Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Apex

Chapter 6 - The Petition

Clara's POV

I put the phone down, staring at the wall in front of me. Kaden watched me from across the desk, reading the tension in my face without needing to ask.

"How bad is it?" Kaden asked.

"Bad enough," I replied, pulling open my desk drawer and grabbing my private legal files. I flipped through them, finding the original rejection documents I kept sealed under my personal records. I spread them across the desk, scanning the dates and signatures. David was right. The rejection ritual was never formally completed. We never stood before the High Priestess. We never performed the blood seal.

Three years ago, I was in so much pain from the severed bond that I packed my things and drove away without thinking about the legal consequences. I assumed accepting his words in front of the pack was enough. The ancient law said otherwise.

"If the Council accepts his petition," I said, more to myself than to Kaden, "they could freeze my assets. They could forcibly attach Apex Real Estate to Silver Holdings under mate property law."

"Then we don't let the Council accept it," Kaden replied, dropping all pretense of his casual amusement. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. "I have contacts on the Council. Two of the Elder seats belong to wolves who owe me favors. I can make a few calls tonight."

"No," I said, snapping the files shut. "I'm not fighting this through back channels. If I use your favors, David will find out and use it against me in the hearing. I'll fight this the right way."

Kaden stared at me for a long moment, then sat back. "You're going to walk into that Council room and fight an ancient mate law petition by yourself?"

"I'm going to walk into that Council room and tear his petition apart with the truth," I corrected, reaching for my phone. I dialed my lawyer, Nathan, and pressed the phone to my ear. He picked up on the second ring.

"Nathan, I need you in my office within the hour," I said. "David filed an emergency petition with the Elder Council invoking ancient mate bond law. I need a counter petition drafted and filed before the Council convenes tomorrow morning."

"Clara, ancient mate law petitions are incredibly difficult to fight," Nathan replied carefully. "If the rejection ritual was never formally completed—"

"I know that," I cut him off. "Which is why I need you here. Now."

I ended the call, reaching for my coat on the rack by the door.

"Where are you going?" Kaden asked, watching me slip it on.

"The Council building," I replied. "I need to see the petition before Nathan drafts the counter. I need to know exactly what David is claiming."

Kaden stood up, grabbing his jacket. "I'll drive."

"I didn't ask you to," I said, walking toward the door.

"No," Kaden replied, following me out. "But you're not walking into that building alone, and we both know Julian is already on his way there to do something aggressive and unhelpful."

I paused at the door, looking at him. He wasn't wrong about Julian. Julian's first instinct when threatened was to declare war on whoever was responsible. I didn't need a war. I needed a strategy.

"Fine," I said, walking out. "But you stay in the car."

Kaden grinned, falling into step beside me. "Whatever you say, boss."

We took the elevator down to the parking garage, got into Kaden's car, and pulled out of the building. The city rushed past the windows as Kaden navigated through the evening traffic toward the Elder Council building on the north side.

I sat in the passenger seat, scrolling through the ancient pack law statutes on my phone. The language was dense and archaic, but the meaning was clear. If a rejection was issued verbally but not sealed by the High Priestess, either party could petition to have the bond legally reinstated under Council jurisdiction. The petitioning party had to prove the rejection was coerced, fraudulent, or incomplete.

David's argument would be that the rejection was incomplete.

My argument would be that the rejection was witnessed by five pack elders, accepted verbally by both parties, and that three years of separation with no attempts to reinstate the bond constituted an implied severance under modern pack law.

It was a fight, but it was a winnable one.

We pulled up to the Elder Council building. I stepped out of the car and turned to look at Kaden through the window.

"Stay here," I repeated firmly.

Kaden raised both hands in mock surrender, leaning back in his seat. I turned and walked through the main entrance of the building, stopping at the front desk to request access to the active petition filings. The clerk, a young female wolf, looked up at me with wide eyes. She clearly recognized my name from the filing.

"Ms. Adams," she said carefully. "The petition was filed approximately forty minutes ago. The Council has already reviewed the initial submission and scheduled a formal hearing for tomorrow morning at nine."

"I need a copy of the petition," I stated.

"Of course." She printed the documents and slid them across the counter toward me.

I picked them up, scanning the first page. David had cited three ancient statutes, all of them centered on the incomplete blood seal. He had included a signed statement from the Silver Pack's High Priestess confirming that no formal sealing ceremony had ever been conducted. He was thorough, which meant he had been planning this for longer than one afternoon.

This wasn't a desperate, impulsive move. David had been building this case before he even walked into my office today. The visit, the begging, the scene in front of Kaden, all of it was designed to provoke a reaction from me that he could use to paint me as hostile and uncooperative in front of the Council.

I folded the papers, tucked them under my arm, and walked back out of the building. I got into Kaden's car, sitting in silence for a moment as he watched me.

"Well?" Kaden asked.

"He planned this," I said, staring through the windshield. "The visit to my office, the scene, all of it. He filed this petition before he even came to see me today. He wanted me to throw him out so he could tell the Council I refused to cooperate with the reinstatement process."

Kaden's expression darkened. "He's smarter than I gave him credit for."

"He's desperate," I corrected, opening the car door. "Desperate wolves do stupid things. But they also do dangerous ones."

I stepped out of the car, pulling out my phone to call Julian back. He picked up before the first ring finished.

"Clara, where are you?" Julian asked immediately.

"Outside the Council building," I replied, walking back toward the entrance. "The hearing is tomorrow at nine. I need you there, Julian. Not to fight. Not to threaten anyone. I need you there as the Apex Alpha on record as my legal business partner."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

"I'll be there," Julian said. "But Clara, if David tries to use that petition to take Apex from you, I will not sit quietly and watch."

"You won't have to," I replied. "By the time I'm done tomorrow, David won't have a petition left to stand on."

I ended the call and walked back into the building to request an emergency appointment with the Council's chief legal advisor. The hearing was in less than fifteen hours, and I had work to do.