The Rejected Mate (Elaine and Michael) novel Chapter 101

“What is that about, Michael?” Kathy’s voice sliced through the stillness of the Alpha’s study sharp, cold, and measured. The air inside the room was thick with tension, the faint scent of pine smoke from the hearth mixing with the heavy musk of power that always seemed to radiate from him when he was agitated.

Michael stood by the tall window, the night sky casting a faint silver glow across his broad shoulders. Outside, the moon was high – a reminder of what they were, of what they once could have been. His fists clenched at his sides.

“I just want to meet my son, Kathy,” he said, his voice low but weighted with years of restraint.

Kathy’s eyes flickered toward the small boy curled up on the couch – Leo, their son. Her expression softened briefly before she turned to the omega standing by the door.

“Take Leo to his room,” she said quietly. “Now.”

When the door closed behind them, the air between husband and wife thickened, the silence humming with the tension of words that could no longer be unsaid.

“What about our son, Michael?” Kathy demanded, stepping forward, her composure cracking just enough to reveal the hurt beneath. “We agreed – we agreed not to interfere before Elaine came here. You promised me! What are you trying to do now? We sacrificed everything for this pack – for unity, for peace, for the future of our people. And now you’re going to risk all that?”

Michael turned, his eyes gleaming with restrained pain and defiance. “You don’t understand, Kathy. My son was hidden from me. He’s my son the child of my fated mate. I already sacrificed her… but I cannot sacrifice him.”

The words hung in the air like a blade. Kathy’s breath hitched.

“Then what happens to our son?” she asked, voice trembling with something between anger and desperation. “Michael, Elaine has moved on. Why can’t you? She made her choice made ours. She wanted us to move on too, remember? She said it to your face.”

Her eyes glistened, but she refused to let the tears fall. “I’ve tried to be happy. To be content with what we have. Because we both accepted your father’s command. I lost my Elaine because of it, Michael. My own sister! And now you want to destroy everything we’ve fought to protect? You’d risk the peace and unity of the pack – all for what? To chase ghosts?”

Michael’s jaw flexed. He could feel his wolf pacing inside him, restless and growling, its rage clawing at the edges of his control.

“I know how it feels to lose your fated,” Kathy continued, her tone softer now but heavy with grief. “My fated rejected me the moment he found out who I was. I know what that does to a person. But that ship has sailed, Michael. We can’t go back.”

He turned away, his shoulders tense. The firelight flickered across his face, catching the haunted look in his eyes.

“But don’t you ever wonder, Kathy?” His voice was quieter now, raw. “What our lives would be like if we hadn’t followed my father’s orders? If I hadn’t let him dictate who I should love, who I should lead? I’d still have my fated mate. You’d still have yours. We wouldn’t be living this lie.”

He exhaled shakily, dragging a hand through his hair. “My wolf doesn’t stop whispering her name. He doesn’t stop thinking about him about Nathan. There’s this… pull. A constant ache. It’s like he knows. Like he feels his blood out there, calling to him.”

“Good,” she said quietly. “Let’s deal with the council first. I’m sure we’ll hear from our parents soon once the elders reach out about the inquiry. And…” she hesitated, her expression tightening, “we’ll have to attend Elaine’s Luna ceremony next week.”

Michael said nothing. His gaze drifted once more to the window, where the moonlight poured like liquid silver across the floor.

He could almost see Elaine in that light – the way her hair caught the glow, the way her eyes used to soften when she looked at him.

He swallowed hard, his wolf stirring again beneath his skin, whispering in a voice that was both pain and longing.

She was ours.

And though Michael said nothing aloud, his heart echoed the same truth never admit, not even to his wife.