Page 22 of Claiming His Rejected Mate

My wolf growls low in my chest, his anger and frustration echoing my own. The room feels smaller, the air heavier with every passing second.

“Do you know what it looks like?” I say, my voice softer but no less sharp. “You, living in Broadstone, surrounded by rogues, likely all controlled by Eldon. And the locals know that you belong to him. It doesn’t paint a good picture, Hazel.” Does she not see how she disrespects me? How she has made it seem like what is mine can belong to someone else, especially my enemies?

She laughs bitterly, the sound cutting through me. “Of course it doesn’t. Because in your mind, I’m already guilty. That’s easier for you, isn’t it? Easier than admitting you were wrong.” The accusation in her eyes doesn't let up. I see her wolf's snarl on her face. I want to apologize, but I'm the one who has been looking for her for eight long months while she's been frolicking with the enemy.

My hands clench into fists on the table. “I didn’t bring you here to argue.”

“Then why did you bring me here?” she snaps, her voice rising. “To punish me for something I didn’t do? Or are you just trying to make yourself feel better about what you did to me?” I will forever live with that guilt, but I will never forgive her for dragging my name in the mud, for betraying me.

I stand abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. I pace to the other side of the room. My wolf growls louder, his frustration mirroring my own. If she can’t lead me to Eldon, then we are still at a disadvantage as to what Eldon is planning with his attempt to breach our northern borders.

“I don’t have time for this,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. I would rather have been in bed with my long-lost Luna, but here I am, unable to trust a word coming out of her mouth.

“Then let me go,” Hazel says, her voice calm but unwavering.

I turn to face her, the bond between us thrumming like a live wire. “I won’t do that.”

“Why not?” she demands, her stormy eye trailing my movementacross the room. She tries to move again, but the straps keep her put. A new wave of anger flares red in her pale eyes, and I see her wolf peeking through.

The incessant pull between us is a constant reminder of what I lost—and what I might never have again. My wolf claws at me, his instincts screaming to protect her, to claim her, to fix the mistakes I made. But the anger and doubt still linger, poisoning every thought, every word.

And with her wolf sealed away, there is a place within her that Magnus has ensured I will not reach until the seal is broken.

“You’re staying here until I’m sure you’re not a threat to my pack,” I finally say. My heart feels cold and detached. I have to keep the flame that burns for her under control, and if she won't tell me the truth, there's nothing I can do about how much I physically need her, how much she makes me yearn and crave.

Hazel laughs again, but this time it’s softer, almost sad. “Of course. The pack always comes first, doesn’t it?” The smile fades, and she won't look at me anymore, her eyes glued to the table before her.

The bitterness in her tone cuts deeper than I expect.

“I don’t trust you,” I say, stepping closer, my gaze locking onto hers. “But I’ll keep you safe. Even if you don’t want me to.”

“I don’t need your protection, Kieran. I never did. Not when you treat me like what I’m not.”

Her scent wraps around me, warm and familiar, stirring something deep and primal in my chest. She parts her lips, her eyes darken. She feels it too. I want to claw her clothes off. I want to see what is mine. Claim what is mine. Feel her pulse around my cock buried deep inside her again, taste the sweetness of her tongue.

For a moment, the tension shifts. It’s no longer just anger and frustration—it’s something darker, heavier, charged with the weight of everything we’ve left unsaid. Charged with the need we both can’t ignore.

“If you’re done interrogating me, I’d like to go to whatever prison cell you’ve decided I deserve.”

Instead, I turn away, my wolf growling low in protest. “You’ll stay inthe South Wing,” I say, my tone clipped. “There’s a room ready for you. Damon will show you the way.”

Hazel doesn’t respond, her silence heavier than any argument.

I leave the room, the weight of her gaze burning into my back. As I step into the hallway, Damon is waiting, his expression carefully neutral.

“She’s not cooperating. Take her to the South Wing.”

But before I walk away, the pack elders emerge from the corner.

“We heard you captured Eldon’s whore.” I don’t know who said it, but they all roar with laughter.

“Bet he didn’t see that coming.”

“Weak-ass rogue.”

Anger flares in my chest. The way they are talking about her. But they are quiet when hearing my growl at their comments.

Damon comes out of the interrogation room with Hazel in tow, and the betrayal flares anew. Something malicious comes over me, and I realize that I don’t care if she is treated like the whore that she is. Letting other males even sniff her makes her just that—a loose woman who is not fit to be my Luna. I can’t believe I let myself think that.

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