The Rejected Mate (Elaine and Michael) novel Chapter 17

Elaine did not even have a chance to think. One moment she was quietly eating on her own, and the next she felt a firm but steady grip around her wrist. Alpha Darius, towering and confident, pulled her up with surprising ease. In his other hand, he carried her plate of food as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“You eat so little. You should eat more,” Alpha Darius said, his deep voice drawing every ear in the room.

Elaine froze, unsure how to respond. Her mind spun in confusion.

What is going on here? She had only met him that morning, their introduction brief and unexpected. Yet now, he acted as though they were old friends, closer even.

Around them, the dining hall grew quieter. The eyes of every guest and pack member followed their every step. Whispers rippled like waves through the crowded tables.

Her pack leaders sat stiffly, their expressions carefully controlled, though their eyes betrayed disapproval. Michael’s jaw clenched as if he were biting back the urge to stand and interfere, but not even he dared, not against Darius.

The Crescent Moon Pack carried a reputation carved in blood and steel. They were the warrior pack, unmatched in strength and feared across territories. If Silverblade was respected for its influence and power, Crescent Moon was revered–and dreaded–as the number one pack in existence. Their Alpha was not one anyone challenged.

Yet the way Darius looked at her, spoke to her, and tugged her along with such casual authority, he did not appear as the ruthless wolf the world described. He smiled easily, laughed softly, and held himself with the kind of charm that disarmed those around him. Friendly, almost boyish.

But Elaine knew better. Everyone here knew better. Behind that warmth was a man who commanded armies, a wolf no one dared cross.

When they reached his table, a tall man already seated there fixed them with an unimpressed stare. Darius’s Beta, Marcus, stood immediately, his presence sharp and disciplined. His brows lifted in disbelief.

“Marcus,” Darius said without hesitation, pulling Elaine forward as though presenting something precious. “This is Elaine. The one I told you I met earlier.”

Marcus’s frown deepened. “Darius, you do remember we are not in our own pack house right now, don’t you? You cannot just drag a member of another pack to sit with you.”

Darius c****d his head, feigning innocence. “Oh? Should I have dragged you instead, then?”

Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated.

“That is not what I meant. Protocol exists for a reason. You should have asked the Alpha’s permission before insisting one of his pack members sit at your side.” His tone was patient but sharp, the way one might speak to a reckless child.

Elaine’s lips parted, and despite herself, a small laugh slipped out. The tension around them cracked like thin ice. Both men immediately turned toward her, one with irritation, the other with amusement. Elaine’s face flamed, and she lowered her gaze.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, though her laughter bubbled again. “It’s just… is this how it always is? It seems like the Beta is the one taking care of the Alpha.”

The faintest smile touched Marcus’s lips, but Darius leaned closer, eyes glinting.

“Not always,” he said, lowering his voice as though the words were meant only for her. “Just to the people I am close to.”

Her brow furrowed, and confusion washed over her. “But… we only just met.”

“I know,” Darius replied, his tone shifting, carrying an edge of sincerity that rooted her in place. “But can’t you feel it? That connection between us? Because I do. And I cannot explain it.”

Her heart thudded, painfully loud in her ears. She wanted to say it–that she could feel something. That strange pull, not a mate bond, but something safer, warmer. Something that reminded her of the way she used to believe safety existed.

But she swallowed the words, biting them back until they burned in her chest.

How could she trust this feeling? She had trusted before, and every time it had broken her.

She had felt safe with Michael, her fated mate–until he betrayed their bond.

She had felt safe with her parents–until they turned away and left her to face humiliation alone.

She had felt safe with Kathy–until her own sister took Michael from her.

She had felt safe with Alpha Efrein and Luna Beatrice–until they forced her to surrender the one thing that belonged to her, all for the sake of duty.

Every time she opened her heart, it was ripped apart. Why should this be any different? And besides, in just a few days Darius and his Beta would leave. They would return to their lands after the mating ceremony. And she, too, would be leaving–leaving behind the pack that abandoned her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sharp, clipped voice of Alpha Efrein pressing into her mind through the pack link.

“After breakfast, we will see you at the Alpha’s office.”

The command was cold, authoritative, and final.

There was no room to refuse.

Elaine’s stomach dropped, her fingers tightening around the edge of her plate.

What do they want with me now? She thought bitterly, though a part of her already feared the answer.

Breakfast dragged on endlessly, though Elaine barely touched her food. The laughter and chatter around the tables sounded muffled, distant, like she was caught in a fog. Every so often she caught Alpha Darius watching her–sometimes openly, sometimes from the corner of his eye. His presence pressed on her senses, unsettling yet strangely grounding.

But the pack link from Alpha Efrein still burned at the back of her mind, reminding her that her reprieve was temporary. As soon as the meal ended, she would have to face them again–her Alpha, her Luna, her parents, her sister, and Michael. The people who had stripped her of everything she thought was hers.

When at last Darius excused himself, leaving her with a lingering smile that only deepened her confusion, Elaine rose slowly from the table. Her legs felt heavy, as if every step carried the weight of invisible chains.

She followed the familiar corridors of the pack house, passing smiling faces, murmured conversations, and curious stares. To them, she was no more than the rejected girl swept up in the attention of the most powerful Alpha alive. To her, each glance felt like a knife.

By the time she reached the Alpha’s office, her palms were damp with sweat. Two guards stood outside the doors, their expressions unreadable, their bodies taut with discipline. They didn’t speak to her–didn’t need to. They opened the heavy doors in silence, allowing her to step into the room she dreaded.