Rejected by My Alpha, Claimed by Three

CHAPTER 3: ADRIAN

Lyra didn't sleep.

She sat on the edge of the guest bed in the penthouse Darian had insisted she use for the night, her phone face down on the nightstand as if distance might make the message less real. She had read it eleven times before she stopped counting.

You looked beautiful tonight, Lyra. Just like the first time. Welcome home.

The first time. Not tonight. Not the boardroom. Some other first time she couldn't place, buried somewhere in the five years she had spent trying not to look back.

By four in the morning, she gave up pretending she could rest. She pulled on the gray sweater she'd left in her bag and walked out onto the balcony because the walls of the guest room had started to feel like they were listening.

The city stretched beneath her, quiet and glittering in the darkness. For a moment, it almost felt like peace.

Then she felt it. A pull low in her chest. Unmistakable. Her wolf lifted its head inside her, alert in a way she hadn't felt in five years. The sensation was different from what Darian stirred in her. Less familiar. More instinctive. Hungrier.

Lyra turned toward the far end of the balcony. A man was already standing there. He leaned against the railing as though he had every right to be there, one hand resting loosely at his side. He wore a dark jacket with no tie, the sleeves pushed back to reveal his forearms. His hair was a shade lighter than Darian's, but it was his eyes that made Lyra look twice. She couldn't have named their color in the darkness. Only the strange certainty that she would remember them.

"You shouldn't be here." She hated how unsteady her voice sounded.

"Neither should you." His mouth curved slightly. "And yet."

Lyra's gaze moved toward the balcony doors. "This is a private residence."

"Is it?" There was something almost playful in the question. Not arrogant. Not quite. He simply seemed completely at ease. That unsettled her more than fear would have.

"Who are you?"

"Adrian."

The name meant nothing. Her body disagreed. The pull in her chest tightened.

Adrian noticed. His eyes dropped briefly to the hand she had pressed against her sternum. "You feel it."

"I don't feel anything."

His mouth curved again. "You're a terrible liar."

"I've survived five years without lying to myself."

Something changed in his expression. "Have you?"

The question landed harder than it should have.

Lyra studied him. "Do I know you?"

"You don't remember me."

"Should I?"

"You did once." He pushed away from the railing. "For about six minutes."

She frowned. "Six minutes?"

"A long time ago. Before anyone decided you shouldn't remember."

The pull sharpened. Lyra took an involuntary breath. Adrian noticed that too, but he didn't move closer. That restraint somehow made the tension worse.

"You knew me."

"Yes."

"How?"

"I'll let you decide whether you want that answer."

She almost laughed. "Everyone seems to think they can decide what I'm allowed to know."

"Not me." His gaze held hers. "I just think you should know why you're asking before I give you something you can't take back."

For the first time, Lyra found herself curious about him. She wanted to know more, and that unsettled her more than the mystery itself.

She thought of the message on her phone. "Did you send it?"

Adrian's expression changed. "No." The answer came without hesitation. "But I know who did."

"Who?"

"Not tonight."

Her patience snapped. "Of course. Another secret."

"I never promised you an explanation." A hint of amusement crept into his voice. "That should tell you something."

"What?"

"That I'm not here to make you trust me." He took one slow step toward her. The distance between them narrowed. The pull in her chest grew stronger. "I'm here because I wanted to see you."

Lyra's breath caught. "Why?"

His gaze lingered on her face for a second too long before he met her eyes again. "Because I've spent a long time wondering whether I'd recognize you."

"And?"

"I did."

The words were simple. They shouldn't have affected her. They did.

Adrian stopped a few feet away. Close enough to feel his warmth, but not close enough to touch. "You're different," he said.

"So are you."

"I know."

The answer almost made her smile. Almost. Instead, she folded her arms. "Why are you here?"

"Darian is going to try to keep you close now."

"Because he thinks he's protecting me."

"Probably." Adrian's gaze stayed on hers. "I wanted to see you before he decided where you should be."

Lyra frowned. "You don't sound like you trust him."

"I don't."

"Do you hate him?"

"No. I understand why he did what he did."

That bothered her more than hatred would have. "Then you know why he rejected me?"

"Not everything."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a plain white card. A phone number was written across it in small, careful handwriting. He held it out. "When you're ready for the truth, call me."

Lyra didn't take it. "Why would I trust you over him?"

"You shouldn't." He didn't hesitate. "You shouldn't trust either of us yet." That surprised her. "But I'll give you something he won't." He extended the card again. "Ask Darian why he really rejected you."

Lyra's fingers tightened around her arms. "I already did."

"Ask him what he was told would happen if he didn't."

The night went still. "What?"

"Ask him." Adrian's voice softened. "Then watch his face."

He placed the card in her hand. The moment their fingers touched, the pull in her chest flared. Lyra sucked in a breath. Adrian went still. For the first time since she'd seen him, his composure cracked. His eyes dropped to where their fingers touched. Then slowly returned to hers. Neither of them moved.

"What was that?" Lyra whispered.

His expression settled again. "Something you should be careful with."

"That's not an answer."

"No." A faint smile touched his mouth. "But it's the honest one."

He released her hand. The sudden absence of his touch left her strangely cold.

Lyra looked down at the card. "Adrian."

He glanced toward the railing. "Get some sleep."

"That's it?"

"For tonight." He stepped backward. "You're going to need it."

"Why?"

He looked at her for a long moment. "Because things are about to change." Then his expression softened. "Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for wanting what you want, Lyra."

The way he said it caught her off guard. "What does that mean?"

"It means you deserve to know the truth before you decide who gets close to you."

He turned toward the railing.

Lyra frowned. "Adrian?"

He glanced back. For one brief moment, the confidence disappeared, leaving something younger and more vulnerable underneath. Then it was gone.

He stepped onto the railing.

Lyra's eyes widened. "Wait."

He looked at her. "Don't."

He smiled. And stepped over.

Lyra lunged forward. A scream caught in her throat as she reached the edge and looked down. Nothing. No body. No impact. No movement. Only the empty street thirty-two floors below.

She stared, unable to breathe. She couldn't catch his scent. Her wolf gave no warning. Nothing.

Her phone buzzed. Lyra jerked it from her pocket. The same unknown number. Her hands trembled as she opened the message.

He always exits like that. Don't worry.

A second line appeared beneath it.

He's harder to kill than he looks.

Lyra stared at the screen. Then she slowly lifted her eyes toward the dark rooftops across the skyline. Somewhere out there, someone was watching her.

For the first time in five years, Lyra didn't feel watched because someone wanted to control her.

She felt like someone had finally noticed her.

That frightened her more than it should have.