The Rejected Mate (Elaine and Michael) novel Chapter 93

The room was thick with silence after Roselyn’s words.

The weight of truth hung between them – sharp, undeniable, and merciless.

Michael’s jaw clenched, the tendons in his neck flexing as he struggled to hold himself together. His usually commanding voice cracked when he finally spoke.

“I was not given a chance to be his father, Roselyn.” His voice trembled with restrained anguish. “I was not told of him. I thought the pup had died when Elaine miscarried. I-” he took a step forward, his eyes hollow, desperate – “I didn’t get a chance to be his father.”

Roselyn’s expression hardened, but behind her defiance was a storm of empathy and fury battling for dominance.

“Alpha,” she began, her tone steady but laced with contempt, “do you think Elaine knew she was still pregnant when she left this place? She thought she lost her pup – you and Kathy is reason why. Until the doctor in my pack told her of her miracle… that one of the twins survived.”

–

She took a step closer, her voice rising with every word. “Her wolf gave everything strength, her energy – to save that unborn pup. To give it a chance. Tell me, after what she endured here, after the pain, the humiliation, the betrayal – do you really think she’d be thrilled to call you and tell you that one of her pups survived?”

Michael’s gaze fell to the ground, his breathing shallow.

“Are you out of your mind?” she pressed, her anger building like thunder. “Or are you even-”

“Roselyn.”

Calvin’s voice cut through her fury, calm but firm.

She froze, inhaling sharply, forcing herself to take a step back. His tone wasn’t reprimanding – it was a reminder. A tether pulling her back from the edge of saying something she couldn’t take back.

Roselyn’s chest rose and fell as she steadied herself. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter, but the fire in her eyes had not dimmed.

“Alpha,” she said, turning her gaze back to Michael, “you marked Kathy knowing what it would do to Elaine. You knew the pain that would cause her – and that pain doubled the moment she’d lost her pup.”

Michael’s eyes snapped up, sharp with guilt and defensiveness. “I was ordered by my father to continue the marking when Lucius said we must follow tradition,” he argued, the words spilling from him like a confession he’d repeated too many times as if saying them enough might absolve him.

Roselyn’s lip curled. “You keep saying that, Alpha. “Tradition.‘ ‘Orders.” Her voice echoed in the hall, low and cutting. “But at the end of the day, it was still your choice. You chose to follow those orders. You had a choice and you followed a wrong one.”

She took a slow, deliberate step closer, her gaze never leaving his.

“It was wrong. I know it. Everyone knows it. And you know it. But you still decided to follow.”

Michael’s jaw tightened. His eyes, once filled with authority, now brimmed with shame. The silence stretched thick, heavy, suffocating – before he turned sharply, the echo of his footsteps breaking the stillness as he stormed out of the room.

The door slammed behind him, the sound reverberating through the corridor like a thunderclap.

“This pack won’t survive a confrontation with Crescent Moon. I’m not saying this to insult your pack – Silverblade is strong, yes – but Crescent Moon? They’re warriors born and bred. They protect their own. Darius loves that boy to death.” She leaned closer, her eyes dark with promise. “And I mean that literally.”

Calvin exhaled slowly, knowing she wasn’t exaggerating.

“I’ll talk to him,” he promised. “But for now… let’s go. You don’t need to stay here. I know you’re not comfortable in the pack house.” His voice softened. “Last night will be the only night you spend here if you’re uneasy. We’ll stay at the cabin.”

Roselyn blinked, surprised. “Are you sure that’s alright?”

He smiled, brushing a kiss against her temple. “Yes. I already spoke to Michael about it.”

For the first time since the confrontation began, Roselyn’s shoulders relaxed. She reached for his hand, lacing her fingers with his as they turned toward the door.

“Good,” she murmured. “Because I don’t think I could sleep another night under the same roof as them.”

Together, they stepped out into the fading light of the day – two figures walking side by side through the shadows of a pack still haunted by its past.

And as the door to the pack house closed behind them, Roselyn couldn’t help but think: maybe this was what change looked like.

Messy. Painful. Necessary.