The Alpha's Rejected Mate

Episode 9: The Mark Backfires

The silver ring burned on my finger the next morning.

Everyone saw it. The Alpha’s protection mark.

And everyone hated me for it.

“Think you’re special now?” Ava spat as I walked into the kitchen. “That ring won’t save you from everything, rejected mutt.”

The other maids whispered. Some looked jealous. Most looked angry.

By lunch, the whispers turned into action.

I was carrying Damian’s lunch tray upstairs when someone “accidentally” bumped into me. Hot soup went everywhere. All over me. All over the floor.

And all over the white rug outside Damian’s office.

The door opened.

Damian stepped out. His eyes went from the mess, to me, to the ring on my finger.

His expression went completely blank.

“Explain,” he said.

“It wasn’t my fault, Alpha,” I whispered, shaking. “I—”

“Silence.”

He crouched and touched the rug. Then he looked at my dress. Burn marks. Red skin.

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes.

“Who did this?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, Alpha.”

“Liar.”

He stood up and walked away without another word.

That night, three maids were reassigned to the border patrol. Ava was nowhere to be seen.

I sat in my room staring at the ring.

Protection came with a price.

And Damian was collecting it.