Rejected By My Alpha Mate

Chapter 13

The ruins hum with an energy I can’t explain, a pulsing force that resonates deep in my bones. The stone archway looms before me, its ancient symbols glowing faintly, as if recognizing my presence. Every instinct in me screams that this place is alive, that it’s waiting for something—waiting for me.

Damien leans heavily on me, his breaths shallow but steady. His wounds may have stopped bleeding, thanks to Selene’s strange magic, but he’s far from recovered. I tighten my grip on him, my gaze flickering to Selene, who stands at the center of the ruins, her golden hair catching the moonlight.

She hasn’t spoken since she uttered that final, chilling word. War.

A shiver runs through me. I glance at Damien, but he’s lost in his own thoughts, his jaw clenched, his eyes shadowed with pain and exhaustion.

The silence stretches until I can’t bear it any longer.

“What now?” My voice sounds small in the vast emptiness of the ruins.

Selene finally turns to face me. “Now, you decide.”

“Decide what?” My frustration rises again, a sharp edge to my words. “You keep talking in riddles, Selene. If I’m supposed to save everyone, then tell me how.”

She studies me for a long moment before speaking. “The magic in these ruins is connected to your bloodline. It will either accept you… or reject you.”

I swallow hard. “And if it rejects me?”

Her expression darkens. “Then the curse remains unbroken. The rogues will keep coming. And they won’t stop until they have you.”

A cold weight settles in my chest. I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t even know what this is.

“What do I have to do?”

Selene gestures toward the archway. “Step through.”

I stare at the glowing symbols, the way they pulse like a heartbeat. Something deep inside me stirs, as if my very soul recognizes this place.

Damien grips my arm. “Ariana… you don’t have to do this.”

I meet his gaze, seeing the unspoken fear there. He’s afraid for me. But he doesn’t understand—this isn’t just about me anymore. It never was.

“I do,” I whisper, then carefully ease him down onto a flat stone. He winces but nods, his fingers tightening briefly around mine before letting go.

I take a step forward. Then another. The ruins seem to shift around me, the energy growing stronger. My skin prickles with something electric, something ancient.

As I stand before the archway, a gust of wind rushes through the ruins, whipping my hair around my face. The glowing symbols brighten, casting eerie patterns on the stone floor.

Then I hear it. A whisper, not from Selene or Damien, but from the ruins themselves. A voice both unfamiliar and intimately known.

Blood of the First. Are you ready?

My breath catches. My pulse pounds. I have no idea what I’m agreeing to, but I force myself to answer.

“Yes.”

The moment the word leaves my lips, the archway flares with golden light. A force grabs me, pulling me forward, and before I can react, the world tilts—

And everything goes black.

###

I wake to silence.

For a terrifying second, I think I’ve gone deaf. But then I hear it—a distant echo, like footsteps on stone. My vision swims as I push myself up, the weight of something unseen pressing down on me.

I’m no longer in the ruins.

The air is thick and heavy, the darkness around me impenetrable except for the faint glow of symbols etched into unseen walls. The space feels endless and confined all at once, a paradox of existence.

I swallow hard. “Hello?”

My voice echoes, but no answer comes.

Then the footsteps grow louder.

I turn sharply, my pulse hammering. A figure emerges from the shadows, their form flickering like a mirage. I can’t make out their face, but something about them feels… familiar.

“Who are you?” I demand, my voice steadier than I feel.

The figure tilts its head. “You already know.”

A chill runs down my spine. The voice is mine.

I take a step back. “This is some kind of trick.”

The figure moves closer, and as it does, its features sharpen—until I’m staring at myself.

Not just a reflection. Not just a copy.

An exact, living version of me.

My heart slams against my ribs. “What is this?”

The other me—my double—smiles, but it’s not a friendly smile. It’s knowing. Calculating.

“This is the test,” she says simply. “And only one of us will leave.”

###

A heavy silence stretches between us, thick with something I can’t name. My double watches me, eyes filled with a strange kind of amusement, as if she already knows the outcome of this battle.

I take a steadying breath. “If this is a test, then what am I supposed to do? Fight you?”

Her smile widens. “You don’t get it, do you?”

I clench my fists. “Then explain it to me.”

She steps closer, and the air around her warps, distorting like heat rising from the ground. “The curse isn’t just a spell, Ariana. It’s a choice. A bloodline tainted by power, forced to either embrace it… or be destroyed by it.”

I shake my head. “That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one that matters.”

Before I can react, she lunges.

She’s fast—too fast. I barely have time to throw myself aside before her fist slams into the ground where I stood, cracking the stone beneath her. My breath catches. That could have been me.

I scramble backward, but she’s already moving again. A blur of motion, a flicker of gold. I block her next strike on instinct, but the force sends me stumbling.

She’s stronger than me. Faster.

Because she *is* me.

A dark thought creeps into my mind. If I can’t beat her… does that mean I fail? Does that mean the curse wins?

No. I can’t let that happen.

I dodge her next attack, spinning away and raising my hands. “Stop!”

She freezes, just for a second. But it’s enough.

I stare at her, breathing hard. “This isn’t about fighting, is it?”

A slow smile curves her lips. “Finally.”

The realization slams into me like a physical blow. The curse—the power—it isn’t something I have to defeat. It’s something I have to accept.

I take a shaky breath, lowering my hands.

“I’m not going to fight you,” I say.

My double’s smile fades. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes.” My voice is firm now. “Because you’re not my enemy.”

A long pause. Then something shifts. The air around us crackles, the darkness lifting ever so slightly.

The double steps forward, and for the first time, she looks… real. Not a shadow. Not a test. Just another version of me.

She meets my gaze. “Then take back what was stolen.”

Before I can ask what she means, she reaches out—

And presses her palm against my chest.

A surge of energy explodes through me, searing and cold all at once. The darkness vanishes in a blinding flash of light—

And when I open my eyes, I’m back in the ruins.

Damien’s voice is the first thing I hear. “Ariana!”

I gasp, sucking in air as if I’ve been drowning. My body trembles, my skin tingling with leftover energy.

Selene kneels beside me, her golden eyes searching mine. “Did you see?”

I nod, my heart pounding.

Because I understand now.

I wasn’t meant to fight the curse.

I was meant to become it.