The Alpha’s Rejected Mate

Chapter Fourteen: Fire and Moonlight

The training grounds stretched wide under the silver moon, the grass glistening with dew. Kael stood at the edge, his arms crossed, watching me with that unshakable focus that always made my heart race.

“Again,” he commanded.

I lifted my hand, willing the silver fire to obey me. The flames burst to life, circling my wrist like a living ribbon before slipping away, fading too soon. My chest heaved with the effort.

“It keeps slipping,” I muttered, frustrated.

Kael stepped closer, his presence warm but grounding. “Because you’re treating it like an enemy. Stop fighting it. Listen to it.”

I frowned. “Listen… to fire?”

“No,” Kael said softly, his voice brushing against me like velvet. “Listen to yourself. The fire is you, Aria.”

His words sank into me, and I closed my eyes. Instead of forcing the flames, I reached inward, toward the part of me that had always been restless, searching. Toward the voice of Selene, lingering in the corners of my soul.

Child of the moon, her whisper stirred. You are not separate from your power. You are its heart.

This time, when I raised my hand, the fire bloomed brighter—silver and wild, yet steady. It spiraled around me in a perfect arc, painting the night in light.

Kael’s lips curved into the smallest of smiles. “Better.”

The praise warmed me more than the fire ever could.

But before I could savor it, my wolf pricked with unease. The bond that tied me to Damien—frayed but not severed—shivered like a broken string. For just a heartbeat, I felt his rage, his hunger, pressing against my chest.

I gasped, the fire flickering.

Kael’s expression darkened instantly. “What is it?”

“Damien,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “He’s… he’s plotting something. I can feel it.”

Kael stepped closer, his hands steady on my shoulders, grounding me. His eyes burned like steel. “Then let him plot. Whatever he plans, he won’t reach you. Not while I’m breathing.”

Something in his tone—protective, fierce, unyielding—made my heart stumble.

For a moment, I wasn’t the Goddess’s vessel, or a rejected mate. I was just a girl, standing beneath the moon, caught between danger and desire.

But the fire still burned around me, whispering of battles to come.

And I knew Kael was right.

Damien would come for me.

And I had to be ready.