His Rejected Omega

Five

Ella

A shiver ran down my spine.

I dropped my gaze, breaking the stare before it scorched me alive. My fingers dug into the gown’s fabric, the jewels biting my skin.

One wrong word, one misstep, and I could end up dead tonight instead of wedded.

And yet… beneath the fear, something else simmered Reckless and Restless.

The part of me that had spent years silenced and belittled wanted to rise. To push back. To show Kane Darius that I was not the powerless Omega the world believed me to be.

But survival won over pride. For now.

Kane leaned back against the headboard, arms loose but eyes still sharp. “Rest,” he said simply, like an Alpha dismissing a subordinate.

The word startled me more than any command. Rest? Not submit. Not bare myself. Just… rest.

I blinked, searching his face for deception. But his gaze had shifted away, cast into shadow, his expression unreadable.

It made no sense. Nothing about him did.

Slowly, I lay back, keeping to my side of the bed. The distance between us was wide, yet suffocating all the same.

My mind spun as I stared at the ceiling, the chandelier scattering fractured light across the room. This wasn’t the wedding night the Rosses had schemed for. It wasn’t even one Lauren could have conjured in her shallow dreams.

It was something altogether different.

And as I closed my eyes, feigning sleep, a chilling truth coiled in my chest.

Kane Darius wasn’t just my husband.

He was my judge.

My executioner.

And if I played this right maybe, just maybe, the only man who could become my salvation.

I should have known better than to let my guard down.

From the very first moment I laid eyes on Kane Darius, the High Alpha I was forced to marry, I knew he was dangerous.

Not the kind of danger that came with snarling rogues or sharp claws, but the sort that lurked behind a charming smile and eyes that saw too much.

He was carved from power, an Alpha whose very presence made the air thinner, the walls closer, and my skin ached with awareness.

But nothing could have prepared me for the way his fingers brushed the edge of my gown that night.

The sensation was like a spark leaping straight into my veins. Instinct took over before my mind could catch up.

I lashed out, my palm slicing through the air toward his face.

I wanted distance, a barrier, a reminder that I wasn’t some weak she-wolf to be toyed with.

Kane was faster.

Much faster.

His reflexes snapped like a whip, catching my movement midair.

The sudden shift threw me off balance, and I crashed to the floor with a thud that rattled my bones.

And then, goddess help me, he stole everything.

In one swift motion, his hand tugged away my veil.

Not just the veil, but the carefully pinned wig beneath it, the disguise I’d worn like armor for years.

A cascade of chestnut hair spilled down my back, silky and treacherous under the golden glow of the chamber’s lanterns.

For a heartbeat, silence filled the room. My heart pounded in my ears like war drums.

I wasn’t supposed to be seen like this.

For fifteen years, I’d hidden behind powder and pigments, shaping a mask of frailty and imperfection.

A fragile creature with ruined hair and blotched skin, someone unworthy of a true Alpha’s attention.

It was my shield, my lie, my only means of survival.

And Kane, with one reckless tug, had unraveled it all.

He knelt on the bed, one knee pressed into the mattress, eyes locked on me as though I were prey he’d cornered.

His gaze flicked over the fall of my hair, the faint traces of makeup that no longer concealed the truth, and something in his expression shifted.

I couldn’t read it, but it made my stomach tighten.

The whispers had painted me as a grotesque phantom.

They said I smeared my face with thick cosmetics to hide scars that marred me beyond repair.

Some swore they’d glimpsed the truth, claiming I was hideous beneath the paint.

But Cole had touched my cheek minutes before, wiping away the foundation with his thumb.

And what he saw now was not mangled flesh but porcelain skin, pale and soft as if it had never known the sun.

I froze under his scrutiny. His eyes dragged over me, sharp and calculating. He wasn’t just looking at me, he was unraveling me.

His lips curled, a dangerous amusement flickering there. “Well,” he murmured, voice low, threaded with mischief, “isn’t this interesting?”

Heat rushed to my face.

I wanted to claw the veil back, hide beneath the weight of it again.

I should have known better than to play this game with him.

Kane Darius wasn’t the composed aristocrat I’d imagined, he was controlled, aloof, and too disciplined to push boundaries.

No, this man was wild polish wrapped around reckless storms. Unpredictable. One moment the High Alpha, regal and untouchable, the next a roguish predator who lived to dismantle walls.

And I had just given him the key to mine.

My chest tightened.

This was supposed to be the last night I wore that suffocating mask of heavy powders.

I’d promised myself I’d reclaim my true face, my true self. But staring into Kane’s eyes, I realized something chilling.

With a man like him, survival meant keeping the mask on as long as possible.

“Care to explain,” he asked suddenly, his tone deceptively casual, “what you thought you were doing just now?”

The words jammed in my throat. I stammered, “I just, I didn’t want to give you a lousy experience.”

His brows arched, as if I’d amused him. “No worries,” he said smoothly. “Your face might be a mess, but your body…” His gaze swept down my form, making my skin burn. “That body’s something else. I’ll just switch off the lights and take my time enjoying it.”

At first, I thought it was a cruel joke. Until the chamber plunged into darkness.

The air left my lungs. My wolf stirred uneasily, ears pricking at the shift in his tone. He wasn’t bluffing.

“This bastard,” I muttered under my breath, “really has no shame.”

I barely had time to move before his shadow loomed over me again. Panic surged like wildfire through my veins. My gown was too heavy, its jeweled fabric clinging like chains.

Still, I bolted toward the balcony, desperate for an escape.

But Kane was swifter than shadows. He caught me mid-stride and slammed me back to the ground. My spine hit the floor with a painful jolt.

A growl tore from my throat. My wolf howled inside me, urging me to fight.

Every fiber of my being screamed to rip off this cursed gown, shed the disguise, and show him I wasn’t some delicate doll. I wanted to wrestle him down until he yielded, or until I did.

“Have you completely lost it, Kane?” My voice cracked like thunder, raw with fury.

Most men would have recoiled after seeing the painted disaster of my face, after discovering my carefully crafted weakness.

But Kane didn’t flinch. He leaned in closer, his presence pressing down on me like an immovable mountain.

Then he chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that sent shivers racing down my spine. His breath ghosted over the curve of my neck.

“We should make some noise,” he whispered.

“What?” I snapped, breathless.

“My grandfather’s panicking that I’ll abandon you tonight. He stationed someone outside the door to listen in. If we don’t put on a show, they’ll be here every night until there’s a pup in your belly.”

I stiffened. “You asshole!”

“If it’s that important,” I hissed, “why don’t you go put on the show yourself?”

The tension in my chest coiled tighter, every breath sharp and ragged.

Kane’s grin widened.

His hand snaked to my waist, fingers digging in just enough to sting.

“Ah!” I yelped, jerking under him. The sound echoed louder than I’d intended. And just like that, the muffled footsteps outside the chamber faded, retreating down the corridor.

But Kane didn’t move. His lips brushed my ear, his voice thick with amusement. “Honey, you certainly know how to make noise in the bedroom.”