entire courtyard went silent.

A three-year-old growling at the Alpha King? With golden eyes?

Liam's face went pale. "How old is he?" he whispered, only for me to hear.

"Three years and two months," I said, just as quiet. "Do the math, Alpha."

I saw the realization hit him like a punch. His hand tightened on my wrist, then trembled.

Before he could speak, a shrill voice cut through the silence.

"Liam! Who is this servant and her brat ruining OUR ceremony?"

The Southern Princess had arrived, in a cloud of perfume and white silk. She looked at me with disgust.

I smiled. It was time.

"Servant? No, Princess. I am Elena Shaw. Former member of this pack. And this," I lifted Kael higher so everyone could see his eyes, "is Kael Shaw. And he has something to say to the King."

I whispered to Kael, "Tell them what you told Mama in the car."

Kael looked at Liam and said loudly, in his clear baby voice, "My daddy is the Alpha King! My mama said he is a bad man who left us!"

The courtyard EXPLODED.

#Vote# if you want Liam to stop the wedding! Moon Tickets needed!