Rejected into the Alpha's Arms

chapter four

Chapter 4 – Seraphina

Ten minutes later, a sleek black SUV glided through the rain, stopping inches from where I sat shivering on the curb. A driver stepped out, holding an umbrella over me without a word, and ushered me into the heated leather interior.

We drove in silence, leaving the neighborhood. Moments later, we pulled into a long, winding driveway flanked by towering iron gates.

My heart skipped a beat. This wasn't a house; it was a fortress. A sprawling stone castle rose out of the mist, its windows glowing with a dim, amber light. I felt like a stray cat being brought into a palace.

The foyer was all white marble and soaring ceilings. A butler, dressed in a suit that looked more expensive than my life, met me at the door.

"Miss Seraphina. I am Marcus," he said with a stiff bow. "Boss Killian is expecting you. Please, follow me."

I wanted to ask for a shower, or a blanket, or a moment to process the fact that my life had just flipped upside down, but Marcus was already moving. My bare foot squeaked against the pristine floors, leaving a trail of muddy water behind me. I felt small and dirty.

He led me to a set of massive oak doors and knocked twice.

"Enter."

The office was vast, lined with books and smelling of expensive tobacco and old paper. Killian was behind a mahogany desk, a pair of thin-rimmed reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He looked like a god. The soft light caught the sharp lines of his jaw and the dark intensity of his eyes as he looked up.

For a second, I forgot how to breathe. He was devastatingly handsome.

"Sit," he commanded, gesturing to the velvet chair across from him.

I sat, my damp clothes clinging to the fabric. Shame burned hot in my chest, more painful than the slap. Just hours ago, I’d screamed in his face that I wasn't for sale. Now, here I was, dripping on his rug, begging for the deal.

He slid a thick stack of papers across the desk. "That’s the contract. Read it carefully."

I picked it up with trembling fingers. The terms were cold. Ten million dollars, full medical care, and no contact with the child after birth. I would be a ghost in my own baby's life.

I cleared my throat, trying to find my voice. "The... the procedure. The IVF. Will there be complications? How soon do we start the treatments?"

Killian leaned back, a slow, dark chuckle vibrating in his chest. He took off his glasses, his gaze dropping to my lips before locking back onto my eyes.

"There won't be any needles or labs, Seraphina," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, silky register. "This is going to be entirely natural. And I expect nothing less than your full cooperation."

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.

“Hell no,” the words left my lips as a breathless gasp. I stood up so fast the velvet chair nearly toppled. “The contract… I assumed doctors. A clinical procedure. I can’t do… this.”

I turned and bolted for the oak doors, my hands reaching for the handle, but a shadow eclipsed me a split second before a heavy hand slammed against the wood just above my head.

I turned around, my back hitting the hard door. Killian was inches away, towering over me. A slow, wolfish grin spread across his face as he looked down at me.

“Why the sudden act?” he asked, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. “Why act all innocent now, like you haven’t done this before?”

I trembled, my heart hammering against like crazy. The closeness was suffocating; I could smell the faint scent of cedar and expensive cologne. My cheeks burned a deep, hot red under his gaze.

He quirked a dark brow, then suddenly leaned in, his nose brushing the curve of my neck. He took a deep, lingering breath.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered, pulling back just an inch. “You’re untouched.”

I tried to shrink further into the door, wishing I could melt into the wood. My breath came in short, ragged hitches. How the hell could he tell that from just sniffing me like a dog?!

“Don’t look so terrified,” he said, his voice softening but losing none of its command. He eased back, giving me a bit of space. “I want the best for my child, which means I’ll treat the carrier well. I’ll make sure it’s the best experience for you, Seraphina. You have my word.”

I watched him, my mind racing as reality crashed into me. He was promising to give me the best s*x? Funny thing was,I believed him. And asides that, I had nowhere else to go. This contract was the only thing standing between me and the streets.

With my legs feeling like spaghetti, I walked back to the desk and reached for the pen. The ink felt heavy as I signed my name at the bottom of the parchment.

“Sensible,” he remarked, his eyes tracking the movement of the pen before he pulled the papers away. He glanced at my shivering, soaked frame, his expression unreadable. “Go. You need to get warm and eat. Stress is counterproductive. Marcus will show you to your quarters.”

I didn’t wait for another word. I slipped out of the office, the air in the hallway feeling cooler and easier to breathe. My chest still ached with anxiety as I followed Marcus up the grand, sweeping staircase.

The reality of the situation settled over me like a shroud. I had just signed away my life to a man who was as enigmatic as he was intimidating, all for the sake of a future I wasn't sure I was ready for.

Marcus opened a pair of double doors at the end of the long walkway, stepping aside to let me pass. "Your suite, Miss Seraphina. I shall return shortly with dinner."

The moment I stepped inside, the plush carpet swallowed my freezing feet. The room was massive, decorated in shades of gold and deep cream, but I didn't care about the luxury. My eyes immediately went to the far wall.

My breath froze, and the air seemed to vanish from the room.

There, sitting on a bench at the foot of the oversized bed, was a framed photograph. A photograph I never thought I would see again.