Rejected By My Ex, Claimed By The Alpha King

KAIA DAWSON POV:

"Kaia, don't go up there!"

When I pushed open the heavy oak door, just as I was about to step onto the wide, curved staircase. Suddenly, my adoptive mother rushed forward and blocked my path. She grabbed my arm with surprising force, her fingernails even digging into my skin.

"Janine... she's not well. she needs rest! "Her voice was tinged with a hint of anxiety.

However, her eyes weren't on me. They kept darting past my shoulder, up the curving staircase, toward the closed door at the end of the hall.

My adoptive sister Janine's room.

The over-the-top theatrics sent suspicion through me. Immediately, I smelled a wisp of extremely light but can't be ignored, cedar and rain.

My boyfriend Rhys's scent. Drifting down from Janine's room.

"What happened?"

I broke free from her grasp and pretended to speak to her, then began to ascend the wide, curving staircase.My worn-out sneakers silent on the plush runner.

But before she could answer, the door to my adoptive father Barton's study burst open.

He stormed out, his hair a mess and his tie askew. He didn't even look at me, his eyes fixed on his wife. "Did Janine agree? The union with the Argent Pack is our only way out, the entire future of Hicks Industries depends on her answer!"

He glanced at me, then continued. "If we default, we're not just facing the Bankruptcy Code, we're facing the wrath of other packs we owe!"

In the wolf world, he explained, business failure wasn't just about losing money. It was about losing everything, sometimes even your life.

Just then, Janine's bedroom door creaked open. My adoptive sister stood there, draped in a silk robe, a pristine white bandage wrapped around one wrist. Not a single drop of blood stained the gauze. She leaned against the doorframe, her eyes wide and tearful.

My gaze flickered past her, into the room. A shadow moved.

It was Rhys.

He was standing beside her bed, his hand hovering near her shoulder as if he'd just been comforting her.

His eyes met mine, and for a split second, a flicker of guilt crossed his face. It vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by a practiced, soothing smile. "Kai, you're back. Janine's been very emotional."

Janine let out a sob, her performance aimed at our parents. "Daddy, Mommy, I can't... I can't marry a vegetable! So what if he's the Alpha King? Braxton Sinclair has been in a coma for a year. He's no better than a living corpse!"

Sharon rushed to her, wrapping her in a protective embrace. "Oh, my sweet baby, of course you don't have to. We'll find another way." The scene of motherly devotion made my stomach churn.

"There is no other way!" Barton slammed his fist against the wall, the sound echoing the desperation in his voice. "Refuse the union, and Hicks Industries is finished tomorrow!"

A heavy silence fell. Then, Janine's tear-filled eyes shifted to me, a flicker of calculation in their depths. "Sister... you've always been so much stronger than me, so capable..."

A chilling cold seeped into my bones. I watched her, waiting.

Rhys stepped forward, placing his hands on my shoulders. His voice was the same gentle tone he always used, the one I used to find so comforting. "Kai, I know this is a shock. But you're a doctor. You know how to care for patients. Braxton Sinclair needs a mate to try and break the curse, and the Hicks family needs this marriage to survive."

His words were a poisoned knife. He wasn't comforting me. He was selling me.

I almost laughed. The irony was almost funny. My boyfriend was standing there, calmly offering me to another man.But this wasn't heartbreak. It was confirmation.

A man who would cheat on me with my adoptive sister would have no problem selling me to save her.

"Janine is too fragile," he continued, his thumb stroking my collarbone. "She couldn't handle a life like that. But you're different. You've always been so independent. Please, do this for me. For Janine."

I looked into his "loving" eyes and saw nothing but a hollow, manipulative void.

Barton seized the opportunity. "Yes! Kaia, you'll marry him in Janine's place! You're a Hicks, after all. It's your duty!"

The four of them-my adoptive parents, my sister, my boyfriend-formed a wall around me, pushing me toward a sacrificial altar I never chose.

I didn't cry. I didn't scream.

My gaze swept over their expectant, pleading, scheming faces. This was it. This was my only way out of this gilded cage. They wanted a sacrifice, but I wouldn't give it for free.

I took a deep breath, pushing Rhys's hands off my shoulders and taking a step back, creating a space that was entirely my own.

My eyes locked onto Barton's. My voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. "I'll consider it."

Relief washed over their faces, turning into pure joy. But my next words froze them in place.

"But I have conditions. Two."

KAIA DAWSON POV:

I slid into the driver's seat of my beat-up sedan and slammed the door, cutting off the sounds of the mansion behind me.

The silence in the car was a physical presence. I rested my forehead against the steering wheel, my heart hammering against my ribs. The calm I'd shown them was a mask, and now that I was alone, the sharp edges of betrayal began to press in.

My phone buzzed on the passenger seat. The screen lit up with Rhys's name. I stabbed the silence button and tossed it aside.

I didn't start the car. Instead, I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a small, worn velvet box. The edges were frayed, the color faded.

Inside, nestled on the stained lining, was a tiny, silver baby bootie charm. An almost invisible letter 'A' was engraved on its sole.

It was the only thing I had left of him.

Five years ago, in a haze of pain and confusion during my first Heat, I'd given birth to a son.He suddenly disappeared before I even had time to hug him.

My family and boyfriend have all been expressing their deep sadness and grief. But in fact, no one calls the police, no one tracks them down, and no one stays up all night. Only I have lived alone in the pain of losing my child for five years.

Maybe the root of the problem is that this child is not mine and Rhys's.

That was an unplanned encounter with a stranger, resulting from my oestrus.

So my family never really accepted this child. They don't care about him, even regard him as a shame, and think it is evidence of my disorderly life.

It was also from that time that Rhys' feelings for me became weaker and colder. It was not until later that I happened to find that he and Janine had already come together behind my back.

This charm was all I managed to keep. The memory was a constant, dull ache in my chest.

The Hicks family had dangled the search for him over my head for years. Barton had promised to help, but his efforts were always half-hearted, his updates vague.

I clenched my fist around the small, cold charm. The last of my weakness burned away. I needed money, and I needed the truth. This marriage was my only leverage.

The next day, I walked back into the Hicks mansion. Barton, Sharon, and Janine were waiting in the living room. Rhys was nowhere in sight. I didn't waste time on greetings. I walked to the coffee table and placed a document I'd drafted myself on its glass surface.

Barton picked it up. The color drained from his face as he read. Sharon shrieked, "Is that your condition? Fifty million dollars? Are you insane?"

I looked at her, my expression unmoving. "That's the 'dowry' the Argent Pack is giving this family to save your company. I want half. It's fair compensation for taking Janine's place."

Janine stared at me, her eyes burning with jealousy. "Sister, how can you be so greedy? We're family!"

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "Family? You didn't seem to think we were family when you were pushing me onto the sacrificial altar."

Barton put the papers down, his gaze dark. "The money is negotiable, but fifty million is too much."

"Then there's nothing to negotiate." I reached to take the agreement back.

"Wait!" Barton's voice was sharp. He knew he had no other cards to play. "What else do you want?"

My heart leaped into my throat. This was the real price. "I want to know where my son is. You promised me five years ago, Barton."

And he sighed, putting on a somber expression. "Kaia, I didn't want to tell you.Over the years, I've been saying that the child has gone missing, and that I've been sending people to look for him. But that's all just lies. He was simply too weak at birth and couldn't survive."

He looked at me, his voice softened: "I kept this from you because you weren't strong enough at the time. I needed to give you a reason to live, a reason to keep going. If it weren't for you forcing me today, I would have taken this secret to my grave."

He spoke as if he were bearing my pain, as if a father were making the most difficult sacrifice.

The words, even though I'd expected a lie, felt like a physical blow. An invisible hand squeezed my heart, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. I stared at him, searching for a crack in his performance, but he was a master of deceit.

But the immense pain didn't break me. It forged me. If he was going to give me a dead end, I would take everything else he had to give.

I forced the tears back, my voice as cold as ice. "In that case, the fifty million dollars is non-negotiable. It's what I'm owed. For my 'dead' child, and for the life I'm about to throw away."

Barton's jaw tightened, but before he could argue, I kept going.

"And before you try to bargain with me, you should know something. I did my homework after I ever agreed to this marriage. I needed to know what kind of family I was walking into-and what kind of family I was being used to save. So I looked into the Sinclair family."

I let the silence stretch.

"The Sinclair due diligence team already has a file on Hicks Industries. The second ledger. The offshore accounts. The bribes. The silver shipments hidden in your medical contracts. They haven't taken action yet, as they still hoped the marriage would go through. If I were to marry Blackston, I would gain access to the inner circle of this family. And without money, it wouldn't be possible to truly navigate the Sinclair family."

My words left them with no way out. Even Sharon and Janine had nothing to say, because there was nothing they could do.

After a long, tense silence, Barton finally nodded, his jaw tight. "Fine. I agree. But you have to meet with the Sinclair's lawyer immediately and sign the papers."

I had won. I had used their desperation to secure my price, even if it came with a dose of heartbreak.

I pulled my gaze away from their ugly, triumphant faces. "Have the lawyer contact me."

I walked out of the Hicks mansion for the second time. The sun was bright, but I felt like I was stepping out of a dark prison. I knew Barton was lying. One day, I would find my son.

I drove to my small, rented apartment and began to pack the few belongings that were truly mine. Everything here was simple, but it was mine.

I put the silver bootie charm on a chain around my neck, tucking it under my shirt. It rested against my skin, a cold, constant reminder of my purpose.

My phone rang. A number I didn't recognize. I answered.

A crisp, professional voice on the other end introduced himself as Mr. Hayes, the Sinclair Pack's lawyer.

BRAXTON SINCLAIR POV:

Darkness. An endless, suffocating darkness. For a year, this has been my entire world. My body is a stone prison, caging a wide-awake mind and a furious inner wolf.

I can hear everything, feel everything, but I can't move a muscle. The curse from that Rogue Alpha locked me in my own body. My wolf paces restlessly in my mind, a constant roar of frustration. The powerlessness is enough to drive any Alpha insane.

I am the Alpha King of the Argent Pack, and I am trapped.

Today, my prison is getting a new inmate. My father, Winston, clinging to an old legend that a fated mate's touch might break a curse, has arranged this marriage.

I hear footsteps approaching my chambers. My butler Sterling's respectful voice cuts through the silence. "Miss Hicks, this way, please."

A strange, cool female voice responds. "Call me Kaia Dawson."

Not Janine Hicks? A flicker of confusion passes through my consciousness.

The lawyer, Mr. Hayes, begins his dry recitation. "This is the Pack Alliance Agreement, which makes Hicks Industries a subsidiary of the Argent Pack. And this is the prenuptial agreement, outlining your rights and duties as the Alpha's mate."

After much debate and discussion, I hear the rustle of paper, followed by the woman-Kaia's-calm questions. Each one is sharp, aimed directly at clauses concerning finances and personal freedom.

"The agreement states that if the Alpha does not awaken after one year, the marriage can be peacefully dissolved, and I will receive a compensation payment. What is the amount?" she asks.

"Yes, as per the agreement, it is five million dollars," Hayes replies.

I hear a soft, almost inaudible scoff. Then she says, "That's not enough."

My inner wolf lets out a low, displeased growl. A gold digger. Father brought me a gold digger!

Mr. Hayes sounds surprised. "Miss Dawson, that is a very generous..."

"I'm not negotiating with you," she cuts him off, her voice laced with irony. "I'm stating a fact. My 'services' are worth far more."

I hear the crisp scratch of a pen on paper. She signs her name without a hint of hesitation. She is now my legal mate. A woman who sold herself for money. My first impression of her is rock bottom.

After the lawyer and butler leave, the room falls silent. It's just her and me.

I can feel her gaze on me. Her footsteps are light as she slowly approaches my bed.

A faint, clean scent reaches me-a mix of citrus and herbs. It's unusual. It soothes the frantic pacing of my wolf, just a fraction. This is the first time anything has.

She stands there for a long moment, then speaks, as if to herself. "Alpha King Braxton Sinclair... I never thought the legendary Alpha would be lying here like a pretty doll."

Doll? Did she just call me a doll? My wolf roars in my mind, insulted.

"Still, it's for the best," she continues. "At least you can't move or talk. Saves a lot of trouble. I'll just treat this as a well-paying caregiver job."

The brutal honesty is... unexpected. She thinks I'm completely gone, so she's not hiding her true thoughts. A greedy, pragmatic, and even slightly cruel woman.

It's far more interesting than the tearful, fawning women my father usually deals with, even if my wolf is bristling at her disrespect.

I hear her moving her luggage. The sounds are minimal; she didn't bring much.

Sterling knocks and enters, asking if she needs assistance. She politely declines and then proceeds to ask a series of highly professional questions about my daily care routine, her tone shifting to that of a doctor.

After Sterling leaves, she is officially moved in. My prison now has a conscious warden.

I listen to her moving around the room, the soft sounds of her unpacking echoing in my mind. She seems to settle in quickly, with no signs of anxiety or discomfort.

This woman is more than just a gold digger, my wolf murmurs, a note of grudging curiosity in his tone. There's something else about her.

I don't know where this sham of a marriage will lead. But my gut tells me this woman, Kaia Dawson, is about to stir the stagnant waters of my cursed existence.

And I will be the sole, silent witness to it all.