Rejected By My Mate: Claimed By The Alpha

Unclaimed

Lucien’s POV

“I already hate this place,” I muttered under my breath.

The ballroom was too polished, too bright. Everyone looked like they were here to be seen, not to celebrate. My Beta, Darius, raised a brow beside me.

“Didn’t peg you as the party type anyway.”

“I’m not,” I said, adjusting the cuff of my jacket. “But I came for a reason.”

Darius didn’t need to ask who. He already knew.

Seraphina Vale.

I’d heard about her through whispers — the unloved mate of Alpha Karl Thorn. But it wasn’t the gossip that caught my attention. It was the way people described her: quiet but strong, overlooked but unforgettable.

I spotted her the moment I walked in.

She wasn’t in a flashy dress like the others. She wasn’t laughing, dancing, or fighting for attention.

She just stood there.

Still.

Alone in the middle of it all like she didn’t belong — and maybe never had.

“That’s her?” Darius asked.

I gave a short nod. “That’s her.”

Before he could say anything else, Karl’s voice echoed through the room.

“I, Alpha Karl Thorn of the Thorn Pack, reject you, Seraphina Vale, as my mate.”

Just like that.

The entire ballroom fell silent for a breath, and then gasps exploded like fireworks.

My eyes stayed on her.

She didn’t collapse. She didn’t cry. She didn’t run.

She just looked at him, lifted her chin, and said—

“I accept your rejection.”

It was quiet. But powerful.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Darius glanced at me.

“She’s got nerve,” he said.

“No,” I corrected him. “She has control.”

A moment later, Karl wrapped his arm around another woman — some overly made-up thing in red silk.

“I claim Sabrina Woods as my mate and future Luna.”

My jaw tightened.

That was a cruel move. Even I didn’t expect him to be that cold.

Seraphina stood still for a moment, like her brain was catching up with her heart.

Then… she moved.

But not away. Not toward the door like most would expect.

No, she walked toward the waiters and took a glass of champagne. Just like that. Calm. Composed.

Everyone was still staring at her — whispering, judging — but she acted like they didn’t exist.

Darius chuckled under his breath. “She’s tougher than she looks.”

“She’s been surviving in silence for too long,” I murmured.

He gave me a sidelong glance. “You’re thinking about stepping in?”

“Not yet,” I said, eyes still locked on her. “She doesn’t need saving.”

“She will if Karl keeps pushing her.”

“He won’t get the chance.”

Seraphina took a sip of her drink, her hand steady, eyes cold. She didn’t even look at Karl.

I saw something in her that Karl never could.

Potential. Power. Purpose.

And when the time was right, I’d remind her of it.

Not with promises.

Not with pity.

But with respect.