His Rejected Omega

Six

Ella

My throat tightened.

I refused to dignify his taunt with an answer.

The silence that followed was heavier than any roar.

Kane had a gift for quiet dominance, he didn’t need to raise his voice, didn’t need to snarl or throw his weight around like most Alphas did.

No, his control was the kind that wrapped around you slowly, like smoke in the lungs, until you couldn’t tell if you were breathing him in or suffocating in his presence.

And right now, that quiet power pinned me to the floor more effectively than his strength ever could.

I swallowed hard, the sound loud in the stillness. My chest rose and fell too fast, my pulse wild.

The chill of the marble seeped through the thin layer of fabric between me and the floor.

Kane’s eyes followed every movement I made as though he were dissecting me slowly, methodically, with intent.

He leaned down, a shadow of a smile on his lips that wasn’t quite human. “Well, my little Luna,” he murmured, “you certainly know how to make an entrance.”

“Get off me,” I hissed, twisting under him.

He didn’t move. His weight wasn’t crushing, but it was enough to remind me that if he wanted to, he could keep me here all night and there would be nothing I could do about it.

“You should be careful using that tone,” he said, his voice lowering to something dangerous, something that made my wolf stir uneasily in my chest. “There are parts of this kingdom where wolves would tear out throats for less.”

“I’m not your wolf,” I shot back before I could stop myself.

The second the words left my lips, I regretted them.

His gaze flicked to mine, something dangerous flashing in his silver eyes.

Then, suddenly, he moved. Not fast this time. Deliberately slow. He reached down, his thumb brushing over the place where my pulse raced in my throat. “Not yet,” he murmured. “But the moon has a strange way of changing things.”

I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that no moon or bond could make me bend to him. But the heat in his gaze scattered my thoughts before I could gather them.

Instead, I shoved at his chest, breaking free when he finally rose with a low chuckle and stepped back.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence between us hummed with something volatile, an energy neither of us dared to name.

I stumbled toward the dressing chamber, clutching the edge of my torn gown. My skin still burned where his fingers had brushed it. I hated that I could feel him even after he’d stepped away.

Once inside the chamber, I locked the door and let the heavy fabric fall away from me. The jeweled gown hit the floor with a metallic rustle, scattering tiny diamonds across the carpet like fallen stars.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

The wig was gone. The layers of makeup were smeared, half erased. What stared back at me wasn’t the broken creature I’d pretended to be for years, it was me.

For the first time in a long while, I saw the wolf in my own eyes.

I dressed quickly, pulling on the black combat suit that had once been my second skin. It was sleek, something I’d worn back in the Evans household when I snuck into the forest to train in secret.

When I stepped out, I expected Kane to still be looming like a storm waiting to strike.

Instead, I froze.

He was reclined against the bed, shirtless under an open robe, steam still curling faintly from his damp hair. The faint scent of clean cedar and musk filled the room, teasing my senses.

For one terrifying, traitorous second, I forgot how to breathe.

He looked like sin carved into skin and bone, lethal grace wrapped in effortless charm. And judging by the smirk that curved his lips when he noticed my hesitation, he knew exactly what effect he had.

“Changed your mind about running?” he drawled lazily.

“I wasn’t running,” I snapped, though my voice came out softer than I wanted. “I was… preparing.”

“Preparing?” He tilted his head. “For what? A midnight duel?”

“For survival,” I shot back.

He laughed, a low, rumbling sound that sent heat crawling up my spine. “Good,” he said, rising from the bed. “You might actually last in this house after all.”

I took a step back as he approached, my instincts warring between fight and flight.

He stopped just short of touching me. His gaze traveled from my boots to my face, taking in the black suit, the straight spine, the defiance burning in my eyes. “Now that,” he murmured, voice dropping an octave, “is the woman I married.”

I didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or a threat.

“You should rest,” he said suddenly, breaking the tension. “Tomorrow will be worse.”

“Worse?”

“The council will expect to meet their new Luna. They’ll tear into your past, your scars, your scent, everything. They’ll want to know what makes you worthy to stand beside me.”

“And if I’m not?” I asked.

He smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Then they’ll tear you apart before I can stop them.”

The air left my lungs. I searched his face for mockery, but there was none. His tone was too calm. That was what made it so terrifying.

He turned away, climbing into bed again like he hadn’t just casually threatened my life. “You’ll sleep there,” he said, nodding toward the couch. “I bite.”

My glare could’ve melted steel. “I’m not worried about teeth, Alpha.”

He chuckled again, clearly enjoying this. “Good. Because you should be worried about mine.”

⸻

The night crawled by.

Sleep eluded me.

I sat on the couch, legs drawn up beneath me, staring out the tall glass window where the moon hung like a silver eye.

The mansion was quiet now—too quiet. I could still feel Kane’s presence across the room, a steady pulse of dominance pressing against the edge of my consciousness.

He was pretending to sleep, but I knew better.

His breathing was too even. Too deliberate.

My wolf shifted restlessly beneath my skin, unsettled.

She didn’t fear him exactly, but she didn’t trust him either.

There was something in his scent, something layered beneath the dominance and the cedar, ancient and wild, like the whisper of an untamed forest.

She wanted to get closer. I wanted to run.

And for the first time, I didn’t know which instinct would win.

Eventually, exhaustion claimed me.

When I woke, sunlight filtered through the curtains in soft gold stripes.

My neck ached, and the faint scent of morning rain clung to the air.

I blinked clearly and froze.

I wasn’t on the couch.

I was in bed.

Beside him.

Every muscle in my body went rigid.

Kane was already awake, sitting at the edge of the mattress, one arm draped casually across his knee. His expression was unreadable, cool and composed, with that faint smirk that made me want to throw something.

“Sleep well?” he asked, his tone infuriatingly casual.

My eyes darted to the door, the couch, then back to him. “How did I….?”

He lifted a brow, feigning innocence. “You climbed into bed yourself, little wolf. Whispered something about being cold.”

“Liar!” I shot back before I could stop myself.

“Would you like proof?” He reached for his phone on the bedside table, the smirk deepening. “I took a video. You even….”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

He chuckled, clearly entertained by my outrage.

I sat up so fast the blanket tangled around me. “You’re insufferable.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“By people who probably didn’t live long enough to regret it,” I muttered.

That earned me a rare, genuine smile…a flash of sharp teeth and something dangerously close to warmth.

“You learn fast,” he said, standing. “You’ll need that.”

As he crossed to the wardrobe, I caught a glimpse of the mark on his shoulder…a faint, crescent-shaped scar that shimmered faintly under the morning light. My wolf stirred again, curiosity pricking.

“What is that?” I asked before I could stop myself.

He paused, his back still to me. “A reminder,” he said quietly. “Of what happens when trust becomes weakness.”

The words hung heavy between us, filling the room with ghosts.

Then, without another glance, he walked out, leaving me alone with too many questions and not enough courage to chase them.

I sank back onto the bed, fingers brushing the edge of the sheets that still smelled faintly of him.

Last night, I’d sworn to myself that I would survive this marriage.

But as the sun rose over the Darius estate, spilling light over the place that would now be my prison, one truth settled deep in my chest.

Surviving Kane Darius wouldn’t be enough.

If I wanted to live, I’d have to learn how to beat him at his own game.

And for that, the mask would have to come back on.

Only this time, it wouldn’t be for hiding.

It would be for hunting.