The Alpha's Rejected Mate

Chapter 3 — The Alpha Returns

"Adrian."

Eva repeated the name quietly, as though testing how it felt on her tongue.

The stranger standing before her watched her carefully.

"Yes," he said. "Adrian."

"Just Adrian?"

Something almost like amusement flickered across his face.

"For now."

Eva frowned.

"That's not exactly an answer."

He looked toward the dark forest behind her.

"It's the only one I can give you."

Eva studied him for a moment.

Now that the panic had begun to settle, she could see him more clearly.

He was tall—much taller than anyone she had ever met. His shoulders were broad, his dark hair fell messily across his forehead, and there was something intimidating about the way he carried himself.

Even injured, he seemed powerful.

But his eyes were what unsettled her most.

They were not completely human.

There was still a faint golden glow in them.

Eva instinctively touched the side of her neck.

The mark burned beneath her fingers.

Adrian noticed.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little."

He stepped toward her.

Eva stepped backward.

"Don't."

He stopped.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"You already bit me."

His jaw tightened.

"I know."

"You said you had no choice."

"I didn't."

"You could have warned me."

"I didn't have time."

Eva glared at him.

"You could have said, 'Eva, I'm going to bite you now.'"

Despite everything, Adrian almost smiled.

"You probably wouldn't have agreed."

"No, I wouldn't have."

"Exactly."

Eva's eyes narrowed.

"You find this funny?"

"No."

His voice became serious.

"Not at all."

He looked at the mark.

"I am sorry."

Eva wasn't expecting that.

She had expected arrogance.

Perhaps even indifference.

Instead, he sounded genuinely remorseful.

"What exactly did you do to me?" she asked.

Adrian was silent.

Then he said, "I marked you."

"I know you said that. What does it mean?"

"It means my wolf has left a mark on you."

Eva waited.

"That's all?"

"No."

He looked away.

"Tell me."

Adrian took a slow breath.

"In our world, a mark can mean several things. A claim. A warning. A bond."

Eva's stomach tightened.

"What kind of bond?"

His eyes met hers.

"I'm not certain."

"You don't know?"

"I've never experienced anything like this."

Eva laughed bitterly.

"So neither of us knows what's happening."

"Apparently not."

She looked toward the village.

"I should go."

Adrian nodded.

"You should."

Eva took a step.

Then stopped.

"What happens now?"

Adrian's expression became unreadable.

"I don't know."

"Are you going to find me?"

His eyes flickered.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because you are human."

Eva frowned.

"So?"

"My world is dangerous."

"So is mine."

Adrian looked at her.

She hadn't meant to say it.

But the words came out anyway.

"My family isn't exactly safe either."

His expression darkened.

"What happened?"

Eva shook her head.

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

She looked at him.

"You're very observant."

"It's part of being a wolf."

Eva looked at his face.

"So the stories are true?"

"Which stories?"

"Werewolves."

Adrian nodded.

"Yes."

Eva swallowed.

"How many of you are there?"

"More than you could imagine."

"Do humans know?"

"Some."

"Does my family know?"

"I don't know."

Eva looked down.

"My father told me never to enter this forest."

"Then you should listen to him."

She gave a humorless smile.

"That's the first thing he's said that was probably right."

Adrian studied her.

There was something in her voice that bothered him.

Something broken.

"You don't have to go back."

Eva looked at him.

"What?"

"You can come with me."

She immediately shook her head.

"I don't know you."

"You shouldn't."

"And you're a werewolf."

"Yes."

"And you just bit me."

"Yes."

"You're not exactly making a convincing argument."

For the first time, Adrian laughed softly.

It was unexpected.

Eva stared at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You laughed."

"I did."

"Why?"

"Because you're not afraid of me."

Eva gave him a look.

"I am terrified of you."

His amusement disappeared.

"Then why are you still standing here?"

Eva didn't have an answer.

She looked at the man in front of her.

Perhaps because despite the claws, the glowing eyes and the bite, she didn't feel threatened by him.

She felt something else.

Something strange.

Something she couldn't explain.

"Because you were dying," she finally said.

Adrian stared at her.

"And you saved me."

Eva nodded.

"I couldn't leave you."

His gaze softened.

"Why?"

Eva looked away.

"Because I know what it feels like when nobody comes."

Something shifted inside Adrian.

He had spent years surrounded by people.

Warriors.

Servants.

Advisers.

Nobles.

Yet he had never felt more alone than he did in that moment.

He looked at the girl standing in front of him.

She was soaked from the rain.

Her dress was torn.

Her hands were scratched.

And yet she had entered a forest filled with creatures she feared because she heard something suffering.

"You should go," he said quietly.

Eva nodded.

She turned.

Then his voice stopped her.

"Eva."

She looked over her shoulder.

"If anyone asks about tonight, you never saw me."

"Why?"

"Because my enemies may be looking for me."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Very."

"Will they come after me?"

Adrian hesitated.

"I don't know."

Eva's face paled.

"That's reassuring."

Adrian looked at her for a long moment.

"You should forget tonight ever happened."

Eva's brows drew together.

"Forget?"

"Forget me. Forget this forest. Forget the bite."

"How am I supposed to forget something like that?"

Adrian's expression softened, but only for a moment.

"You have to try."

Eva stared at him, confused by the sudden distance in his voice.

"Why?"

"Because my world will only bring trouble into yours."

He turned away from her.

"Go home, Eva."

She hesitated.

"Goodbye, Adrian."

He didn't turn around.

"Goodbye."

Eva began walking.

After a few steps, she looked back and began to run.

Adrian was still standing beneath the trees, his figure disappearing into the darkness.

She couldn't understand why, but something inside her hurt at the thought of leaving him.

She turned away and continued toward the village.

Behind her, Adrian finally closed his eyes.

His wolf stirred.

Mate.

"No."

Ours.

"She's human."

Mate.

Adrian clenched his fists.

"Forget her."

But even as he said it, he knew he couldn't.

Eva did not stop running until the forest disappeared behind her.

Her lungs burned.

Her dress was soaked.

Mud covered her legs, and branches had scratched her arms in several places.

But none of that mattered.

She kept running.

Adrian's final words echoed in her mind.

Forget me.

How was she supposed to forget him?

She touched the side of her neck.

The wound was still there.

It burned beneath her fingertips.

The bite.

The mark.

Whatever Adrian had done to her, it was no ordinary wound.

Eva slowed as she reached the edge of the village.

The first pale light of dawn was beginning to appear beyond the clouds.

She looked toward her family's house.

The windows were dark.

Everyone was asleep.

For a moment, Eva considered knocking.

Then she remembered her father's expression.

Outside.

Her stepmother's cold voice.

Catherine says you broke it.

She looked down at her muddy dress.

She couldn't go inside looking like this.

Not yet.

Eva sat beneath an old tree near the edge of the village and waited.

Her entire body was exhausted.

She closed her eyes.

Immediately, she remembered Adrian.

The golden eyes.

The wound.

The transformation.

The bite.

She shivered.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

A strange sensation moved through her body.

Warmth.

Then a pulse.

Eva opened her eyes.

The mark on her neck was glowing faintly beneath her fingers.

She stared at it.

The light disappeared.

Eva's heart raced.

She quickly pulled her dress higher around her neck.

No one could see this.

No one could know.

Especially not her father.

She didn't understand why.

She simply knew that Adrian had warned her.

And somehow, she trusted him.

That frightened her more than the bite itself.

---

Far from the village, a completely different world was awakening.

The Black Moon Palace stood beyond the northern mountains.

Its enormous towers disappeared into the morning mist.

Black stone walls surrounded the palace, while silver banners bearing the crest of the royal wolf hung from every tower.

The kingdom's strongest warriors guarded the gates.

Normally, the palace was silent at dawn.

But that morning, panic spread through the corridors.

"The Alpha hasn't returned."

"He was supposed to be back before midnight."

"Search the eastern border."

"Send another patrol."

The guards moved quickly.

Nobody dared say what they were all thinking.

The Alpha might be dead.

Then the enormous gates opened.

Every guard turned.

A lone figure walked through them.

He was covered in mud and blood.

His black shirt was torn.

His hair was wet.

But he walked upright.

The guards immediately dropped to one knee.

"Alpha."

Adrian ignored them.

"Where is Marcus?"

The captain stood.

"Your Majesty, we thought—"

"I asked where Marcus is."

"In the council chamber."

Adrian continued walking.

The guards exchanged relieved glances.

Their Alpha was alive.

That was all that mattered.

Adrian entered the palace.

The familiar scent of stone, firewood and wolf filled his senses.

Yet something felt different.

He stopped.

His hand went instinctively toward his neck.

Then he touched the mark on his wrist.

His wolf stirred.

Eva.

Adrian frowned.

He hated that her name appeared in his thoughts so easily.

He had met her only once.

And yet his wolf behaved as if it had known her forever.

Mine.

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"No."

He had spent his entire life learning to control his wolf.

He was the Alpha.

The leader of thousands.

He couldn't allow an unknown human girl to become a weakness.

Especially not now.

"Alpha?"

Adrian turned.

Marcus stood at the end of the corridor.

He was Adrian's Beta and closest friend.

He had silver-brown hair, sharp gray eyes, and the permanent expression of a man who had very little patience for foolishness.

He hurried toward Adrian.

"Where have you been?"

"Outside."

"Outside where?"

"The eastern forest."

Marcus stared at him.

"You went into the forest alone?"

"I had a reason."

"You were supposed to return before midnight."

"I was delayed."

Marcus noticed the blood.

His face changed.

"You've been injured."

"I'm fine."

"That's not an answer."

Adrian walked past him.

Marcus followed.

"Was it the rogue pack?"

Adrian stopped.

"Possibly."

"Did you find out who attacked you?"

"No."

Marcus studied him.

"Your wound."

"What about it?"

"It's gone."

Adrian looked down.

The tear in his shirt exposed his side.

The deep wound that had nearly killed him was now little more than a thin red scar.

Marcus stared.

"How?"

Adrian said nothing.

"Adrian."

Still nothing.

Marcus lowered his voice.

"What happened in that forest?"

Adrian looked away.

He didn't want to talk about Eva.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

"I need to speak to the council."

Marcus sighed.

"Of course you do."

They continued toward the council chamber.

But Adrian couldn't stop thinking about the girl.

He remembered her hands.

Small.

Warm.

Shaking.

She had been afraid.

Yet she stayed.

She had pressed a piece of her dress against his wound.

She had spoken to him as though he were simply an injured creature.

Nobody had ever treated Adrian that way.

Everyone else saw the crown.

The power.

The Alpha.

Eva had seen the blood.

And somehow, that mattered.

---

The council chamber was already full.

Seven elders sat around the long stone table.

At the head sat Elder Rowan, the oldest of them all.

He stood when Adrian entered.

"Alpha."

Adrian took his place.

Marcus remained beside him.

Rowan studied him.

"We feared you had been attacked."

"I was."

The elders exchanged looks.

"By whom?" Rowan asked.

"We don't know."

"How serious were your injuries?"

"Serious enough."

Rowan frowned.

"Your wounds?"

"Healed."

The elders looked surprised.

One of them whispered something.

Adrian ignored it.

He had no desire to explain how he had survived.

At least not yet.

Rowan sat.

"There is another matter."

Adrian already knew he wouldn't like what came next.

"What?"

The elder folded his hands.

"You are twenty-eight."

"I am aware."

"You have ruled for nearly six years."

"I am aware of that too."

"And you still have no Luna."

Adrian leaned back.

"I don't need one."

The room went silent.

Rowan's expression hardened.

"Every Alpha needs a Luna."

"My kingdom survived perfectly well without one."

"That is not the point."

"What is the point?"

Rowan looked toward the other elders.

Then back at Adrian.

"The packs are becoming restless."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"They want stability."

"You have stability."

"They want an heir."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

There it was.

The subject he hated most.

"Absolutely not."

Rowan sighed.

"Adrian."

"No."

"You cannot refuse forever."

"I can."

"Your father refused too."

Adrian's expression changed.

The room became quiet.

His father.

The former Alpha.

The man who had died without completing the sacred mate bond.

Adrian remembered his funeral.

The kingdom had mourned.

But Adrian had been only twenty-two.

He had inherited a kingdom still recovering from war.

He had no interest in marriage.

No interest in love.

No interest in the ancient traditions.

He had built his rule around one principle.

Strength.

And it had worked.

Until last night.

Until Eva.

Rowan spoke again.

"The Moon Festival is in six weeks."

Adrian looked at him.

"We will hold the selection before then."

"No."

"Alpha—"

"I said no."

Rowan's voice hardened.

"You don't have to like the tradition. But you will follow it."

Adrian stood.

"I am the Alpha."

"And I am your elder."

"You advise me."

"I do."

"Then advise me to ignore this."

Rowan stared at him.

"I cannot."

Adrian turned toward the doors.

"Then we're finished."

"Adrian."

He stopped.

Rowan's next words made him pause.

"If you do not choose a mate willingly, the elders will choose the process for you."

Adrian slowly turned.

"What does that mean?"

"Every unmated female from the surrounding territories will be summoned."

Adrian's eyes darkened.

"You cannot force them."

"No one will be forced to remain."

Rowan paused.

"But every eligible woman will be given the opportunity to present herself."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"This is absurd."

"It's tradition."

Adrian walked away.

Marcus followed.

Once they were outside, he sighed.

"You're going to hate the next six weeks."

"I already do."

Marcus smirked.

"You know, most men would be excited about hundreds of women competing for them."

"I'm not most men."

"Definitely not."

Adrian stopped.

Marcus nearly walked into him.

"What?"

Adrian looked toward the palace gardens.

"I met someone."

Marcus blinked.

"What?"

"Last night."

His friend's expression immediately changed.

"You met someone?"

"Not like that."

"Then what happened?"

Adrian hesitated.

He didn't know how to explain it.

"She saved my life."

Marcus stared at him.

"You were saved by a woman?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"A human."

Marcus went completely still.

"Human?"

Adrian nodded.

"What's her name?"

"Eva."

Marcus watched him carefully.

"And where is she now?"

"At home."

"Does she know who you are?"

"She knows I'm a werewolf."

Marcus rubbed his forehead.

"This is going to become a problem."

"I know."

"Did you mark her?"

Adrian's silence answered the question.

Marcus's eyes widened.

"You did."

"It was necessary."

"Adrian."

"I was dying."

"You marked a human?"

"I didn't have a choice."

Marcus stared at him.

"Do you understand what that means?"

"Yes."

"Do you?"

Adrian's eyes flashed gold.

"I said yes."

Marcus lowered his voice.

"The mark isn't just a wound."

"I know."

"If your wolf has chosen her—"

"He hasn't."

Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"You're sure?"

Adrian said nothing.

Because he wasn't.

He remembered the moment he touched Eva.

The sensation.

The pull.

The overwhelming certainty.

His wolf had recognized something.

Something ancient.

Something Adrian wasn't ready to understand.

---

Meanwhile, Eva returned home.

The house was already awake.

She slipped through the back door.

Her stepmother was in the kitchen.

The moment she saw Eva, her face hardened.

"Where have you been?"

Eva froze.

"I..."

"You were supposed to stay outside."

"I did."

"Then why were you gone?"

Eva looked down.

"I couldn't sleep."

Her stepmother walked toward her.

"Look at your clothes."

Eva glanced down.

Mud covered the hem.

"What happened?"

"I fell."

Her stepmother narrowed her eyes.

"Where?"

"Near the garden."

"You're lying."

Eva's heart raced.

"No."

Her stepmother stepped closer.

Then she noticed the mark.

"What is that?"

Eva immediately covered her neck.

"Nothing."

Her stepmother grabbed her wrist.

"Move your hand."

Eva pulled away.

"It's nothing."

"Let me see."

Before Eva could respond, Catherine entered.

"What happened?"

Her mother pointed toward Eva.

"Look at her."

Catherine examined Eva.

Then she noticed the blood on her dress.

"Did she hurt herself?"

"I don't know."

Catherine walked closer.

Eva stepped back.

"What happened to your neck?"

"Nothing."

Catherine smiled.

"You look frightened."

"I'm tired."

Eva tried to walk past them.

Catherine grabbed her arm.

"You don't get to walk away."

Eva looked at her hand.

"Let go."

Catherine's smile disappeared.

"Or what?"

Eva said nothing.

Catherine released her.

"Mother, she is hiding something."

Eva's stepmother looked at her suspiciously.

"Go upstairs."

Eva didn't argue.

She hurried to her room.

The moment the door closed, she leaned against it.

Her heart was pounding.

She touched her neck again.

The mark was burning.

She walked toward the mirror.

Slowly, she lowered the neckline of her dress.

A dark crescent-shaped mark had appeared on her skin.

It wasn't there yesterday.

Eva stared at it.

"What did you do to me, Adrian?"

The mark pulsed.

Eva gasped.

For a split second, she heard something.

A heartbeat.

Not hers.

Another heartbeat.

Strong.

Steady.

She pressed her hand against the mark.

The sensation disappeared.

Eva stepped away from the mirror.

She was beginning to realize that Adrian's warning had been serious.

The bite had changed something.

But she had no idea how much.

---

That night, Adrian stood alone on the balcony of his chambers.

The kingdom stretched beneath him.

Thousands of lights illuminated the valley.

He should have been thinking about the council.

The upcoming selection.

The threats along the eastern border.

Instead, he thought about Eva.

He closed his eyes.

There it was again.

That strange pull.

He could feel her.

Faintly.

Like a thread connecting them across the distance.

His wolf stirred.

Find her.

Adrian opened his eyes.

"No."

Mate.

His heart stopped.

Adrian gripped the stone railing.

"No."

The word came out more forcefully.

But his wolf didn't retreat.

It had never been so certain.

Adrian looked toward the distant village.

He couldn't see Eva from here.

But somehow, he knew she was there.

He could feel the faint rhythm of her heartbeat.

His heartbeat answered.

For the first time in years, Adrian felt afraid.

Not of an enemy.

Not of death.

But of destiny.

Because if Eva was truly his mate, then everything he had built was about to change.

And neither of them was prepared for it.

---

Six days later, the palace gates opened.

Messengers rode through the kingdom carrying the Alpha's decree.

Every eligible unmated woman was summoned to the Black Moon Palace.

The Alpha would choose his Luna.

In Eva's village, the news spread before breakfast.

Catherine was the first to hear.

She ran into the dining room with excitement shining in her eyes.

"Mother!"

Her stepmother looked up.

"What is it?"

"The Alpha is choosing his mate."

Mary looked surprised.

"The Alpha?"

Catherine nodded.

"Every eligible woman has to present herself."

Her mother slowly smiled.

"Then you will go."

Catherine's smile widened.

"Of course."

She looked toward Eva.

Eva stood in the corner holding a tray.

For some reason, Catherine's eyes lingered on her.

Eva didn't understand why.

But a strange chill passed through her.

She touched her neck beneath the collar of her dress.

The mark was warm.

And somewhere far away, inside the Black Moon Palace, Adrian felt it too.

His wolf lifted its head.

Eva.

The Alpha closed his eyes.

The selection had not even begun.

Yet somehow, he already knew the one woman he would never be able to forget.