The Rejected Mate (Elaine and Michael) novel Chapter 96

The Night of the Rejection – Silverblade Territory (Michael POV)

The night was heavy with tension. The moon hung low over Silverblade, a pale, ghostly witness to the turmoil inside the Alpha’s manor. The wind howled through the trees, carrying the scent of pine, earth, and something far more potent the lingering trace of a bond thought long severed.

–

Michael paced the length of his study, his bare feet soundless on the cold wooden floor. The storm raging inside him was far louder than the quiet night outside. His wolf prowled just beneath his skin, restless, agitated, and dangerously close to surfacing.

He could still hear the echo of his wolf’s voice from earlier that day, the moment Nathan had stepped out from the car and run straight to Alpha Darius. The instant he caught the boy’s scent, something inside him had snapped.

“He is our son,” his wolf had growled, wild and certain. “Our son with our mate. He should call us daddy – not another wolf!”

Michael had frozen then, heart thundering as the truth crashed into him. That scent – faint but undeniable carried a bond that no lie, no distance, could ever erase.

Nathan.

–

The boy’s name burned in his mind like a brand. His son. His flesh and blood.

But how?

How could it be possible when the pack doctor himself had told them that Elaine had miscarried all those years ago? He still remembered the day of his marking ceremony with Kathy – the bittersweet celebration that followed a devastating report. The doctor had said Elaine never even knew she was pregnant, that the pup hadn’t survived. He had believed it. He had to believe it.

And yet now, standing under the same moonlight that had once blessed his union with Kathy, Michael’s entire world was unraveling.

than his son survived. And no one, even think to let him know.

And Elaine… the way she spoke of Darius – the way she said “our son” with such conviction

—

it shredded what little restraint he had left.

He should be the one Nathan’s looking at with such love. He should be the one Nathan calling daddy.

Did she truly believe that boy belonged to another wolf? Did she think he wouldn’t know? That he couldn’t feel the blood bond that thrummed in his veins every time Nathan looked his way? He could feel it in his bones. His wolf can feel it. Nathan is ours.

His wolf snarled from within, furious and heartbroken all at once.

“This is your fault. You threw her away. She was our mate- our true mate! No… she still is. You can fix this. Reject Kathy and claim Elaine. Take back what’s ours.”

Michael’s hands clenched at his sides, claws threatening to break through. “You know we can’t do that,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “She belongs to Darius now. She’s his Luna.

Michael closed his eyes, guilt pressing down like chains. “You think I don’t know what I did?” he whispered. “You think I haven’t carried that every day since?”

“Then make it right.”

“I can’t,” he said, voice breaking. “That chance died with her tears. I can’t undo what’s been done.”

Silence settled

heavy, suffocating. Even the wind seemed to still, as if the forest itself waited for his next move.

At last, Michael drew a long, shuddering breath. He murmured, “they’ll come for the rejection. I’ll ask her then about Nathan. About the truth. But that’s all. I won’t destroy what little

neace remains.”

–

His wolf did not answer. But the fury that simmered beneath his skin did not fade.

Michael stood there in the dim light of his study, staring out into the forest that separated him from the woman and child who should have been his. The ache in his chest was unbearable – a wound time had refused to heal.

For the first time in years, Alpha Michael of Silverblade felt the weight of every choice he’d made… and the haunting knowledge that fate, once denied, never truly let go.