All Chapters of The Rejected Mate's Curse : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

After considering my options, I realized there was no way around it—I had to finish the meal before me. The weight of my choices pressed on me as I forced myself to swallow each bite, my prayers lingering in the back of my mind. Though, what was the point of praying when they always seemed to explode in my face?The first time was when I desperately prayed that Lauren wouldn't come into my room earlier that day—only for her to burst in uninvited. And the second was when Ryker told me I’d be training with Lauren immediately. The irony stung like a sharp slap to my already bruised spirit.Ryker’s intentions might have been genuine, but I wish he wouldn’t bother. What was he trying to prove? Is that being kind to me could erase the cruelty I knew he was capable of? It wouldn’t. I’d seen enough to know better. His supposed kindness felt hollow, like a prelude to something worse. All I wanted was for him to reject me so I could leave, escape this nightmare of being tied to an Alpha who rul

While we waited for Lucy, Ryker busied himself with tending to my injury. His movements were steady but firm, and the cold touch of the frozen peas he pressed against my swollen ankle sent sharp chills through my skin. He replaced the makeshift ice pack every few minutes with clockwork precision, ensuring the cold remained consistent. The numbing sensation it brought was a fleeting comfort, masking the sharp ache that pulsed with each heartbeat—or maybe my body was simply resigning itself to the pain.Lucy arrived nearly an hour later, her forehead glistening with sweat as she strode into the room. The pristine white of her doctor's coat contrasted sharply with the slight disarray of her appearance—stray wisps of hair escaping her ponytail, her glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose. It was clear she'd come straight from an urgent matter, and the faint smell of antiseptic clung to her as she approached.“I’m so sorry I kept you waiting,” she began breathlessly, sliding her bag o

It took a week before I could even begin to move my leg without the excruciating sensation of impending death. The pain still lingered, an uncomfortable throb that followed me like an unshakable shadow, but at least I could get around on my own now. The limp was heavy, persistent, but the agony had lessened just enough for me to function without help every minute of the day.Each morning for the past week, Ryker had been there, faithfully assisting me whenever I needed to bathe. The warm water against my skin had become a small comfort, but it was his presence that added an unexpected sense of security. I had grown used to his presence quickly, almost too quickly. By the second day, it no longer felt as awkward when he helped me out. Yet, there was always something about him that left me wondering. After every time, without fail, he would leave right after and return twenty or thirty minutes later. I never knew where he went or what he did during that time. A part of me was curious—no

Ryker’s expression hardened, but he didn’t immediately speak. Instead, he paced for a moment before returning his gaze to me. “What else did they do to you?” I wanted to shut down, to retreat back into the shell I had worked so hard to build. But the urgency in his tone pulled me back to reality. He wanted to hear it all. Taking a shaky breath, I told him what I could. The surface-level details of my life. The jobs I had taken on, the way I had struggled to survive. I didn’t mention names, but I told him about working in the club, the restaurant. I told him about the pack members taking out their frustrations on me, the way they treated me as less than nothing. When I reached the part about Tyson, my voice faltered. I didn’t want to talk about him, about what had happened between us. I swallowed hard, forcing the words out. “He rejected me. I left the pack.” I couldn’t bring myself to say more. The silence that followed was suffocating. I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the e

The rest of the day passed in a strange and unsettling silence. After we finished breakfast together, Ryker disappeared. It wasn’t like him to just vanish, and it left a void in the house. The space felt unnaturally still, almost hollow. I was so used to his presence—his warmth, his deep voice filling the rooms, his subtle but constant awareness of me—that it was jarring not to have him around. It felt as though the house had lost its heartbeat, and my own rhythm faltered in response to the absence.Eve noticed my mood and, in an effort to keep me distracted, spent the day telling me stories about life in the pack. Her voice, soft but steady, brought some semblance of comfort. She wasn’t born into this life, she told me. She had been a rogue, wandering alone until, at the age of five, she accidentally wandered into the pack's territory. The former Luna had found her, taken pity on her, and made her an omega. The pack had become her family, and her story, tragic yet hopeful, held me ra