Page 38 of Claiming His Rejected Mate

As I leave the hall, the weight of the challenge settles over me. I’ve put everything on the line for these Omegas. Now, it’s up to them—and me—to prove we’re not as weak as they think. And now, my life may well depend on it.

I feel Nina’s glare burning into my back like she would throw daggers at me if she could. I don’t grant her the luxury of looking back. I have bigger fish to fry.

The observation booth is stifling even though it's just Kieran and I here. The polished glass walls that overlook the sparring pit seem designed to magnify the tension hanging in the air. Below, the pit is alive with motion, the sound of grunts and sharp impacts reverberating through the space.

The Omegas are holding their own. Mara ducks under a heavy swing from one of the guards, her movements quick and calculated. She counters with a sharp jab to his ribs, and I feel a flicker of pride as he stumbles.

“She’s good,” Kieran says beside me, his voice low.

I glance at him, surprised by the almost grudging respect in his tone. His sharp blue eyes are fixed on the fight, his posture relaxed but his jaw tight.

“She had to be,” I reply, keeping my voice steady. “No one taught her how to survive. She has had to figure it out on her own.”

Kieran’s lips press into a thin line, but he doesn’t respond. His focus shifts to the next match as two more Omegas step into the pit.

The silence stretches between us. I know he has things he wants to say to me. Questions he wants to ask. I wonder if Eldon has reached out again since the last time.

The memory of the moment when he watched me undress comes into my mind. And it feels like I’m back there, watching his eyes cloud over with pure lust, watch his muscles tense with self-control as the Omega dresses me.

I feel my body respond to him because it is made to. I know he wanted to send her away, have me to himself to satisfy those cravings. And a part of me wanted him to, needed to feel his hands all over me, his hand grabbing my hair, his muscles rippling as his body presses against mine.

I can feel his presence like a physical weight, the desires that we’ve been avoiding are drawing us together like a magnet. It’s maddening—this constant pull, this connection I can’t sever no matter how much I want to.

Or how much I tell myself I want to.

“Why did you do it?” Kieran asks suddenly, his gaze still fixed on the pit.

I stiffen. “Do what?”

“Train them,” he says, his voice even. “You knew it was dangerous. You knew it would draw attention. So why?”

I glance down at the sparring pit, my chest tightening as I watch Gina take a hard hit. She recovers quickly, her movements fueled by the sheer spunk of not wanting to fail, but the sight still twists something inside me. What if they do fail?

“I couldn’t just...turn them away.”

“It’s not your responsibility.”

I turn to him, my anger flaring. “And whose is it? Yours? Because it sure as hell didn’t seem like anyone cared about them before I stepped in.”

And I bite my tongue from saying that it would have been mine. If he had not been an ignorant stone wall, there would have been no need for all this tension between us. And it makes me oh so angry.

His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he leans forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the observation booth.

“You put yourself in danger,” he says, his voice low. “And for what? To prove a point?”

I shake my head, my fists clenching at my sides. “I did it because I know what it feels like to be powerless. To have no one stand up for you. If you think I did this for some selfish reason, then you don’t know me at all.”

His gaze shifts to me, and for a moment, the anger between usgives way. I feel his energy shift, the tension in his muscles, the aura of our bond feels different. It’s like something raw and unguarded.

“You’re not powerless,” he says, his voice almost a whisper.

I laugh bitterly, the sound cutting through the tension. “I feel like it most of the time. Trapped here, dragged into conflicts that aren’t mine, constantly fighting to prove I’m more than just...expendable. I might be a skilled warrior, know how to tackle any opponent to the ground and save myself. But what use is it when I don’t have...” I sigh, the words I’m about to say are a lump in my throat. “When I don’t have a pack to fight for.”

The words sound softer than they did in my head, and I immediately regret the vulnerability in my voice. I don’t want him to see that side of me, don’t want him to know how much this weighs on me. I’m strong. I’ve survived horrors without him. I can do that again and again.

But Kieran doesn’t mock me. He doesn’t dismiss my words or turn away. Instead, he watches me. It makes me hyperaware of how close together we are. How my body is angled slightly to his. How with just a stride, we can close this distance. One move and we are in each other’s arms. I feel every movement of my muscles, knowing that he’s also aware of me in the way I am of him.

I glance away, my chest tight as I struggle to rein in this fire that lights in me if he so much as looks at me. Below, the fight intensifies, the sound of fists meeting flesh filling the air. The scent of sweat and adrenaline wafts up from the pit, mingling with the tension in the booth.

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