The Billionaire’s Rejected Mate

Chapter 3: The Billionaire’s Search

He hadn’t slept in 6 days.

Damian Vex stood in his office on the 40th floor.

Lagos was below him. Lights. Cars. Noise.

And none of it mattered.

Because she was gone.

The glass wall reflected him back.

3 days beard. Suit wrinkled. Eyes red.

The cold CEO that everyone feared? Gone.

This was just a man whose mate ran.

"Anything?" he asked. His voice was rough.

Behind him, his beta Kade shook his head.

"No, Alpha. We checked every hotel in Lagos, Ibadan, Oyo. Her car was found in Jebba but she wasn’t in it."

"And the reward?"

"50 million naira. The whole country is looking. No one has seen her."

Damian slammed his fist on the desk.

The glass cracked.

Reject.

He said the word again in his head.

He’d said it out loud to the whole world.

To protect her.

The board said if he claimed an omega with no pack, Vex Corp would crash.

His father’s company. 40 years of work.

So he chose.

And now she was missing.

His phone buzzed. Unknown number.

For a second his heart stopped.

It was a news alert.

`MISSING WOMAN: Selene Carter. Last seen at Moonlight Gala.`

Under it, her picture.

Her smiling with her buka apron on. Hair tied up.

He remembered that smile. She gave it to him at 3am when he brought her suya.

"Get her off the news," he growled. "Now."

"Alpha, the public—"

"I don’t care about the public! Take it down!"

Kade left.

Alone, Damian finally let himself breathe.

He pulled out his wallet.

Inside was a picture. Old.

Selene asleep on his chest. Hair everywhere. Mouth open.

He took it the morning after their first night.

She didn’t know.

"Where are you, little one?" he whispered.

The bond was broken.

But sometimes, late at night, he could still feel her.

A ache. A cold spot in his chest.

Was she hurt? Was she crying?

His assistant knocked. "Sir, the board is waiting."

"Tell them to wait."

He wasn’t going to any meeting.

Not until he found her.

---

300km away in a small town near Jebba.

I was scrubbing plates.

My back hurt. My feet hurt.

And my stomach... my stomach was starting to show.

5 months.

Mama T yelled from the kitchen. "Sade! Customer dey wait!"

"Yes ma!" I wiped my hands on my wrapper.

I wasn’t Selene anymore.

Selene died at that gala.

The door to the restaurant opened.

Two men in black suits.

My blood froze.

They weren’t from Damian’s pack.

They looked like police. Or worse.

"Evening," the first one said. "We’re looking for a girl. About 21. About this tall." He held his hand up.

Mama T frowned. "Many girls dey here."

My heart was pounding so loud I was sure they could hear it.

I ducked behind the counter. Held my breath.

The baby kicked. Hard. Like it knew.

"She’s pregnant," the second man said. "About 5-6 months. Reward is 50 million."

50 million.

For me.

Mama T looked at me. Then at them.

"I no see anybody like that," she said. "But if I do, I go call una."

The men left.

The bell on the door rang.

I slid to the floor.

And threw up.

That night I packed.

One bag. Baby clothes. The jar with 87,000 naira.

I couldn’t stay here.

"Mama T," I said. Tears in my eyes. "Thank you."

She hugged me. "Run, my daughter. Run far."

I left at 2am.

No destination.

Just drive.

As I drove, the radio played the news.

"Vex Corp CEO Damian Vex has offered a 50 million naira reward for information leading to the location of his missing mate, Selene Carter. Sources say she is pregnant with his heir."

My hands shook on the steering wheel.

He was looking.

And he told the whole world I was carrying his child.

He didn’t know.

He couldn’t know.

My phone rang.

It was a number I didn’t know.

I answered before I could think.

"Selene?"

It was him.

Damian.

The sound of his voice broke me.

"How did you—"

"Don’t hang up," he said fast. "Please. I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to know you’re okay. Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"

Baby.

He knew.

"Who told you?" I whispered.

"It doesn’t matter. Where are you? I’ll come to you. I’ll fix this. I swear to God I’ll fix this."

I could hear how desperate he was.

The cold Alpha was gone.

This was the man from the rainstorm.

"I’m fine," I lied. "Don’t look for me."

"Sel—"

I hung up.

Threw the SIM card out the window.

Tears were falling down my face.

He found me once.

He could find me again.

I drove until the sun came up.

Until Lagos was far behind me.

Until I reached a new town. New name. New life.

But I knew one thing.

The billionaire was hunting me.

And he wouldn’t stop until he found his mate...

...and his child.