Chapter 2

Adella POV

The word *reject* echoed in the suffocating silence of the bedroom, freezing the blood in my veins.

I pulled the tangled white sheets up to my chest, my body still trembling from the electric aftershocks of his touch. "If you were going to reject me," I whispered, my voice cracking under the weight of my shattered heart, "then why did you just do *that*?"

Kian didn't even look at me. He finished buttoning his crisp white shirt, his storm-gray eyes hard and merciless. "That was nothing but a primal urge, a need to assert my dominance. It meant nothing."

His words were a physical blow. He turned to face me, his Alpha aura flaring with pure disgust. "Did you really think spreading your legs would change my mind? Six years ago, you used the fact that you saved my grandfather's life to blackmail him. You forced him to arrange this humiliating union, playing the pathetic, wolfless Omega perfectly just to steal the Luna title."

"I never blackmailed Alvah!" I gasped, the injustice of his accusation burning my throat. "He arranged this to-"

"Save your lies," Kian snarled, cutting me off. He didn't know the truth. He didn't know Alvah had forced this marriage to protect my hidden bloodline from those who would exploit it, and to keep Kian away from Ember, whom Alvah knew was a feral Rogue at heart.

Kian pulled a sleek black card from his wallet and tossed it onto the bed. It landed next to my trembling hand like a piece of trash. "Fifty million. More than enough for your kind."

He leaned over the bed, his voice dropping to a lethal, icy warning. "Take the money. Show up at the Rejection ceremony and accept it obediently. If you don't, I will show you what happens when you defy an Alpha."

Without another word, he turned and walked out. The heavy oak door slammed shut, leaving me alone in the cold, massive bed. A single tear slipped down my cheek, but before I could break down, my phone rang.

It was Asia Watkins, the Beta of the Woodlands Pack and my only true friend.

"Adella!" Asia's voice was frantic, bordering on panic. "Kian just sent an official decree. He terminated all trade agreements between the Blackwood Pack and us. The medicinal herbs, the training grounds-everything is gone! My Alpha is furious. What is happening?"

My breath hitched. Kian wasn't just threatening me; he was using the survival of Asia's small pack as collateral damage to force my compliance.

The crushing sorrow in my chest suddenly evaporated, replaced by a blinding, white-hot fury. I had spent six years shrinking myself, hiding my true nature to honor Alvah's dying wish. But I would not let Kian destroy the only person who had ever been kind to me.

I hung up on Asia and immediately dialed Kian's number. He answered on the second ring, probably expecting me to beg.

"Keep your blood money, Kian. I won't take a single cent," I said, my voice eerily calm and steady.

I heard his sharp intake of breath, shocked by my defiance. Before he could unleash his Alpha's Command, I continued, "Restore your agreements with the Woodlands Pack immediately. Set up the ceremony. I will be there, and I will accept your rejection."

I ended the call. For the first time in six years, I didn't feel like a prisoner. I packed a small duffel bag with the few things that actually belonged to me and walked out of the penthouse without looking back.

An hour later, I stood at the edge of the Blackwood Pack estate. The sky had broken open, unleashing a torrential downpour. The freezing rain soaked through my thin jacket, and the phantom pain of the impending severed mate-bond throbbed relentlessly in my chest. I was entirely alone in the mud, shivering and lost.

Suddenly, the heavy rain stopped hitting my face.

A large black umbrella cast a shadow over me. I blinked through the rain and saw a towering, muscular man standing before me. The scent of crisp mountain air and winter pine hit my senses-the unmistakable scent of the Silvermoon Pack.

The man ignored the mud and dropped to one knee, bowing his head in absolute reverence.

"My lady, the six years are over," Silas said, his deep voice cutting through the sound of the storm. He slowly looked up, his eyes fierce and loyal. "Alpha Baron sent me to fetch you. It is time, future Alpha of the Silvermoon Pack, to come home."