Mag-log inShare
chapter 48
Huling Na-update:
2025-04-02 08:30:36
Kaugnay na kabanata
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 49
AnnaWith the other alphas arriving tomorrow, The Fanged Smile was the last thing I needed to focus on, but it was the only thing I could think about without panic rising.Not to mention, it provided me with an interesting mystery first thing in the morning. I’d set up an application online through The Fanged Smile website that I’d created years ago. It wasn’t anything fancy, mostly because I didn’t have all that much experience with computers, but it had been easy to learn.I figured no one would apply. To my surprise, there were over a hundred applicants.“If you keep frowning like that, you’re going to get frown lines,” Finn said casually from the doorway. He threw me an easy smile, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. He’d been on edge all day. Probably because of the other packs arriving, but it was making me on edge. I was getting used to Finn’s calming presence.He was not giving off calming vibes at the moment.“Half of these applicants are still in school,” I muttered with a si
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-02The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 50
Apparently I did now.“It’s nice to meet you, Kenzi. I’m Anna, although I’ve found that I need no introduction,” I said with an easy smile as I reached out my hand to accept the application. It was a power gesture. We both knew she was never going to work for me. “If you have time, we can talk about the position since you’re here. Just don’t tell everyone. I don’t really have time to do a bunch of interviews while the other packs are coming to visit.”The smile remained frozen on her face as she sat down. “I imagined Jax would have you working to get your restaurant back up while they’re here.”“Part of me would love that. I’m not much for politics, but I’m learning.” I glanced over her application. “Kenzi, this only has your name on it. I’m going to need a fully filled-out application before I can consider you. What position were you interested in?”“Don’t play dumb. We both know why I’m here.”Leaning back in the chair, I tossed her application aside while she leaned over the desk.
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-02The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 51
AnnaDean Hewitt had his father’s eyes.Not just that comforting deep brown, but also the kindness that was there. Even Finn relaxed a little more once Kenzi had been ushered away. Dean had watched her go with an arched eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything until she was gone.We appraised each other carefully. He was still in the middle of the dining room, and I was hovering in the doorway to the kitchen.There were some other similarities. Same jaw line and widow’s peak. Dean was definitely his father’s son, but he still had a youthful look about him. He didn’t have that hardness in his father that Parker did.“You’re not responsible for my father’s death,” he said quietly. “I came here to say goodbye and to talk to the people who were closest to him. It didn’t take long for your name to come out and the rumors to start swirling around. I thought I needed to come and tell you in person in case you have any doubts. My father was a troubled man. Based on the last few phone calls we had,
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-02The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 52
Staring at me, Dean smiled softly. “My dad was right about you. You don’t like to delve too deep, do you?”Annoyed, I narrowed my eyes. “What?”“It’s not the bar that Parker wanted me to have, Anna. It was you.”Finn growled, and my wolf was right there with him. Immediately, Dean held up his hands. “No, no. Shit, no, not like that. I’m sorry. I should have been clearer. Not take you as a mate but take you away from here if you needed it. Protect you. That’s what I’m offering you.I’m a strong wolf. If you want to leave, we can change your name, leave this place, and I’ll protect you. That is what my father wanted.”Stunned, I gripped my beer bottle. Parker had asked Dean of this? If Dean had come just a few months ago, right after his father had died, I would have even considered it.Considered, but not gone through with it. Dean might have been Parker’s son, but I didn’t know him. I would have never put my safety in the hands of a strange man.“You’re shocked. Did you not think my f
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-02The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 53
“A female?”“Kenzi,” Finn said quietly. “She came to drop off an application.”Kenzi? Waiting tables? That was laughable. “I would not leave my mate without protection. Anna, a word? Finn, don’t let him leave.”Even with her back turned to me, I knew Anna was rolling her eyes, but she rose and followed me into the restaurant. “You claimed me, so you’re not going to go all crazy on me just because I was talking to him, are you? I’m not alone, and I’m not even inside.”No. She’d done exactly what she needed to do to make sure I didn’t lose it. I was not proud that she even had to consider that.“Do you feel safe and comfortable around him?”Her face registered surprise at my question. “He’s not threatening me or propositioning me. If you’re asking if I’m ready to pack my bags and leave with him, the answer is no.”“But if he wants to approach you again and speak with you? Do you want me to allow that?”“Allow?” She repeated and sighed. “Normally, I’d tell you that you shouldn’t let anyo
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-02The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 54
AnnaI could barely focus on what Jax was saying as we walked home. An alpha was already here.Emerson, no doubt. Trying to throw Jax off guard. Trying to throw me off guard.I wasn’t going to let him. I was not the same scared little girl that he used to torment, and I was not now nor ever going to be his.“Why did you walk?” I asked suddenly. Too late, I realized that Jax was saying something to me, and I’d interrupted. “Sorry.”The muscle in his jaw ticked while he stared straight ahead. “I walked because I do not need to scramble to rearrange my day simply because someone decided to show up early. We’re still prepping, and that comes first.”“Right. It’s all about appearances,” I echoed hollowly. I was still a little surprised that he wasn’t going to lock me away if appearances mattered so much. “I interrupted you earlier. What were you saying?”“I was asking about Kenzi’s visit. Did it upset you?”“You mean when your little blonde bombshell walked in boasting about how you’ve bee
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-02The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 55
Anna“Release me,” I said in a cold tone as I stared at the witch. “Now.”It was a gamble. I had no idea what the spell was supposed to do. If I’d more time to study the magic wrapping around, I could hazard a guess. I doubted it was meant to do anything too drastic, or Maeve and her witch would be immediately accused.No, it had to be curiosity.Jax snarled, and the magic was gone. Maeve frowned at the witch, but Cam’s face was still calm as she bowed her head. “My apologies,” she murmured. “I feared my magic would be erratic here. Sometimes it acts without me.”Maeve turned to Jax. “I apologize. She did mention her magic was seeping out, but I didn’t think it would attack anyone.”“Not attack,” Cam said quickly. “My magic was just drawn to her.”“Apologize to her,” Jax said, his eyes still glowing gold. “Not me, and do not allow it to happen again.”Turning, Cam bowed again. “I apologize. I did not mean to alarm you. I am anxious.”I could definitely understand her anxiety, but the
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-02The Alpha King's Rejected Mate chapter 56
Cam cleared her throat. “Only that she was so sheltered. Did she even know what a mating bond is? Is it instinctual or did someone have to explain it to her?”She wasn’t wrong. “I knew what a mating bond was when Jax arrived.” My voice was soft as I sifted through my memories. “Although I don’t know who told me or how I knew, but there was no mistaking what I felt when I looked at him.”“Relief that your mate was so powerful?” Maeve pressed.After a second of debate, I decided there was nothing wrong with the truth. “Not relief. Powerful wolves terrified me, but Jax had just killed a nightmare. My nightmare. In that moment, he was a hero. I succumbed to this girlish notion that I was facing a happily-ever-after and he was my knight in shining armor.”Rolling her eyes, Maeve turned back around. “Ridiculously.”“It was,” I admitted. “I realized that fairly quickly. I didn’t have the luxury of feeling like a girl, and there are no easy happily-ever-afters for wolves like me.”My voice tu
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-03
Pinakabagong kabanata
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 46
Knowing she was pregnant would only make that target on her back even bigger.Tess frowned at her. “Are you okay?”Mica struggled to reign in the anxiety that was no doubt leaking into her expression. “Disappointed. A baby would be a welcome beacon of light in these dark times.”She hoped the strange lilt to her voice could be mistaken for sadness. She didn’t have the mental energy to explain everything to Tess, nor did she want to. Not only were these raging emotions making her feel hollowed out inside, but Tess shouldn’t be the first one to find out. Hayden should.Once Hayden knew and they had a plan for moving forward, she could tell Tess the truth. Hopefully, she’d understand.Right now, though, there was so much tension in the splintered pack that if it was known she was pregnant, it might push the pack to no longer wait for the challenge… which was meant to be tomorrow afternoon.“I’m going to rest,” Mica told Tess, managing a small smile. “And you should as well. We’ve been th
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 45
MicaMica didn’t know how she did it, but Tess managed to smuggle in a pregnancy test. Now, Mica sat in the bathroom, staring at the positive result. Her stomach was queasy, and now that she thought about it, she’d been feeling that quite a lot lately. Her body hurt, she always felt tired, and she had chalked it all up to stress.Pregnant.Even though she and Hayden had been having a lot of sex, and she had made the deliberate choice not to use condoms, she still could hardly believe it. Her period had always been all over the place. It wasn’t unusual for her to skip three or four months. She’d always been told it would make getting pregnant more difficult.Counting back, it had been, what, five months? Time passed so quickly that she hadn’t bothered to think about her last period. Before Hayden and the special ops team had returned to the Bluebell Valley pack, at least. So what did that mean? How far along was she?She peeled up her shirt and studied her stomach, looking at it from a
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 44
Hayden“I’m just saying that maybe this ritual is worth the risk,” Maverick said. His arms were folded over his chest, and there was a doubtful look on his face. “What will it hurt to try?”Hayden shook his head. “We can’t risk a demon getting free. We don’t know what will happen. For all we know, this ritual is something the demons put into the world to—”He cut off as Finn shuddered. His eyes widened, and his head snapped around, toward the house. “Something’s happening.”Mica.With a curse, Hayden wheeled around and raced for the house. The team fell in step behind him. The pack looked up from their tasks, startled, but Hayden didn’t give any orders. He threw open the front door and took the stairs two at a time. He kicked open the door leading to the room where Echo was kept.Mica, Tess, and Elin were all inside. Tess rang an old brass bell manically, the clanging echoing through the room. Elin held a lighter in hand, racing back and forth to light candles as Echo spun around in h
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 43
Mica squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Her stomach churned. It was exactly what she thought—they weren’t even going to try to save Echo, too certain in their own knowledge.“It has to happen soon, Hayden,” Ryder said, his voice low, urgent, and… sorrowful. “I can’t keep holding my tongue. You are my Alpha, and I’ve tried to respect your decisions, but the situation is becoming untenable. This is my mother and my sister we’re talking about. I will tell Mica, if that’s what you would prefer.”“No,” Hayden answered.Why? Why did he not want Ryder to tell her? Tears filled Mica’s eyes and she crept away, not wanting to hear any more. Was Hayden afraid she’d let Echo go? Did he think it was up to him as her mate to tell her that he was going to kill her mother?He doesn’t consider it killing Mom, though. He considers it a mercy, freeing her from the demon.It didn’t make Mica feel any better. She carefully opened the kitchen door, slipped through, and softly closed it. Her heart pounded in h
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 42
MicaMica stared at the page. She’d been reading for so long that the words were starting to blur, but if she was right in her interpretations here… She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and focused again. As she reread the section, her heart started to beat faster.“And the demon was taken from its host and trapped in the stone,” she whispered. “Where it was trapped for all eternity.”She scanned the rest of the page. Hope swelled through her, even though she fought against it. It had been so long since this started, she wasn’t sure she could take it if this didn’t work. But there was the ritual all laid out. The way to force an aura-demon from the person it was possessing, and trapping it into an inanimate object. Once in the object, the demon would be trapped until said object was destroyed.Her mind whirled as to what they could use to trap the demon inside of Echo. There was a size limit to work with. A rock would be the best; then she’d put it in a plastic, air-tight box and bury it as
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 41
Monroe laughed. “Spoken like a true female. Completely wrong.”Spencer and the rest of his people burst into laughter as well. They all stalked away, taking their torches with them. A flash of lightning flickered soundlessly in the distance. Hayden turned to his pack. They watched with uncertain gazes.“Two days,” he said loudly. “And then you will know you put your faith in the right Alpha. We will have Bluebell Valley, and things will get better.”He smiled at them reassuringly. As they dispersed, Finn and Blayke sidled over to him. Finn spoke in a low voice.“Spencer is the only one not showing signs of possession,” he said under his voice. “Everyone else is either claimed or at least influenced. It’s spreading.”Hayden nodded once. Finn would prefer they take more decisive, more immediate action. Hayden couldn’t blame him, knowing his history. He had a particular reason to hate demons, seeing how they robbed him of any chance he might have had to have a normal family, a normal lif
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 40
Hayden“Stay here. I’ll be back shortly,” Hayden ordered as he stalked back to the bedroom. As he threw on his clothes, he frowned. Mica was dressing as well. “I said—”“I’m your mate. I’ll stand with you,” she said shortly.Hayden shook his head. “You’ll stay within the property bounds.”Mica huffed at him but didn’t respond. The two of them were ready quickly. Mica swept her hair into a bun as they headed downstairs. Torches lit the night, dozens of Monroe’s pack carrying them as the flames flickered and glowed. Hayden’s wolf snarled at the sight of Monroe, standing with his toes against the PCP piping at the gate.“Ah, decided to join us, did you?” Monroe drawled. “I was starting to think that your little challenge was all talk and no action.”His people laughed. Hayden ignored the low-hanging fruit and stopped just inside the protective barrier. “Are you finally going to accept my challenge, or will you continue to be a coward?”Monroe smirked. “What do you think I’m here for? It’
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 39
“Brother coming through,” Ryder called from outside, then he stepped into the entrance. He grabbed a pair of shorts and yanked them on, carefully not watching Mica and Hayden. Mica kissed Hayden’s cheek. “I’ll be up in a bit.” He nodded, and Mica slipped back outside. It was utterly dark now, and she had to use a flashlight to navigate the camp. Everyone else could simply see in the dark but with her weak human eyes… But nobody brought it up, not like they wouldhave in other circumstances. She headed upstairs once she was satisfied everyone was set for the night. Hayden waited for her in bed, scrolling through the most recent demon research on the laptop. He closed it and set the laptop on the nightstand as he grinned at her. His hair was damp from the shower, the smell of soap mingling with his manly scent. Mica grabbed a nightgown from her dresser and changed. “I don’t like that nightgown,” Hayden told her. “It’s old and worn.” “And comfortable,” Mica snarked. “Yes. Whi
The Alpha King's Rejected Mate Book 3: chapter 38
MicaThe beast-demon stalked along the boundary's edge, snorting as it tested the protections. With Hayden and the rest of the special ops in the forest, Mica had ordered that they let the demon wander and not engage. Hayden had taken all the best fighters with him, meaning her order was gladly obeyed. Nobody wanted to tangle with the beast.Unfortunately, such a sight was getting more common. Even the children who used to scream and hide now ignored it, snuffling around the edges of the property. Its twisted horns glowed in the rapidly oncoming darkness. Clouds shrouded the sky, making it even darker.“Hayden will be back soon,” Mica told Tess as she nervously looked at the beast.“I know.” She shook her head. “Let’s go back into the house. I don’t trust the sources that say the beast-demons are dumb. I don’t want it to report back to Monroe about what we talk about.”Mica nodded. That was the smarter idea. The two headed into the house and went up to Mica and Hayden’s room. With all
