REJECTED BY MY ALPHA,CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA KING

The Alpha King

Chapter 6 :

I couldn't move.

The stranger stood beneath the moonlight, his golden eyes fixed on me.

The Alpha King.

The title alone should have been enough to make me bow.

Every wolf knew the name Kael Arden.

The ruler of Blackthorn Kingdom.

The Alpha feared by other Alphas.

The man whose army had ended wars before they had properly begun.

The man who had never lost a territory.

And somehow, he was standing in front of me.

Looking at me as though I were the one thing he had been searching for.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

He didn't answer immediately.

His gaze moved over my face, then down to my collarbone.

To the strange mark hidden beneath my torn dress.

His expression hardened.

"Where did you get that?"

I instinctively covered it.

"That's none of your business."

One of the wolves behind him stepped forward.

"Watch your—"

Kael lifted one hand.

The wolf immediately stopped.

Silence.

That single gesture told me more about his authority than any title could have.

He didn't need to raise his voice.

Everyone simply obeyed.

His attention returned to me.

"You were attacked."

"I'm aware."

"Who attacked you?"

"I don't know."

"Where did they come from?"

"I don't know."

His eyes narrowed.

"You're lying."

My temper flared.

"Then perhaps you should ask them."

His brows lifted slightly.

I realized what I'd done.

I'd just spoken to the Alpha King as if he were an ordinary man.

I should have been terrified.

Instead, I was angry.

Maybe because I had spent the entire night being told what I was worth.

Weak.

Useless.

Unwanted.

I wasn't going to let another Alpha decide who I was.

Kael studied me for a long moment.

Then he said, "What's your name?"

I almost laughed.

"You just said it."

Something flickered in his eyes.

Amusement?

No.

It disappeared too quickly.

"Lyra Vale."

He said my name slowly, as though testing how it felt on his tongue.

My heart gave an uncomfortable beat.

I hated that.

I took a step backward.

Kael noticed.

His gaze dropped to my injured ankle.

"You're hurt."

"I'm fine."

"You can barely stand."

"I said I'm fine."

He walked toward me.

I immediately raised my knife.

"Don't."

He stopped.

His eyes fell to the blade.

Then back to my face.

"You intend to fight me with that?"

I tightened my grip.

"I don't need to win."

His expression changed.

"What?"

"I only need to make you regret coming closer."

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted.

Not a smile.

Something more dangerous.

"You're brave."

"No."

I lowered the knife slightly.

"I'm angry."

Something in his eyes softened.

Only for a heartbeat.

Then his wolf surfaced.

I felt it.

A massive presence pressed against my senses.

My knees weakened.

I stumbled.

Kael moved instantly.

His hand caught my arm before I hit the ground.

The moment his skin touched mine—

everything stopped.

A burst of warmth raced through my body.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

The mark beneath my collarbone burned.

And somewhere inside me, Vespera woke with a cry.

Mate.

I jerked away.

"No."

Kael froze.

His expression was unreadable.

But his breathing had changed.

His eyes were darker.

His wolf had clearly felt it too.

"You're my mate," he said.

It wasn't a question.

I shook my head.

"No."

His jaw tightened.

"You felt it."

"I don't know what I felt."

"Liar."

My anger returned.

"Don't call me that."

"Then tell me what happened."

"I don't know!"

My voice cracked.

I stepped backward.

"I was just rejected tonight."

His expression became still.

"Rejected?"

"By my Alpha."

Kael stared at me.

"Who?"

"Theron Ravaryn."

Something cold entered his gaze.

"Theron."

He said the name like it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"You know him?"

"Every Alpha knows of him."

I laughed bitterly.

"Then you know exactly what happened."

Kael said nothing.

I looked away.

"He rejected me in front of the entire pack."

His eyes remained on me.

"Why?"

"Because I'm weak."

The words tasted horrible.

"My wolf never manifested properly. I can't shift like everyone else. I'm an Omega. He needed someone stronger."

Kael's expression darkened.

"That's what he told you?"

"That's what everyone knows."

"I didn't ask what everyone knows."

His voice was suddenly cold.

"What did he tell you?"

I looked at him.

"He said I wasn't enough."

Something dangerous flashed across Kael's face.

His wolf growled.

The sound was so low that the surrounding wolves immediately lowered their heads.

I stared at him.

"Why do you care?"

He didn't answer.

"You're a stranger."

"I am your mate."

"That doesn't mean I belong to you."

His eyes sharpened.

"No."

The answer surprised me.

Kael stepped closer.

"It doesn't."

He looked directly into my eyes.

"A mate bond is not ownership."

For the first time that night, I didn't know what to say.

He continued.

"If you don't want me, I won't force you."

My heart skipped.

Why did that sound impossible coming from an Alpha King?

Theron had always spoken about the mate bond as though it gave him the right to decide my future.

Kael seemed to understand something completely different.

But I couldn't trust him.

Not yet.

I had trusted one Alpha.

Look where that had gotten me.

"I don't want a mate."

His expression tightened.

"I know."

"I don't want another Alpha telling me what to do."

"I won't."

"I don't want to become someone's Luna."

His gaze remained steady.

"You won't become mine unless you choose to."

I swallowed.

Those words shouldn't have affected me.

But they did.

Kael turned toward his warriors.

"Prepare a horse."

I immediately shook my head.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

His gaze returned to me.

"You're injured."

"I can walk."

"You were being hunted."

"I can still walk."

"You're exhausted."

"I said—"

"You can continue arguing with me," he interrupted calmly, "or you can survive the night."

I fell silent.

He wasn't threatening me.

He was stating a fact.

My eyes moved toward the dark forest.

The men who had chased me were gone.

But they could return.

And I had nowhere to go.

Kael seemed to read the answer on my face.

"You don't have to trust me."

He paused.

"But you're coming with me."

I glared at him.

"You really don't know how to ask nicely."

"I wasn't asking."

My mouth fell open.

Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.

It was brief.

Barely there.

But it transformed his face.

My stomach did something strange.

I immediately looked away.

Absolutely not.

I was not going to be attracted to another Alpha.

Especially not this one.

Kael approached again.

This time, he stopped a careful distance away.

"May I?"

I looked at his hand.

He was offering it.

I hesitated.

Then I placed my hand in his.

The moment our fingers touched—

my vision exploded with silver light.

A wolf ran beneath a blood-red moon.

A woman stood before an ancient stone altar.

Her silver eyes burned with power.

Behind her, hundreds of wolves knelt.

Then I saw something else.

A black crown.

A throne.

And a man standing beside her.

His golden eyes were unmistakable.

Kael.

I tore my hand away.

The vision disappeared.

I stumbled backward.

Kael caught me.

"What did you see?"

I stared at him.

"You were there."

His expression changed.

"What?"

"In my vision."

Silence.

For the first time since I'd met him, Kael looked genuinely unsettled.

"What did you see?"

"I don't know."

"Lyra."

"I said I don't know!"

The strange mark burned again.

Kael's eyes dropped to it.

Then he whispered something under his breath.

I barely heard him.

"The First Moon."

My heart stopped.

"What did you say?"

He looked at me.

But before he could answer, a howl echoed through the forest.

One of his warriors came running toward us.

"Your Majesty!"

Kael turned.

The warrior dropped to one knee.

"We found something."

"What?"

The warrior looked at me.

Then quickly looked away.

"Blood."

Kael's expression hardened.

"Whose?"

"We don't know."

He hesitated.

"But there are tracks leading toward the eastern border."

"How many?"

"At least six wolves."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"Pack?"

The warrior shook his head.

"No."

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

"Then who?"

The warrior swallowed.

"Their scent matches the Blood Moon Council."

The forest seemed to grow colder.

Kael's entire demeanor changed.

"Get everyone moving."

The warrior nodded and ran.

I stared at Kael.

"What's the Blood Moon Council?"

He looked at me.

For several seconds, he didn't answer.

Then he stepped closer.

His voice became low.

"Danger."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting tonight."

"Why?"

His golden eyes locked onto mine.

"Because if they are here..."

He glanced at the mark hidden beneath my collarbone.

"...then they aren't hunting me."

My heart pounded.

"Who are they hunting?"

Kael's expression turned grim.

"You."

I couldn't breathe.

Behind us, another howl split the night.

Then another.

And another.

Kael reached for my hand.

This time, I didn't pull away.

His warriors formed a circle around us.

Kael looked toward the dark forest.

"Take Lyra to Blackthorn."

I stared at him.

"What about you?"

His eyes met mine.

"I'm going to make sure no one follows us."

"You can't stay here alone."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Who said I would be alone?"

The wolves around him shifted.

Bones cracked.

Their bodies transformed.

And Kael's eyes began glowing gold.

For one terrifying second, I saw the Alpha King beneath the man.

Power.

Authority.

Rage.

Then his wolf emerged.

Huge.

Black as midnight.

And when it lifted its head and roared into the night, every wolf in the forest went silent.

I stood frozen.

Vespera whispered inside my mind.

That's our mate.

I swallowed.

Because for the first time since Theron rejected me...

I was beginning to wonder if being rejected had actually been the worst thing that could happen to me.

Or if it had been the thing that led me directly to him.