The Alpha I Rejected

I Won't Share My Husband

The next morning, Elena woke before sunrise.

She hadn't slept much.

Not because she had spent the night crying.

She hadn't shed a single tear.

She had spent the night thinking.

And by dawn, she had made her decision.

Elena stood before the mirror, fastening the final button of her black dress.

She looked calm.

Elegant.

Untouchable.

The woman staring back at her was not the same woman who had waited at the gates yesterday.

Yesterday, she had still believed her marriage could survive anything.

Today, she knew better.

A knock sounded.

"Come in."

Her assistant, Mara, entered.

"The Alpha wants to see you."

"I expected that."

Mara hesitated.

"Everyone is talking about Sophia."

"They can talk."

"Elena…"

Elena turned toward her.

"Is there something else?"

Mara lowered her voice.

"The Alpha has ordered the servants to prepare the eastern wing for Sophia."

Elena's expression remained unchanged.

"Let them prepare it."

Mara looked surprised.

"You're not going to stop him?"

"No."

Elena picked up a folder from the table.

"Damian has already made his choice. I'm not going to waste my energy fighting over a man who has already chosen another woman."

Mara stared at her.

"What are you going to do?"

Elena smiled faintly.

"That is something Damian should be worried about."

She walked out of the room.

Damian was waiting in his study.

Sophia was there too.

Elena stopped at the doorway.

The sight didn't bother her as much as she expected.

Perhaps because she had already accepted the truth.

Damian sat behind his desk.

Sophia stood beside him.

"Close the door," Damian ordered.

Elena did.

Then she walked toward the chair opposite his desk and sat down without waiting for permission.

Damian's eyes narrowed.

"You seem unusually calm."

"I am calm."

"After everything that happened yesterday?"

"Especially after everything that happened yesterday."

Sophia shifted uncomfortably.

Damian noticed.

"I wanted us to talk privately."

Elena looked at Sophia.

"Then why is she here?"

Damian's expression hardened.

"She is part of this."

Elena nodded.

"Fine."

Damian leaned back.

"Sophia will remain in the packhouse."

"I know."

"She is pregnant with my child."

"I know."

"I expect you to treat her with respect."

Elena almost smiled.

"You don't need to worry. I have no intention of mistreating an innocent child."

Sophia looked at her.

Elena continued.

"But don't confuse respect with acceptance."

Damian's eyes sharpened.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I will not fight Sophia."

She looked directly at her.

"And I will not blame her for your choices."

Sophia's lips parted.

Elena turned back to Damian.

"But I will not share my husband."

The room went silent.

Damian's voice dropped.

"You have no choice."

Elena laughed softly.

"That's where you're wrong."

She leaned forward.

"I always have a choice."

Damian stood.

His Alpha presence filled the room.

"You are my Luna."

"And you are forgetting something."

Elena stood too.

"I am your Luna because I chose to stand beside you."

She stepped closer.

"I am your wife because I chose to marry you."

Another step.

"And I am your mate because fate connected us."

Her eyes hardened.

"But none of those things give you the right to humiliate me."

Damian stared at her.

"You would abandon our bond over this?"

Elena's expression became completely serious.

"No."

She paused.

"I would reject you because you have already abandoned what the bond was supposed to mean."

Sophia looked between them.

Damian's face changed.

"You wouldn't dare."

Elena smiled.

That was the first time he looked uncertain.

"You've spent three years believing I would never leave."

She reached for the wedding ring on her finger.

Damian's gaze immediately dropped to it.

Elena slowly removed it.

She placed it on his desk.

"I don't need a husband who wants another woman."

Damian's voice became dangerous.

"Elena, think carefully."

"I have."

"If you break our mate bond, you will suffer."

"I know."

"The pain can destroy you."

"I know."

"You could regret it for the rest of your life."

Elena looked him directly in the eyes.

"I would regret staying far more."

Damian froze.

For the first time since returning from war, he seemed genuinely shaken.

Elena picked up her handbag.

"I'm giving you one final opportunity to understand something."

She looked at Sophia, then back at Damian.

"You chose her."

She pointed toward the ring on his desk.

"Now I choose myself."

She turned toward the door.

"Elena."

She stopped.

Damian's voice was quieter.

"Where will you go?"

Elena looked over her shoulder.

"Somewhere I can breathe."

"You cannot simply walk away from your pack."

"Watch me."

She opened the door.

Damian's eyes followed her.

"You're still my wife."

Elena gave him a calm smile.

"Not for much longer."

Then she walked out.

She didn't slam the door.

She didn't scream.

She didn't cry.

She simply walked away.

Behind her, Damian stood frozen.

He had expected anger.

He had expected tears.

He had expected his wife to fight for him.

Instead, Elena had given him something far more frightening.

Certainty.

She was leaving.

And once Elena Blackthorn made a decision, she did not turn back.