The Alpha Rejected The Wrong Daughter

Chapter Four

ROWAN

The last drop of the moonvine potion slid down my throat with a bitter burn that lingered on my tongue.

For a moment, nothing happened.

I stood beside the bed clutching the empty vial, waiting for pain, for relief, for something that would tell me the choice had been made. The cottage remained quiet except for the faint crackle of the fireplace and the distant call of waking birds beyond the window.

Elder Mira watched me carefully. "Sit down, child."

I obeyed, lowering myself onto the edge of the bed as a strange heaviness settled through my limbs. My heart pounded unevenly.

"How long will it take?" I asked.

"Usually only a few minutes."

Usually.

I closed my eyes. Guilt twisted through me, but I forced myself to hold onto the reasons that had seemed so clear only moments ago.

Another minute passed.

Then another.

A faint warmth stirred low in my abdomen.

I stiffened.

"Elder Mira..."

The warmth spread slowly, not painful, not violent, but impossibly gentle. It moved through me like sunlight spilling across cold skin after a long winter. Instead of weakening, the sensation grew steadier, stronger, until every breath carried a strange, quiet energy.

Elder Mira frowned. "Tell me exactly what you're feeling."

"Warmth," I whispered. "Like..."

I struggled to find the words. "Like someone is holding me."

Her expression changed.

Before I could ask why, the moonstone hanging above the cottage door flashed.

Silver light flooded the room.

The bundles of dried herbs suspended from the ceiling began to sway even though the windows were closed. Lavender, sage, and silver blossom rustled softly as though stirred by an invisible wind.

I rose to my feet in alarm. "What's happening?"

Elder Mira took a slow step backward, her eyes fixed on me. "That potion should have worked."

The warmth inside me pulsed once.

The silver light brightened.

Then, without warning, every candle in the cottage ignited at the same time.

I stared around the room, my breath catching. "Elder..."

She looked pale. Truly pale. "The moonstone only reacts to ancient bloodlines," she murmured.

"What does that mean?"

Before she could answer, a sharp knock struck the front door.

Both of us froze.

The knock came again, louder this time.

"Elder Mira," a familiar male voice called. "It's Damien."

My blood turned to ice.

Elder Mira's gaze snapped to mine. "Did anyone see you come here?"

I shook my head.

The Alpha knocked a third time. "I know Rowan is here."

Panic surged through me. The shattered mate bond still ached beneath my skin, and the thought of facing him now—after the rejection, after what I had just done—felt unbearable.

"Go into the back room," Mira said immediately.

I grabbed my travel bag and hurried through the narrow doorway leading to the herb storeroom. The moment I disappeared inside, Elder Mira opened the front door.

"Alpha Damien," she said evenly. "This is an early visit."

Through the thin wall, I could hear the tension in his voice.

"Rowan left the manor. No one has seen her since last night."

"And you assumed she would come here?"

A pause.

"I know her."

The words pierced me with painful familiarity.

Elder Mira remained silent.

"Is she here?" he asked quietly.

Another pause stretched between them. My heart hammered so loudly I was certain he could hear it through the wall.

Finally Elder Mira replied, "No, Alpha. Rowan is not here."

The lie startled me.

For several seconds Damien said nothing.

Then I heard him exhale slowly. "If she comes to you..." His voice roughened. "Tell her I need to speak with her before she leaves the territory."

*Leaves the territory.*

So he already knew.

Elder Mira's tone remained calm. "I will pass along the message."

Boots scraped against the porch as he turned away. Only then did Elder Mira open the storeroom door.

"He's gone."

I stepped out slowly, my knees weak. "Why did you lie to him?"

"Because whatever is happening to your child..." She glanced toward my stomach, still shining faintly beneath the thin fabric of my dress. "I don't think Damien can know about it yet."

A chill ran through me.

"What do you mean?"

Elder Mira walked to the window and watched the empty path outside for a long moment before answering. "I think the prophecy may have been wrong."

My breath caught.

She turned back to me, her expression grave. "Or perhaps," she said softly, "everyone else simply chose the wrong daughter."

I stared at Elder Mira, searching her face for some sign that she had misspoke. "That's impossible." The denial came instinctively. "The prophecy has always been about Seraphina."

"Has it?" Elder Mira asked quietly.

I frowned.

"The prophecy never named a daughter, Rowan. It never spoke of strength or beauty or talent. It simply said that one daughter of the Grey bloodline would give birth to the Silver Wolf."

She paused before continuing. "It was people who decided it had to be Seraphina."

Could Damien have been wrong?

No.

He had searched the ancient archives himself.

He had read the prophecy with his own eyes.

Surely...

Surely he wouldn't destroy our future unless he was absolutely certain.

"I don't want to think about him anymore," I whispered. "I just want to leave."

Elder Mira's expression grew serious. "And that is exactly what you must do."

She crossed the room and disappeared into a small storage chamber before returning with a weathered leather satchel.

"I packed these while you were unconscious."

She placed it gently on the table and began opening the clasps.

"Several changes of clothing." She reached inside. "Dried herbs."

She opened a smaller pouch. "Gold coins." Then another. "Medicines that will last you several months."

I blinked. "You... packed all this for me?"

"You will need them."

A lump formed in my throat.

She had prepared everything before I had even made the decision aloud.

"There is a merchant caravan leaving for Crescent City before sunset," she continued.

"They pass through the eastern gate only once every two weeks."

"If you leave with them, you'll be beyond Silver Crest's borders by tomorrow morning."