Rejected By Him, Claimed By His Brother

Liora POV: My fingers left his throat, darting to the silver chain around his neck—the one with his family crest, the one he had given me. Before he could react, I grabbed it and yanked. Hard. The chain snapped with a sharp *ping* that echoed in the dead silent room. The sound was a declaration. Everyone in the study, Kade included, drew a sharp, collective breath. This wasn't the act of a pleading lover. This was a challenge. A public desecration of his authority. Kade’s face went from shocked to thunderous. "Are you insane?" he snarled, grabbing for my wrist. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" I ripped my arm from his grasp with a strength that made his eyes widen for a fraction of a second. He would dismiss it as a hysterical outburst, I knew. He wouldn't see it for what it was. I opened my hand. The broken chain and the heavy silver crest lay in my palm, a glittering symbol of a shattered promise. My gaze swept the room, taking in Jace’s dumbfounded expression and Finn’s look of genuine alarm, before landing back on Kade. I lifted my chin, and in a voice that was perfectly clear, ringing with a power they couldn't comprehend, I began the sacred rite of rejection. "I, Liora Varg, in the name of the Moon Goddess, do hereby reject you, Kade Hayes, as my Fated Mate." The words hit the room like a lightning strike. A rejection had to be initiated by the higher-ranking wolf. For an Omega to reject a future Alpha was not just unheard of; it was impossible. Kade’s mind simply short-circuited. The concept of being the one *rejected* was so foreign to him, it didn't compute. His entire world, built on a foundation of superiority and control, began to crack. The instant the formal words left my lips, the bond between us didn’t just fray; it violently tore. A scream of pure, spiritual agony ripped through us both. Kade grunted, clutching his chest as the color drained from his face. My own body trembled with the force of the pain, a white-hot poker searing my very soul, but I gritted my teeth, my eyes never leaving his. Fighting through the agony, I threw the broken necklace to the floor. It clattered against the hardwood with a final, discordant sound. "You can't reject me!" Kade roared, his voice cracking with pain and disbelief. "I am the one—" He never finished the sentence. In a single, fluid motion, I spun around, grabbed the half-full bottle of expensive whiskey from his desk, and swung. The heavy glass bottle connected with the side of his head with a sickening thud. It shattered on impact, amber liquid, blood, and shards of glass exploding outwards. A river of whiskey and blood streamed down his temple. The room fell into a silence so profound I could hear the blood roaring in my own ears. Jace and Finn were frozen, their faces masks of pure shock. They had never, in their entire lives, seen an Omega do something so… violent. I stood over a dazed and bleeding Kade, the jagged neck of the bottle still clutched in my hand. I pointed it at him, completing the final part of the rite. "Now, it is your turn," I rasped, my voice raw with pain and fury, yet imbued with an undeniable tone of command. "Accept. My. Rejection." I didn't wait for an answer. I let the broken bottle fall from my fingers, turned my back on the chaos and the wreckage of my past, and walked out.