THE ALPHA'S REJECTED HEIR

THE LUNA'S COMMAND

The silver blade whistled through the air.

Camera flashes exploded. Reporters screamed.

Selene’s face twisted, beautiful and feral. “You unworthy b***h”

I didn’t move.

Kade did.

One second he was beside me at the podium. The next, he was a blur of black suit and gold eyes, slamming into Selene mid-lunge.

The crack of bone hitting marble echoed across the silent ballroom.

Selene hit the floor. The silver blade clattered beside her, inches from my Louboutin.

Kade stood over her, breathing like a caged animal. His hands weren’t hands anymore. Claws. Black veins crawled up his neck. His wolf was here.

“Mine,” he snarled. The word wasn’t human. It was a promise. A threat. Law.

Every wolf in the room flinched. Even Rhett took a step back.

Selene laughed, blood on her teeth. “Look at you. Her dog already. You rejected her for me , Kade—”

“You pulled silver on my Luna.” His voice dropped an octave. Wrong. Primal. “On the mother of my children.”

The words hit the mics. Hit the cameras. Hit every pack watching this live.

Murmurs. Gasps. Phones raising.

I stepped forward. My heels clicked once. Twice.

The sound cut through Kade’s growl.

“Kade.” One word. Soft. Commanding.

His head snapped to me. Gold eyes blown wide, wolf fighting for control. He was one second from ripping Selene’s throat out on camera.

And I couldn’t let him.

Not because I cared if Selene lived.

But because I would be the one to end her. On my terms. Not his.

“Stand down.” I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t need to.

The Silver Luna woke in my chest. Power, cold and bright as moonlight, rolled off my skin.

Kade’s claws retracted. Inch by agonizing inch. His shoulders heaved. He dropped to one knee, head bowed, right there in front of Selene. In front of everyone.

“The Luna commands,” he gritted out. “The Alpha obeys.”

The ballroom went dead silent.

Selene’s face crumpled. “No. No, you’re mine”

“Security,” I said into the mic, not looking at her. “Escort Ms. Blackwood out. She’s trespassing. And bill her for the marble.”

Two of my King Tech guards hauled Selene up. She thrashed, screaming about fated mates and stolen crowns. No one listened.

The cameras never stopped rolling.

I turned back to the podium. Smoothed my jacket. Smiled like we hadn’t just had an attempted murder on stage.

“Apologies for the interruption,” I said, voice cool. “As I was saying. The Volkov-King merger is effective immediately.”

I glanced at Kade. Still on one knee. Still shaking with the effort of holding his wolf back.

“Mr. Volkov has agreed to the terms. He will serve as COO under my leadership.” I let the words hang. Let every pack hear it. “He’ll start by overseeing the construction of the new King Tech daycare facility on floor 60. My children require a library.”

A camera flash. Another.

Kade’s head came up. His eyes weren’t gold anymore. They were ice gray. Wrecked. Hers.

“Any questions?”

Fifty hands shot up.

I pointed to a reporter in the front. “You.”

“Ms. King, is it true? You have twins? With Kade Volkov?”

I smiled. Slow. Lethal.

“Rule #1 of the merger, everyone. The twins are off-limits.” I leaned into the mic. “But since you asked... yes. Aria and Ash. Four years old. And their father just remembered they exist.”

I turned, walked off stage, and didn’t look back.

Let Kade clean up the blood.

Let the world watch him crawl.

---

*Kade’s POV - 2 Minutes Later*

My knees hit the floor of the green room before the door even shut.

The wolf was still screaming_. Kill her. Protect Luna. Claim. NOW.

But Lyra’s voice was louder. _Stand down._

Silver Luna command. It burned going in. Burned worse because I _wanted_ it.

Rhett locked the door. “f**k, Kade. You almost shifted on camera.”

“Selene pulled silver.” My voice was gravel. Hands still shaking. “On her. On my mate”

“Ex-mate,” Rhett said carefully.

I lunged. Had him against the wall in a second, teeth bared. “She’s not ex. She’s mine. She always was.”

Rhett didn’t fight. Just met my eyes. “Then why does she own your company? Your house? Your kids?”

The wolf howled.

Because he was right.

I sank to the floor. Put my head in my hands. “I saw him. My son. He bit me.” A laugh tore out of me, broken. “He’s got my eyes. He’s an Alpha already.”

“And you missed four years.”

Four years of birthdays. First steps. First words. All because I chose politics over my mate.

Lyra’s face when she told the world about the twins. Cold. Untouchable. She’d used them like a blade.

And I’d let her. Because I deserved worse.

The door opened.

Lyra stood there. No guards. No cameras. Just her, in that black suit, looking down at me on the floor like I was nothing.

“Ash wants to know,” she said quietly, “if you’re done bleeding on the marble. Or if he needs to bring his dinosaur to bite you again.”

My head snapped up.

She held out her phone. Video call. Two small faces, ice gray eyes wide.

“Daddy?” Aria’s voice. Small. Hopeful. “Did you beat the mean lady?”

The wolf shattered.

So did I.