Page 13 of Claiming His Rejected Mate

I glance around the courtyard, the other Omegas sneaking glances in our direction. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ayana studies me for a moment before nodding. “Good. Now, let me show you the ropes. You’re gonna need to know them if you want to survive around here.”

Over the next few days, Ayana becomes a constant presence in my life. She helps me navigate the unspoken rules of Omega life—how to avoid the worst chores, who to stay away from, and how to make the matron like you just enough to get some breathing room.

At first, I’m wary of her easy smile and playful attitude. I’ve learned the hard way from the barracks that trust is dangerous, and kindness often comes with strings attached. But Ayana proves me wrong.

One evening, as we scrub the kitchen floors side by side, I gather the courage to ask, “Why are you helping me?”

Ayana glances at me, her expression unreadable. “Because I’ve been where you are,” she says simply. “It’s maybe been worse, actually. But you get the point. My previous status was not much glamorous than this, even though I walked the Alpha halls once.”

I feel a pang of guilt as a memory surfaces. Ayana’s face is familiar, but I haven’t placed it until now. She was a rogue Omega, once used and discarded by higher-ranking wolves, including the Alpha. I hadn’t done anything to help.

“I’m sorry.”

Ayana looks at me, her brow furrowing. “For what?”

“For not…for not doing anything back then,” I admit, shame tightening my throat.

Her expression softens, and she lets out a small laugh. “Don’t waste your guilt on me,” she nudges my shoulder with hers. “You had your own literal battles to fight. Weren’t you the wolfless runt?”

Her forgiveness is unexpected, but it lightens something in my chest. For the first time in weeks, I feel like I’m not entirely alone.

Still, the ache for Kieran never goes away. I see him in my dreams. I hear him growl in my ears. I feel his touch roam my body, over my breasts, my nipples my belly, my ass. I feel his fingers dig into me. I crave his teeth sinking into my skin. I need him filling me up, stretching me wide, making me feel like I did when I was in his arms. I wake up drenched in sweat and coated in slick, and my wolf howls in grief and pain.

Every full moon, the heat comes back, searing through my veins like molten fire. The seal placed on me by Magnus ensures I’ll never find relief, never shift, never know the release my wolf craves. It’s torture, and each month feels worse than the last.

Ayana notices, of course. She doesn’t say anything at first, and I am grateful. The last thing I want is to reveal why I am burning with heat when I can have any male of my choosing to calm me. But one night, as I curl up on my cot, trembling and feverish, she sits beside me and speaks softly.

“There’s a place,” she says. “A city called Broadstone. It’s neutral ground. No Alphas, no ranks. Just people trying to start over. People being…people.” It sounds incredible.

I turn my head, her words cutting through the haze of my pain. “Broadstone?” She squeezes the warm cloth and rests it on my lower back, gently massaging the ache that is lodged there like coals of fire.

She nods. “I’ve been there. It was a time before I was brought here. It’s not perfect, but it’s freedom. And it’s far from here. The seal will weaken once you are past the Nightclaw territory.”

The idea settles in my mind, fragile and tentative but glowing with the faintest spark of hope.

“Why did you leave if it was that great?” I groan as she helps me stretch my limbs and joints, the ache rattling my bones.

“I…wandered too far and ran into nightclaw patrol. They labelled me an intruder…a spy and brought me here as an enslaved person.”

“Oh…” I know she doesn’t want my pity, so I swallow it.

“Think about it,” Ayana says, dumping the rag in the bowl. She stands and heads for the door. “You deserve better than this.”

Her words linger long after she’s gone, weaving into my thoughts as I drift into an uneasy sleep.

I see a glimmer of a future beyond this pack for the first time since Kieran's rejection. Beyond the pain. Beyond the life I thought I was destined for. I start planning my escape.

Chapter 5

Hazel

The streets of Broadstone are alive tonight, the hum of laughter and conversation spilling out from the tightly packed rows of shops, pubs, and apartments. The air is heavy with the scent of fried food and beer and the faint metallic tang of magic lingering from the wards that keep this neutral city safe from territorial disputes.

Two years. Two long years since I left Nightclaw behind.

Ayana and I crossed into neutral territory with nothing but the clothes on our backs and the weight of betrayal pressing against my chest. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mother—the cruelty she must have been experiencing from Magnus because of me. And knowing Elara, she would stand by me till the very end.

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