Chapter 3
“What did you just say?”
The hallway reeked of disinfectant and had decisions. My boots scuffed the linoleum as I rounded the corner, heart pounding harder with every step. I should’ve been running–hell, sprinting–but the knot in my chest tightened the closer I got to Kallias’s voice.
God, please let me have gotten out in time.
I was halfway down the corridor when a low, guttural growl stopped me in my tracks. My stomach flipped. I turned the corner, and there he was.
Kallias.
His hand was wrapped around Dr. Lisa’s throat, her feet dangling inches off the ground, kicking weakly. His eyes burned. gold, sharp and feral, nothing like the indifferent blue that had stared through me when he’d rejected me.
His wolf had taken over.
“What did you just say?” His voice was raw, a brutal snarl that seemed to shake the walls.
Shit.
“Kallias, let her go!” I yelled, darting forward. My palms shoved against his chest, but he didn’t budge. It was like trying to move a mountain.
Lisa’s nails clawed at his hand, her face turning an alarming shade of red.
“Shit, shit–let her fucking go!!” I shoved again, harder this time, panic clawing its way up my throat.
His gaze snapped to me, those glowing eyes narrowing slightly. For a second, I thought he might actually listen.
He didn’t.
“Fuck, Kallias!” I scream, hitting his chest now.
His grip loosened just enough for Lisa to crumple to the floor, gasping for air and clutching her throat. I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands trembling as I helped her sit up.
“You okay?” My voice was barely steady.
Her eyes darted to Kallias, wide and brimming with terror. “1-”
She didn’t get the chance to finish.
Kallias’s hand shot out, grabbing my wrist and yanking me to my feet. Before I could react, my back slammed into the wall, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs.
“Leave,” he growled at Lisa without even looking at her.
She didn’t need to be told twice. She stumbled to her feet, her heels clacking against the tile as she fled, her breaths ragged and uneven
I was left alone with him.
His golden eyes locked on mine, and the intensity in them made my stomach churn.
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Chapter 3
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I spat, twisting against his grip. His hand was like iron, pinning me to the cold wall.
“Who is he?” His voice was low, dangerous, like the calm before a storm.
My heart skipped. “Who?”
“Don’t play dumb, Taryn. His grip on my wrist tightened, and 1 winced. “Long distance boyfriend? Who the fuck is he?”
My mind scrambled for an answer, but all I could think about was that man in the room. His unconscious body, Vulnerable. If Kallias got to him in this state-
“None of your goddamn business!” I snapped, panic sharpening my tone.
His lips curled into a snarl, his face inches from mine. “It’s every bit my business. You’re still my mate.” he growled.
“No, I’m not!” I shoved at his chest with my free hand, but he didn’t so much as flinch.
His nose brushed against my neck, and I froze. He inhaled deeply, his hot breath fanning against my skin.
“You smell like him,” he mutters, his voice a low rumble.
Oh, hell no.
“Kallias, stop!” My voice cracked, raw and panicked.
His golden eyes flicked to mine, dark and menacing. “You’re hiding something.”
I’m not-
The sound of clicking heels cut through the tension.
“Kallias, baby, what’s going on?
Seraphina.
Her voice was sickly sweet, the kind that made my teeth grind. She approached cautiously, her manicured nails reaching for his arm.
“Let her go, okay? You already rejected her. Why are you even wasting your time with her?,” she added, her tone soft, coaxing.
His head snapped toward her, and a snarl ripped from his throat. “Don’t touch me,” he spat, his voice more wolf than man
She recoiled, her perfect mask slipping just enough for a flicker of fear to show. “Kallias, it’s me. Come on, baby, let that disgusting omega go.”
He ignored her, his attention snapping back to me. His hand gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“You’re hiding something,” he repeated, his voice a deadly whisper.
“Kallias, please,” I whispered, my tears spilling over now.
Seraphina yanked harder at his arm. “Kallias, stop! I’m already here, baby. I’m what you need!”
Without looking, he shoves her away. She hit the ground with a startled cry, her perfect blonde hair spilling over her face.
I froze. If Seraphina couldn’t pull him out of this, what the hell am I supposed to do?
“Kallias, listen to me.” My voice was shaky, but I fored it out anyway. “We’re already over, remember? You rejected me! Now
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let me go
But he didn’t let go. Instead, he inhaled deeply again, his nose brushing against my shoulder. His body went rigid, his golden eyes narrowing dangerously.
“You smell like him,” he said, his voice a low growl
“W–who?” My voice was barely a whisper.
His gaze snapped to the door of the office I’d just fled from
Oh no.
That man. Of course, I carried and huddled him from the forest floor back to the hospital. I would fucking smell like him.
Shit
Kallias’s lips curled into a snarl, and he turned toward the door, his movements quick and deliberate
My blood ran cold. Shit.
“Kallias, don’t—”
He’s already walking towards the door to where that man was lying unconscious, every muscle in his body taut, his golden eyes still glowing faintly with the feral rage of his wolf. I hadn’t thought about what I’d say next, hadn’t even planned to speak those words out loud.
Desperation clawed at me, and before I could think, the words tumbled out.
“I’ll accept the rejection!”
Fuck
-Kallias froze mid–step, his head snapping back toward me like I just hit him. The gold in his eyes dimmed, retreating as the
ocean blue of his human side seeped in. He blinked, once, then twice, as if trying to process the words.
The real Kallins is back.
“What?” The word came out hoarse, raw, like I’d just ripped something vital out of him.
I stare at him, confused.
Wasn’t this what he wanted? He’d made it crystal clear when he paraded Seraphina around, staking his claim on her while he rejected me in front of everyone. So why was he looking at me now like I’d just gutted him?
“I’m accepting it,” I repeated, gripping my arms to keep my hands from trembling. The rejection. You don’t want me as your mate, and I’m done holding onto something that… My voice faltered, and I forced the lump in my throat down. “That was never real to begin with.”
For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Even his wolf seemed stunned, retreating entirely as his golden eyes that slowly shifted back to blue locked on mine.
“Taryn,” he started, his voice lower now, almost hesitant.
“No.” I cut him off before he could say whatever excuse he thought would make this easier for him. “This isn’t up for
discussion.”
I want to tell him everything. How tired I was of chasing after someone who’d never even turned around to look at me. every sacrifice I’d made–my sleep, my happiness, my damn sanity–had been for someone who didn’t care.
How
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Chapter 3
But I couldn’t. Not with him standing there, looking like he wanted to say something that would undo everything I’d just
“Why?” His voice cracked, and that caught me off guard.
Why?
Why now?
Why after years of being treated like I was nothing?
“Because,” I said, swallowing hard. “I’m tired. 1-1 give up, Kallias”
His jaw tightened, and his fists clenched at his sides. For a second, I thought he might argue, might try to pull me back.
But then he didn’t.
Kallias took a step back, his blue eyes flickering with something I couldn’t place.
Regret? Pain? No. It couldn’t be. Not from him.
Seraphina’s voice sliced through the air like nails on a chalkboard, trembling just enough to sound pitiful. She clung to Kallias’s arm, tilting her head up to him with watery eyes that practically screamed victim.
“Kallias, please,” she whimpered, her fingers tightening around his forearm. “Just leave her alone. She’s probably trying to stir her woll up again, to mess with your mind. You know how Omegas can be.”
Omegas, of course. Like we were some kind of defective breed.
Her words had the desired effect. Kallias’s jaw tightened, and his brows furrowed las though he’s fighting the accusation she just planted. Right, this is him.
For a second, I think he might actually turn and leave with her. After all, he told me he can’t believe the Goddess has paired him, the future Alpha, to an Omega like me.
But then, in a move that even surprised me, he wrenched his arm out of her grasp.
“Enough, Seraphina,” he snapped, sharp enough to make her flinch.
“What she started, but he didn’t let her finish.
“I said enough.” His eyes, that strange swirling mix of gold and blue, locked onto mine again. “Taryn
I blink, caught
it off guard by the way he said my name. Though it was something sacred. Something he hadn’t already thrown away.
“Why?” he asks, his voice lower now, almost desperate. “Why would you accept it? You said you fucking loved me.”
Love?
I’m not going to
A bitter laugh bubbled in my throat, but I swallowed it down. Tears began to form on the edge of my eyes. I’m cry. No, I will not give them that kind of satisfaction.
“You rejected me, Kallias. You made it pretty clear where I stand. Or where I don’t, actually.”
He flinched like I’d slapped him. I don’t care. I’m done playing this game.
Taryn-
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The door behind me creaked open before he could finish.
he was there.
“What a show..a low, guttural growl einerged.
That voice was deep, calm, and somehow colder than Kallias’s fury.
I didn’t have to look to know who it was,
Barefoot and shirtless, the only thing he wore was a pair of low–hanging grey sweatpants, his chest rising and falling like he’d just run a marathon. His olive skin featured a six? No, an eight packed abdomen, skin still somehow oiled up from the towel I rubbed onto him earlier. His hair was still damp, strands falling into those piercing, sage green eyes that pinned Kallias where he stood–it was the man, the powerful wolf I saved from the forest.
Wait, green?
Didn’t he have red eyes?
“You–ah!”
My breath caught as his arm snaked around my waist, firm and possessive, pulling me against him like I belonged there. And damn, it feels like I actually do.
“I would prefer it if my woman isn’t being stolen while I’m asleep.” The strange, hot man growled, his voice low and dangerous, each word cutting through everyone in the hallway.
Kallias’s eyes darted to where the man’s hand rested on my hip, his lips parting like he was about to say something. His eyes slowly began to turn from
But nothing came out.
The air shifted, heavy with something I couldn’t quite name, and I knew–whatever happened next, nothing would ever be the same with this man in the Riverstone pack.
Well shit.
