Rejected by Her Mate, Claimed by Four Alphas

CHAPTER 3

Clara’s POV

The silence in the hall pressed against my eardrums like a physical weight. My cheek throbbed, the heat of Jaden's palm print burning into my skin. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears that threatened to spill.

"Perhaps," Jaden said, his voice cutting through the silence, "you've forgotten your place in this pack."

I stood frozen, unable to find my voice as his words washed over me.

"You were chosen to be Luna," he continued, circling me slowly like a predator. "Not to challenge your Alpha. Not to undermine my authority."

Every word felt like another slap. The pack members watched with wide eyes, some with shock, others with barely concealed satisfaction.

"I—" My voice came out as a whisper.

"You what?" Jaden snapped. "You thought you knew better than me? That your opinion matters more than mine?"

My throat tightened. This wasn't the man I had fallen in love with. This wasn't the mate the goddess had chosen for me. Or was it? Had I been blind all this time?

"I was only trying to help," I managed, hating how weak my voice sounded.

Jaden's laugh was cold and cut through me like a blade. "Help? By questioning my leadership in front of the entire pack?"

He turned to address the room, spreading his arms wide. "Do you see what I've been dealing with? She thinks she's the Alpha. She treats me like I'm her Luna."

Snickers rippled through the crowd. Someone in the back whispered, "No wonder he hasn't claimed her yet."

The humiliation burned hotter than the slap. I stood there, exposed and vulnerable as Jaden continued to dismantle whatever dignity I had left.

"I trained as a warrior," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. "I was only offering tactical advice based on my—"

"Your training?" Jaden cut me off. "And what good is that training now? You're meant to be Luna. Your job is to support me, to stand by my side, not to think you can do better than me."

His words cut deep, deeper than any physical wound could. I had spent years suppressing my warrior instincts, molding myself into what I thought he wanted. And for what? To be publicly shamed for the one time I dared to speak up?

"I'm sorry," I said automatically, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

My wolf snarled within me. “Don't apologize! You did nothing wrong!”

But I silenced her, as I always did. This was my mate. The bond was sacred. I needed to make things right.

Jaden's eyes narrowed at my apology, as if he had expected more resistance. Then he shook his head in disgust.

"Meeting adjourned," he spat out, his voice sharp with anger.

Without another glance in my direction, he stormed out of the hall, the heavy doors slamming behind him with a finality that echoed through the room.

The pack members began to disperse, their whispers filling the silence Jaden had left behind.

"That's what happens when a warrior tries to be Luna."

"She should know better by now."

"No wonder the wedding keeps getting postponed."

I remained standing where he had left me, the ghost of his hand still burning on my cheek, his words ringing in my ears. One by one, the pack members filed out, some avoiding my gaze, others staring openly with pity or contempt.

Soon, I was alone in the massive hall.

I sank into the nearest chair, my legs no longer able to support me. The room that had minutes ago been filled with voices now echoed with silence, magnifying the sound of my ragged breathing.

What had happened to us? When had things gone so wrong?

I traced my fingers over my cheek, wincing at the tenderness. In all our years together, Jaden had never raised a hand to me. Never humiliated me so publicly. The mate I thought I knew would never have treated me with such contempt.

“Maybe you never really knew him at all,” my wolf whispered.

I closed my eyes, trying to silence her, but her words burrowed deep into my heart. Had I been so blinded by the mate bond, so desperate to be the perfect Luna, that I had missed who Jaden truly was?

Three postponed weddings. Countless excuses. The growing coldness between us.

"No," I whispered to the empty hall. "He's my mate. The goddess chose him for me."

But even as I said the words, they rang hollow. If the goddess had truly chosen Jaden for me, why did our bond feel so fragile? Why did it seem like he was slipping further away with each passing day?

I sat alone in that chair for what felt like hours, going over every moment of our relationship, searching for signs I might have missed.

The excitement of being chosen by the goddess to be his Luna. The pride in his eyes when he presented me to the pack. The slow fade of his affection as I tried harder and harder to be what he wanted.

My life had become a pathetic tale of a woman pining for a man who no longer wanted her. If he ever had.

When I finally stood to leave, my decision was made. I would go to him. I would apologize for speaking out of turn. I would do whatever it took to fix what had been broken.

Mom always said a woman should honor and respect her mate. And that is exactly what I shall do.

Even if it meant breaking myself in the process.

With heavy steps, I made my way out of the hall and toward Jaden's private quarters. I would make things right. I had to.

Because without him, without my position as future Luna, who was I?

I would end up becoming an abandoned mate. I do not want such a life.

As I approached Jaden's chambers, a strange scent caught my attention. Familiar yet out of place. My steps slowed, my wolf suddenly alert within me.

I reached his door, my hand raised to knock, when I heard it—a soft feminine laugh from inside. Not just any laugh. One I'd known my entire life.

My heart stuttered in my chest. No. It couldn't be.

My hand fell to the doorknob instead. I hesitated for only a moment before turning it slowly, silently, pushing the door open just enough to peer inside.

What I saw made the room spin around me, the floor tilting beneath my feet.

There, in Jaden's massive bed, sheets tangled around her naked body, was my sister.

And the curve of her belly left no doubt about what she'd been hiding beneath her loose clothing all these months.