Rejected By The Pack: Claimed By The Cursed Alpha

Chapter 19

Cassian came at midnight.

The door to my room opened without a sound. He slipped inside like a shadow and closed it quickly behind him. His face looked pale in the moonlight. His eyes carried guilt. I sat up in bed and watched him without speaking. For a long moment neither of us moved.

“Seraphina,” he whispered. His voice cracked. “Please. I need to talk to you.”

I stood slowly. My body still ached from the failed shift earlier that day. The dream with Kael still burned in my mind. Yet here stood the boy who once promised me forever. The one who chose Lyra without hesitation.

“Why are you here?” I asked. My tone stayed flat.

Cassian stepped closer. His hands trembled at his sides. “I can’t stop thinking about you. About what I did. About everything that happened. I was wrong. I hurt you badly and I know it.”

He dropped to his knees right there on the floor. The future Alpha of a powerful family knelt before me like a beggar. Part of me wanted to feel satisfaction. Another part felt nothing at all.

“Forgive me,” he begged. His eyes looked wet. “I was blind. Lyra made everything seem so clear. She said you were dangerous.

That your lack of wolf would weaken the pack. I believed her because it was easier than facing the truth.”

I walked around him slowly. My bare feet made no sound on the cold floor. “Easier than admitting you threw me away the moment I became useless.”

“Yes,” he admitted. His head hung low. “I was weak. I let politics and fear control me. But I never stopped caring. Even now. Seeing you at the procession. Seeing how strong you look despite everything. It broke something inside me.”

I stopped in front of him. “Get up, Cassian. Kneeling doesn’t change the past.”

He rose but kept his head bowed. “I want to make it right. Before the ritual. Before you… before you go to the cliff. Let me help you. Let me protect you somehow.”

The words almost made me laugh. Protect me. Now. After everything.

Kael stirred inside my mind. His presence felt sharp and angry. He dares come here after abandoning you. End him.

I pushed Kael back gently. I needed to hear this.

“How exactly do you plan to help me?” I asked. I kept my voice calm.

Cassian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial. Clear liquid glowed faintly inside. “This. Lyra gave it to me weeks ago. She said it would help calm your condition. Make the transition to the sacrifice easier. She told me to add it to your drinks when no one was looking. I did it. Twice. Because I thought I was protecting the pack.”

My blood turned cold.

I took the vial from his hand and held it up to the moonlight. The liquid shimmered with familiar red undertones. Moonstone essence. The same thing Lyra used against me on the training field.

“You were drugging me,” I said slowly.

Cassian nodded. Tears fell down his face now. “I didn’t know. She told me it was medicine. She said your power was unstable and it could hurt others. I believed her because I wanted to. It made my choice easier. But after today… after I saw you in pain on the field… I realized something was wrong.”

He grabbed my hands desperately. “I was helping her suppress your wolf. All this time. Every small thing I did thinking I was helping the pack was actually hurting you. I’m so sorry, Seraphina. I was a fool.”

The twist hit hard. Cassian had been Lyra’s tool without even realizing it. The boy who once brought me wildflowers had helped chain my power for years.

I pulled my hands away. “You handed her the weapon she used on me. And you never questioned it.”

“I know,” he whispered. “I deserve whatever punishment you give me. But please. Let me try to fix this. I can steal the

moonstone from her. I can tell your father the truth. I can stand with you.”

Kael’s voice roared in my head. Kill him. He is weak and useless. He does not deserve your mercy.

Yet I hesitated. Not out of love. That feeling had died long ago. But because information was power. Cassian still had access to Lyra. To my father. To things I needed.

I touched his cheek. He leaned into my hand like a starving man. “You really want forgiveness?”

“More than anything,” he said.

“Then prove it,” I told him. “Bring me the moonstone. Tell me everything Lyra has planned for the ritual. And stay silent about this meeting.”

Cassian nodded quickly. Hope filled his eyes. “I will. I swear it.”

He leaned forward and tried to kiss me. I turned my face away. His lips brushed my cheek instead.

“Don’t,” I said quietly. “That part of us is dead.”

He stepped back. Pain flashed across his face but he accepted it. “I understand. I’ll come back tomorrow night with what you need.”

After he left I stood by the window for a long time. The Northern Cliff loomed in the distance. Six days remained.

Cassian’s visit changed nothing about my path. But it gave me a new weapon. The boy who betrayed me might now help destroy the girl who used him.

Kael’s satisfaction rolled through the bond. Use him. Then discard him like he discarded you.

I smiled into the darkness. Revenge tasted sweeter when it came piece by piece.

I returned to bed but sleep did not come easily. The vial of moonstone essence sat on my table. Proof of how deep Lyra’s game went. Proof that even those who claimed to love me had been her tools.

Tomorrow I would train again with the Beta. Tomorrow I would push my body harder. And in six days I would walk to the cliff carrying every betrayal with me.