Rejected By The Pack: Claimed By The Cursed Alpha

Chapter 13

Lyra’s heels clicked down the stone steps like the ticking of a countdown.

The lantern she carried cast dancing shadows that seemed to bow away from her—afraid, perhaps, of the monster wearing a pretty face.

I remained seated on the cot, back straight, hands folded in my lap.

The golden warmth in my chest burned hotter, Kael’s presence a coiled storm ready to strike.

Careful, Little Moon, he warned, voice low and lethal. She is a viper. But she is also the key to your first taste of revenge.

I kept my expression serene as Lyra stopped outside the bars, her silver hair cascading perfectly over one shoulder.

Even in the dim light, she glowed with that false innocence—the pack’s cherished princess. The moonstone necklace hung at her throat, mocking me.

“Sister,” she purred, tilting her head. “I thought you might be lonely down here. Father insisted on the confinement for your ‘safety,’ but I convinced him to let me check on you. Family, after all.”

“Family,” I echoed softly. The word tasted like ash. “How thoughtful. Shouldn’t you be upstairs dancing with my former fiancé?”

Lyra’s smile sharpened, eyes glittering with malice.

She stepped closer, gripping the bars. “Cassian sends his regards. He said the two of you had a touching conversation.

How noble of you to wish us well.”

She laughed lightly, the sound echoing cruelly off the walls. “Though I suppose it’s easy to be gracious when you’re about to throw yourself off a cliff for the greater good.”

The warmth surged. Shadows thickened in the corners of the cell, unnoticed by her yet. I felt power crackling at my fingertips—Kael feeding me strength, ancient and unforgiving.

“You always were dramatic,” Lyra continued, examining her nails. “Volunteering as sacrifice? How poetic.

The wolfless disgrace finally makes herself useful. Mother cried tears of joy when she heard. Well… not for you. For the pack’s salvation.”

I rose slowly, moving toward the bars with deliberate grace. Lyra’s smirk faltered for a split second as I drew nearer. Could she sense it? The change in the air? The ancient predator now linked to my soul?

“And what about you, Lyra?” I asked, voice calm. “Does it keep you warm at night? Stealing my life piece by piece? The family. The mate. The adoration that was never yours to begin with.”

Her eyes flashed. She leaned in, voice dropping to a venomous whisper. “I didn’t steal anything. You were broken from the start. A defective little miracle they dragged home from the storm. I am the true daughter. The one with power. The one the Moon Goddess intended.” She reached through the bars, grabbing my wrist with surprising strength. “And when you’re gone, no one will even remember your name. Except perhaps as a footnote in pack history: Seraphina the Sacrifice. Pathetic.”

Pain flared where she gripped me—but then Kael responded.

A pulse of dark energy shot through my veins. Lyra gasped, jerking back as if burned. Frost spread across the bars where her hand had been, and shadows lashed out like whips, grazing her arm. She stumbled, clutching the spot where a thin cut now bled.

“What… what was that?” she hissed, eyes wide with the first real fear I’d seen in years.

I smiled, tilting my head just as she had. “The Abyss stirs, sister. Maybe it doesn’t like liars.”

Lyra’s face twisted into something ugly. “You’re losing your mind down here. Good. It’ll make the ritual easier. No one wants a screaming sacrifice.” She straightened her gown, composing herself, but her hand trembled slightly. “Enjoy your last weeks, wolfless. When the Blood Moon comes, I’ll be the one standing beside Cassian as Luna while they push you off that cliff.”

She turned to leave, but I spoke one last time, Kael’s words mingling with mine.

“Before I go, Lyra… I want you to remember something.” My voice echoed with unnatural resonance. “Everything you took? I’m going to take back tenfold. And when the darkness claims me, it won’t be the end.”

She paused at the stairs, glancing back with a forced laugh. “Delusional to the last.”

But as she ascended, her steps were faster. The door slammed shut above, leaving me in silence once more.

The moment she was gone, I collapsed onto the cot, breathing hard. The power drain left me dizzy, but exhilarated. Kael’s presence enveloped me, steadying my racing heart.

Well done, he praised, pride and hunger threading his tone. She felt me. They all will soon. A phantom touch traced my jaw, possessive and warm. Your strength grows faster than I anticipated. The bond is strengthening.

I touched the spot where Lyra had grabbed me. No mark remained. “She’s scared now. Good.”

Fear is the beginning. Kael’s voice deepened, sending a different kind of shiver through me. But you need more than shadows and frost, my Queen. You need me. Fully.

The cell seemed to warm as visions flooded my mind again—intimate ones this time. Kael’s form in the Abyss: tall, powerfully built, with eyes like burning gold and markings of ancient runes across his chest. He reached for me across the divide, pulling me into an embrace that set every nerve alight. Not gentle. Claiming. His lips brushed my neck, promising pleasures and power intertwined.

When you jump, he whispered against my skin in the vision, I will catch you. Our mating bond will seal in the depths. And you will rise unstoppable.

I gasped, pulling out of the vision with flushed cheeks. The bond thrummed with need—his and mine. It terrified me as much as it thrilled.

Above, the celebration continued. But down here, something far more dangerous was being forged.

Later that night—or what I guessed was night—the Beta returned once more. His face was pale.

“The cliff… it’s cracking,” he said urgently through the bars. “The elders are panicking. The sacrifice date might be moved up. Seraphina, if there’s anything you know—”

I met his eyes, the golden warmth steady in my chest.

“Then let it come sooner,” I replied. “I’m ready.”

As he left, Kael’s dark laughter echoed in my mind.

The game begins, Little Moon.

And for the first time, I couldn’t wait for the Blood Moon to rise.