Rejected by My Alpha, Claimed by His Rival

The Child That Changes Everything

The drive back to the Shadow Pack was a blur. My wolf was finally quiet, basking in the scent of her, but the reality was settling in. I had just marked the daughter of the man who killed my father’s allies. I had just claimed the "trash" of the Blood Moon Pack.

But I could still feel the way she had cried. I could still feel the raw, bleeding hole in her soul that Xander had left behind.

When I pulled up to the gates of the manor, the guards immediately straightened up. They saw her through the window and their eyes went wide. They knew who she was. Everyone knew the Thorne girl.

I ignored them, parking the car and carrying her through the front doors.

"Tristan? What on earth is that smell?"

I stopped in the foyer. My mother, Charlotte, was standing at the top of the grand staircase. She was the matriarch of this pack, a woman who valued bloodlines and optics above all else. She looked down at Tricia, her nose wrinkling in immediate distaste.

"Put that thing down," Charlotte commanded, her voice echoing through the hall. "Why is there an Omega in my house? And why does she smell like... like you?"

I didn't stop. I started walking up the stairs, my grip on Tricia tightening. "She's staying here, Mother. Prepare the guest suite next to mine."

"Have you lost your mind?" Charlotte stepped in front of me, her eyes flashing. "That is Rector’s daughter. That is the girl Xander Blackwood just publicly rejected this morning. The whole territory is talking about it. She is a pariah, Tristan. A curse."

"She’s my mate," I said, my voice low and dangerous.

Charlotte actually recoiled. She looked at Tricia’s neck, seeing the fresh, weeping mark I had just carved into her skin. Her face went from shock to pure, unadulterated rage.

"You marked her? In a rut? Tristan, you are the Alpha of the Shadow Pack! You were supposed to marry the daughter of the Council head! You just threw away our standing for a rejected Thorne mutt?"

"I didn't throw anything away," I snapped, stepping around her. "I took what I wanted. Xander was too stupid to see her value. I’m not."

"Value?" Charlotte followed me down the hall, her heels clicking like gunfire on the marble. "What value does she have? She’s an Omega with a traitor’s name. She brings nothing to this pack but the threat of a Blood Moon invasion. Xander might have rejected her, but he won't take kindly to you marking his property."

"She isn't property anymore," I said, kicking open the door to the suite. "She’s mine. And if Xander wants her back, he can come try to take her from my cold, dead hands."

I laid Tricia down on the bed. She looked so small against the dark silk sheets. Her breathing was shallow, her face still stained with the tears she’d cried at the bar. My heart gave a strange, uncomfortable tug. I reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead.

"You’re doing this to spite him," Charlotte said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she stood in the doorway. "This isn't about the bond. It’s about the war. You’re using this poor girl as a trophy."

"Maybe I am," I admitted, not looking away from Tricia. "Or maybe I just liked the way she looked when she realized she didn't have to be alone. Either way, she’s staying. Get the pack doctor up here. I want her checked out."

"I will not have a Thorne under my roof, Tristan. If you don't get rid of her, I will."

I turned slowly, letting my Alpha aura flood the room. The air became heavy, suffocating. Charlotte paled, her own wolf bowing to my dominance, even if her human side was still defiant.

"If you touch her, Mother, you will find out exactly how much I’ve inherited from my father’s temper," I warned. "She is protected. By me."

Charlotte stared at me for a long moment, her lips a thin line. "You've made a grave mistake, my son. You think you've won a prize, but you've just brought a Trojan horse into our walls."

She turned and swept out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I sat on the edge of the bed, watching the rise and fall of Tricia’s chest. The rut was fading, leaving behind a cold, hard clarity. I had just changed the course of my life for a girl I barely knew.

A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. It was Dr. Xavier, the pack physician. He looked nervous, his eyes darting to the mark on Tricia’s neck before he set his bag down.

"Alpha," he nodded. "The Matriarch sent me. She said it was an emergency."

"Just check her," I said, standing up and moving to the window. "She fainted. I want to know if it's the bond or something else."

I watched as Xavier performed a series of tests. He checked her pulse, her pupils, and the state of the mark. He remained silent for a long time, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Well?" I prodded.

Xavier looked at me, then back at Tricia. He seemed to be weighing his words carefully. "The mark is healing well, Alpha. Your strength is... impressive. But that isn't why she’s so exhausted."

"Speak plainly, Xavier."

"Her wolf is suppressed, likely from years of abuse and silver exposure," he started. "But there’s a massive spike in her hormone levels. It’s why the bond hit her so hard. It’s why her body is shutting down to protect itself."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Xavier stood up, wiping his hands on a cloth. He looked me straight in the eye, and the expression on his face made my stomach drop.

"She’s pregnant, Tristan. But the timing... it’s impossible for it to be yours. Based on the scent and the development, the conception happened yesterday. During the Blood Moon."

The world seemed to stop spinning. I looked at the girl on the bed, my mind racing. Yesterday. The night she was with Xander.

"She’s carrying the Blackwood heir," I whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

"Yes," Xavier said. "But there’s something else. Something I’ve never seen before."

"What?"

Xavier pointed to the mark I had just given her. The silver-blue light wasn't fading anymore. It was turning a dark, bruised purple, spreading like a stain down her shoulder.

"The marks are fighting each other," Xavier said, his voice trembling. "The rejection mark from Xander and your claim mark are warring over her soul. And with a pregnancy in the middle... she isn't just a hostage, Alpha. She’s a ticking time bomb. If those marks don't stabilize, the shock will kill her and the child within forty-eight hours."