Rejected the Alpha, Now I'm the Most Beloved Luna

Dylan had been slammed with work all day. His pack had just dealt with a rogue attack, so there were more healing duties than usual. He didn't get a break until nightfall, when he finally left the hospital, planning to talk to Perry about Benjamin's condition.

But when he got to the hotel, he couldn't get through to her. That set off alarm bells. Dylan headed inside and spotted Gina, already looking flustered.

"She's not in her room either," she said, clearly shaken. "What if something's happened to Perry?"

She pulled out her phone and noticed a missed call from Perry. It must've been right before Perry passed out-Gina had been too wrapped up in work to notice it ringing. Guilt hit her hard.

Dylan frowned, confused by her panic. "What are you talking about?"

"It's her father," Gina said urgently and launched into the whole story-everything that had gone down with Francis setting Perry up. Now Dylan looked just as worried. He crossed his arms tightly, the anxiety written all over his face.

"So... what do we do now?" Gina asked nervously. "Poor Perry, she's been through so much ever since she got here. What if this time it's even worse?"

Dylan let out a frustrated breath. "We need to figure out where she went..."

As he glanced toward the hotel entrance, a familiar sports car parked out front caught his eye. He recognized it immediately-belonged to Richard Scott.

Eyes going wide, Dylan suddenly had an idea. He rushed outside and hurried over to the car, knocking on the window. The car stayed still for a moment, then the window rolled down. Dylan finally exhaled, relieved Richard hadn't ignored him.

"Alpha Richard, I'm Perry Lake's friend. She's in trouble-serious trouble. I'm asking you to help us get her back," Dylan said carefully, trying not to sound pushy.

Richard gave him a cold glance. He had enough on his plate with Benjamin and didn't even know who Dylan was. And why would Perry suddenly be in danger anyway? "Not my problem."

"She almost became your mate, didn't she?" Dylan pushed, getting desperate. "Can you really turn your back on her like this?"

"She's not one of my wolves," Richard replied, his voice clipped. Dylan could tell his patience was wearing thin. Biting his lip, he leaned in closer before the window closed.

"She's the only one who can save your brother. The only one."

Richard froze.

For a second, he just stared. Shock flickered in his eyes, then turned into irritation-as if Dylan had just tried to feed him some ridiculous lie. Perry? A healer? That sounded insane. She was just a young she-wolf, maybe an alpha's daughter at most. There was no way she was capable of something like that.

At that thought, his gaze turned icy as he gave Dylan a sharp warning. "I hate being lied to. Tell me how you know about Benjamin. You'd better have a damn good explanation-otherwise, I'll tear you apart right here."

Dylan took a shaky breath. Even under Richard's overwhelming aura, he held his ground for Perry's sake. "I was one of the healers Byron contacted. Perry and I grew up together. She got interested in healing werewolves because of her mom. She's insanely talented, and... she studied under Vinnie Richie. No one else knows-just me."

He rushed through the explanation and quickly pulled out his phone, tapping on a photo. "Look, this is Perry. You've seen her in this outfit, right? She's the mysterious healer everyone's been talking about."

Richard stared in disbelief at the picture. Perry had a veil on, tending to a dying werewolf. He'd been chasing after any traces of this healer-and now it made sense. Doubts started to melt away.

Whatever the truth, he needed to check it out. Especially considering she nearly became his mate once.

Richard locked eyes with Dylan and asked seriously, "That's Perry?"

"Yeah," Dylan said with a resigned nod, rubbing his hands before slipping the phone back in his pocket. "She's been hiding her identity. Richard, you've got to promise to keep this to yourself. Not even Gina knows."

"Then how did she get into trouble?" Richard thought for a moment before asking.

"I'm not sure. But Gina mentioned two names-Francis or Tom. And if someone found out who Perry really is, they might've grabbed her because of that."

Dylan's voice was full of worry. Richard's expression hardened instantly, and fury sparked in his eyes.

"Did they take her just to stop her from saving Benjamin?" the thought shot through Richard's head like lightning.

He leaned back in his seat, his tone ice-cold. "No matter what, we're finding her. Byron, get those trackers over here. I want to know exactly where she was taken from."

"Got it," Byron answered from the driver's seat, focused and ready.

While they were frantically tracking Perry down, she had already woken from the anesthesia.

Perry blinked her eyes open and realized she was in some sort of villa. She scanned the room, cautious. The curtains were drawn tight-no way to see outside. A couple of deltas had dumped her in one of the rooms.

The lights were on. No patient in sight. That meant this wasn't about healing-someone had kidnapped her for another reason. Her mind raced. Maybe she could shift and smash the window to escape.

But she couldn't be sure if there were guards outside. The anxiety crept in-until a moment later, a werewolf came strolling out from the bathroom. Perry snapped her head to face him.

Tom Pierce stood there, all smug, reaching toward her.

His eyes trailed over her in a way that made her want to gag. She rolled her eyes hard. He only had a bathrobe on, that creepy grin smeared across his face as he slunk closer. "Well, well, darling. Took you long enough to get here."

Perry tensed up, knowing full well she couldn't take on an alpha head-on. If Tom tried anything, she'd fight tooth and nail to get away, even if the odds weren't in her favor. "Back off! What exactly do you want from me?"

"Francis is useless. Couldn't even catch you, so I had to step in myself," Tom sneered, clearly enjoying the fear in her eyes. "But don't worry. As long as you play nice, I promise you'll enjoy it way more than you think."

She stepped back, determined to keep him at a distance, her gaze sharp and unwavering. Her eyes landed on several nasty ulcers on his torso, and she instantly felt the bile rise in her throat. "You look like you're falling apart. And you still have the nerve to act like this?"

She'd heard the rumors-Tom was notorious for sleeping around with different females. Finding out he had syphilis didn't surprise her in the slightest.

Tom flinched. He'd been hiding his condition, and having Perry call him out like that hit a nerve. He yanked his robe tighter around his body as those sores started itching again, despite all the meds he'd been taking. "I don't have anything!"

"Right," Perry scoffed. "How about we make a deal? Tom Pierce, I treat you, and in return, you let me go."

She wasn't keen on healing someone like him, not at all. But right now, it was her only shot at buying time and maybe getting out. She knew how bad his condition had to be-it would be eating him alive. Sure enough, he froze in place.

Then he burst out laughing, completely dismissing her. "You? Fix me? You really think I'm that gullible?"

"I'm guessing your healer already told you-doesn't matter what you try, you've got two years max, and that's being generous," she said calmly, watching his face closely.

His eyes widened in shock. Her words hit a little too close to home. He stared at her for a long second, suspicion creeping in. "You... actually know how to cure this? Are you serious?"

"Believe what you want," Perry said coolly, watching the gears turning in his head. She knew he was starting to believe her. "Honestly, if I wasn't trying to figure out who drugged and kidnapped me, that sedative of yours wouldn't have done a damn thing."

Tom stood frozen, eyes darting to the sores on his body-his ugly little secret. This might be his only shot to get better. "You really can do it?"

Perry didn't hesitate. She carried herself with confidence, chin lifted high. She'd trained for this since she was a kid. Tom's illness was tough, but not beyond her.

"Absolutely. But only if you listen to everything I say."

"If you pull it off, I swear I'll owe you everything. I'll do anything you-" Tom didn't get to finish. The heavy door suddenly flew open with a loud bang.

One of his deltas, unconscious, was tossed inside like trash. Tom reeled back as Richard strode in, eyes dark and full of barely-contained fury. Byron followed closely behind, giving Tom a cold, assessing look.

"Found it," Byron said flatly.

Perry's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. She had no idea how Richard had tracked her here, but she instinctively edged back a little, anxiety bubbling inside her. Then Richard's gaze caught hers-just a quick glance-but it sent her heart into a wild, erratic rhythm.

Tom stared at them, completely stunned, clearly having no clue how Richard had tracked them down. He forced a stiff smile. "Alpha Richard, what are you doing here... Ah!"

Richard grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall, then drove a hard kick into his gut. Tom shrieked and crumpled to the ground, moaning in pain. Still, he didn't dare show even a trace of hostility toward Richard-he knew he'd be flattened in seconds.

"What... What are you gonna do?" Tom's eyes flickered into wolf form, but Richard's overwhelming presence crushed any thought of a fight. Tom shakily pushed himself upright, glaring at Richard, frustrated but too scared to lash out.

Richard ignored his outburst, turning to Perry with an icy calm. His voice was low, steady. "If you want to make him pay, now's your shot. You could even cut his nuts off-I'll back you up, no questions asked."

The words rolled off his tongue like a devil's whisper, dangerous yet strangely alluring. Perry blinked, dazed by the raw power and breathtaking looks of the alpha before her.

As her eyes lingered on his face, she found herself fascinated. This wasn't what she expected to feel, and it rattled her more than she liked. But as her thoughts refocused on Benjamin's condition, urgency surged back. She gasped and shouted, "There's no time! Forget him-we need to get to the hospital. Benjamin's symptoms could be flaring up again right now!"

"What?" Richard looked genuinely thrown off.

How in the world did she know about Benjamin's situation? Did Dylan already fill her in?

"If you still want to save your brother, we have to go now," Perry said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Tell Dylan to meet us there-I'm gonna need his help. We need to move, fast!"

Richard set aside the questions and rushed to leave with her. Byron didn't hesitate-he floored the gas, and the engine roared as the car sped toward the hospital. On the way, Richard's phone suddenly rang-it was the hospital calling.

"Alpha, Mr. Scott just started throwing up blood-way worse than before. We're doing everything we can, but... it's not enough," the healer on the other end sounded frantic.

Richard ended the call, a dark expression clouding his face, worry tightening his features.

He glanced at Perry, who wore a serious look. "You know what's going on with Benjamin?"

"I do," she confirmed with a nod. "Dylan already sent me all of his medical info."

"You think you can cure him?" Richard asked, his gaze fixed on her.

For a split second, he was caught off guard by how beautiful she looked-drawn to her without even fully realizing it. The thought confused him. Then Perry answered softly, "I'll do everything I can."

After that, she turned her eyes to the window, distracted, already planning her next steps. She didn't notice Richard studying her, as if trying to memorize every little detail.

He didn't even realize how possessive his expression had become. At that moment, something clicked in him.

"Maybe I want her as my mate," the thought came out of nowhere.