Rejected By My Mate, Claimed By His Stepbrother
After two years of love and unwavering commitment to her mate Adrian, Amelia's world shatters when she finds Adrian, cheating on her with his ex-fated mate, Mara. The pain deepens when she is framed for a crime she didn't commit, and forced to leave the pack she once called home. Yet, as time passes and Adrian's regrets grow, he embarks on a desperate quest to find Amelia and win her back.
Years later, Amelia has rebuilt her life as a successful medical doctor, only to find herself drawn to Alex Darlington, a charming and caring doctor who turns out to be none other than Adrian's stepbrother. But when their bond grows undeniable, Amelia must face the shocking truth-Adrian, the man who once betrayed her, is now the one asking for her forgiveness. Torn between her past love and her new feelings for Alex, Amelia's heart is pulled in two directions.
As Adrian fights to reclaim the woman he lost, he must confront his own mistakes and battle the darkness inside. But when Alex's true motives come to light, Amelia must decide who is truly worthy of her love, and whether she can find a future with the man who shattered her heart-or the one who might just heal it.
In a world where loyalty is tested, love is fragile, and betrayal runs deep, will Amelia find peace, or will she be forced to choose between two men who will stop at nothing to claim her heart?
Settings : Moonstone Pack, Present Day, Human World, New York City, Present Day, 21st Century.
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Chapter 5
**Amelia**
Despite my request for him to reject me, his face betrayed no sign of anger. Instead, his calm expression suggested this was exactly what he had hoped for. A pang of hurt shot through my chest as he agreed so readily, without hesitation.
I stood there, waiting for him to utter the words I feared. But instead, he reached out and gently stroked my cheek. The instant his fingers touched my skin, I stiffened.
*So this is how the mate bond works,* I thought, feeling the intense pull of his presence, his scent overwhelming me.
"So you really want me to reject you?" His voice was teasing, and I felt the space between us close as he took a step closer, lowering his head toward my cheek as if he was about to kiss me.
I should've stopped him. I should've pushed him away, but I couldn't. My heart hammered in my chest, and my body betrayed me, standing still, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.
"You really smile well, mate," he murmured, his face inches from mine. Then, his hot breath against my neck sent a shock of realization through me. *No, he isn't...*
Before I could fully process, I pushed him away, gasping for air. "What the hell were you trying to do?"
His grin only widened. "What every wolf does when he finds his mate," he said, his voice low and smooth. "Since you thought I was going to reject you, I figured I'd show you what I really had in mind. Action speaks louder than words."
I stared at him, my heart racing. "So you wanted to mark me?"
"Of course," he replied, a playful glint in his eyes. "Unless you don't want me to, little mate?"
The words hit me like a punch. I had wanted him to reject me, but a part of me *longed* for the mark, for that connection. My feelings were a tangled mess, and I didn't know what to say.
"Yes... no," I stammered. *What did I want?*
"You're quite indecisive," he remarked, raising an eyebrow. "A few minutes ago, you wanted me to reject you. Now, you want me to mark you, but then you don't. What exactly do you want, Amelia?"
I hesitated for a long moment, my heart pounding. "I don't know," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.
The elevator dinged, halting our conversation. As the doors began to open, he quickly pressed the button for the fifth floor again.
"I'm not rejecting you," he said softly, his voice surprisingly calm. "I never planned to. And I'm not going to mark you, not yet. You're not ready. But I will mark you, Amelia. Soon. You're my fated mate. For now, we'll do things the human way. You get to know me, and I'll get to know you."
I could only nod. Despite my fear, I understood the logic. I needed to see if he was different from Adrian before I made any decisions.
"I'm glad you like the idea," he said, a smirk tugging at his lips. Then, his gaze darkened, and he added, "But one thing-don't try to run away from me again. I hate it when my possessions try to escape."
I froze, a chill running down my spine. "Possession?" I echoed, my voice tinged with disbelief.
"Yes, little mate. You're my possession now. From today on, I'm not letting you out of my sight," he said with a possessive tone, his hand gently cupping my cheek.
Before I could respond, the elevator doors opened, and he stepped out, holding the door for me.
"Shall we return to the ceremony?" he asked, his tone light, though his eyes never left me.
I nodded, too stunned to speak, and followed him into the hallway.
"By the way, I've organized a small party for some of my students after the graduation ceremony. I'd like you to come. It'll be a good chance for us to get to know each other better. Can I count on you to be there?" he asked as we walked toward the hall.
I had no real desire to attend, but I had agreed to give this a chance. "Okay," I replied, forcing a smile. "I'll meet you there after the ceremony."
"Great," he said, his smile returning. "I'm looking forward to it."
As we reached the entrance to the hall, he gave me a quick glance before I walked back to my seat. The ceremony was nearly over, and the tension in the air between us felt unbearable.
Becky turned toward me, an eyebrow raised. "You're back? I thought you said you were sick."
"I was," I replied, giving her a weak smile. "But I took some medicine, and the fever's down a bit. I think I can make it through."
"Well, that's good," she said, her gaze softening. "But I bet today's not your lucky day. Not only did you miss your favorite professor Dr. Edward's speech, but you also missed Dr. Alex Darlington's-your mentor's speech."
I sighed, the weight of it hitting me all over again. "You're right, Becky. Today's not my lucky day."
She tilted her head, but before she could say anything else, I turned my gaze to the front of the hall, my mind racing. Not only had I missed the speeches of the two men who had shaped my life, but one of them-the one I had trusted most-was now my fated mate. And now, he saw me as his "possession."
To be continued...
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7.4
I was the bankrupt socialite everyone pitied, standing in the mud at my mother's grave with nothing left but a pair of old Louboutins and a single white rose. My bank account was overdrawn by three hundred dollars, but I still believed Julian, my fiancé, was the one person who hadn't abandoned the toxic Compton name.
Then I saw his Maybach shaking in the cemetery parking lot. Through a crack in the window, I heard the man I loved whispering to my stepsister, Tiffany.
"Don't worry about the broke princess. Once I secure her voting proxy for the trust, I'm dumping her."
Tiffany laughed, clutching the scarlet coat she'd charged to my own maxed-out credit card.
"She's so pathetic, Julian. She actually thinks you love her."
I didn't scream; I recorded them. But when I tried to use that leverage, my family turned into vipers. To protect Julian's status, they framed me for causing Tiffany to miscarry a fake pregnancy and planted stolen documents in my bag. My own father stood by as they locked me in a room, planning to sell me to a predatory creditor named Hightower to settle his gambling debts. I ended up in a freezing police cell, my ankle shattered and my reputation destroyed.
I sat on that metal bench, shivering as I realized my own blood had traded my life for a check. I called the only man powerful enough to burn them all-Julian's uncle, the "Butcher of Wall Street," Alden Stark. The phone just kept ringing. He wasn't coming. To the world, I was just a walking bankruptcy filing, a girl who had finally run out of luck.
I didn't wait for a savior. I escaped custody and ran barefoot through the rain, leaving a trail of blood on the marble floor of Stark Tower. When I collapsed at Alden's feet, he didn't look at me with pity; he looked at me like a rare, damaged artifact he finally owned.
"Inform the board that this is my fiancée," he announced, lifting me into his arms.
I signed the marriage contract that night, trading my freedom for the power to ensure my family's liabilities exceeded their assets for the rest of their natural lives.
7.7
I was suffocating in a borrowed Valentino gown at the Met Gala, but it wasn't the corset that was killing me. It was the debt collector, Vargo, stalking me through the crowd like a wolf.
Desperate to hide, I ducked into a private lounge and threw myself at the silhouette of a man sitting in the shadows, pressing my lips to his in a frantic plea for cover. When I pulled back, the air turned to ice; I was staring into the ocean-blue eyes of Kingsley Osborn, the billionaire who believed I’d sold his company secrets six years ago.
Kingsley didn’t save me; he trapped me. The next morning, he slid a "Marriage Service Agreement" across his desk, revealing he knew everything about my father’s illegal Ponzi scheme and the quarter-million dollars I owed to loan sharks. He offered to pay my debts and protect my father, but only if I signed over two years of my life to be his trophy wife.
"I don't want your money, Cassidy. I want your life."
The marriage was a cold, calculated war. He forced me into his glass fortress, banned me from contacting my friends, and treated me with a distilled hatred that felt like a physical weight. When I accidentally broke his grandfather’s vintage watch during a nightmare, he didn't see an accident—he saw a crime, threatening to destroy my father if I didn't "charm" his board of directors into submission.
I was a prisoner in a three-piece suit, until I found a mislabeled file buried in his company’s server. It contained evidence of a massive, illegal hostile takeover that would ruin Kingsley if the Feds ever saw it.
I held the gun that could destroy the man who had cornered me. But as I looked at the champagne roses he’d secretly kept from my "peace offering," I realized I didn't want to pull the trigger. I wanted to see how far he’d go to keep me from leaving.
9.3
Born into privilege, Eleanor never imagined her life could shatter in a single night. Then her father disappeared with his mistress, her mother fell from a building and slipped into a coma, and everything she once owned turned to dust.
Determined not to ruin Jonathan's future with her family's disgrace, she ended their relationship and became the bride of a man trapped in a vegetative state.
She believed that was the last time their paths would cross. But two years later, Jonathan pinned her in the dark and whispered, "Long time no see, my sister-in-law."
9.1
For three years, June played the perfect, submissive wife to billionaire Augustus Pruitt, hoping a child would finally warm his cold heart and secure their marriage.
But when she cautiously suggested they have a baby, he looked at her with pure, unfiltered disgust.
"A woman who schemes her way into a marriage doesn't get to carry my blood."
He sneered, leaving immediately to lavish his mistress with diamonds. The nightmare only escalated from there. Augustus bought the one painting June desperately wanted—a piece she had secretly created herself—just to gift it to his mistress. He publicly outbid June at the gallery, mocking her lack of wealth, and left her to collapse in the freezing rain. When the storm gave her a severe 104-degree fever and she nearly died on their staircase, he didn't even stay by her hospital bed. Instead, he sent an assistant with a box of jewelry to buy her silence, then forced her to attend a family dinner where his mother and sister viciously mocked her barren womb and background.
Looking at Augustus, who sat there casually cutting his steak while his family tore her apart, the last flicker of hope in June's chest sputtered and died.
She finally understood that her three years of bleeding devotion were nothing but a pathetic joke to them.
She dropped her silverware, the sharp clatter silencing the entire room. She wasn't going to be their punching bag anymore. It was time to finalize the divorce papers, reclaim her hidden identity as the world-renowned artist 'mr.sun', and make them all regret it.
8.5
Series One:
On her wedding day, Isabella Hernando stared into the mirror and wondered-
how could she possibly marry someone she barely remembered?
Miguel Martez, the man she was arranged to wed, was only a childhood friend who had long since disappeared.
But just before the ceremony was about to begin, Miguel vanished without a trace.
To save the family's reputation, Maximilian Martez, his elder brother, was forced to take his place at the altar-
without anyone knowing, not even the bride herself.
But when Isabella finally stood before the man,
she was shocked.
That face, those eyes... that voice...
Series Two:
Adeline Martez is a quiet, introverted girl who grew up cherished and spoiled by her parents. Marriage was never something she worried about-until the day her parents announced her arranged match.
Her groom-to-be?
Jason Castello-the man she despised most.
Her senior.
Her tormentor.
The shameless bully who had made her school days miserable.
Adeline fought with everything she had to escape the engagement.
But the harder she pushed him away, the tighter Jason held on.
One stubborn cat.
One relentless dog.
When hatred sparks, tempers clash, and neither is willing to surrender-
how does a battlefield turn into a marriage?
7.9
On my wedding day, my fiancé Connor received an urgent phone call.
He told me a D-list actress had broken her leg on set, then abandoned me right at the altar.
In my past life, I cried until my throat bled, begging him not to leave.
But my tears only brought endless humiliation. My mother and adopted sister mocked me, framed me, and forged my signature to steal my multi-million dollar trust fund.
They kicked me out of the family estate without a single dime.
I ended up freezing to death in the minus-twenty-degree New York blizzard, listening to my mother's voicemail telling me to die in the street as long as I didn't bleed on her carpets.
Until my last breath, I couldn't understand why my own blood relatives hated me so much, yet treated an adopted daughter like a precious princess.
The only person who showed me any mercy—draping his wool coat over my frozen corpse and giving me a proper burial—was Connor's ruthless, untouchable uncle, Harding Snow.
Opening my eyes again, I was back in the bridal suite, right as Connor was rushing out the door.
This time, I didn't shed a single tear.
I let him run to his actress, then walked straight into the VIP room to face the most feared billionaire on Wall Street.
"The wedding proceeds as planned, but the groom's name changes to yours."