Rejecting Alpha for Lycan King

I didn't knock on Paxton's office door. After what had just happened on the training grounds, courtesy seemed like a luxury I could no longer afford.

He looked up from his desk as I burst in, his expression shifting from surprise to wariness in the span of a heartbeat. The late afternoon light streaming through his windows cast harsh shadows across his face, making the angles seem sharper, more predatory.

"Elaine, I know you're upset, but—"

"Seven years," I cut him off, my voice trembling with barely contained rage. "Seven years I've been your mate, and you want me to throw it all away for her?"

Paxton set down his pen with deliberate precision, his Alpha mask sliding into place. "This isn't about Gabriella. It's about doing what's right for the pack."

"Don't." The word came out like a whip crack. "Don't you dare try to make this about pack duty when we both know what this is really about."

His jaw tightened, and I saw a flicker of something—guilt, maybe—cross his features before he buried it. "I don't know what you're implying."

"I'm not implying anything. I'm asking you directly." I stepped closer to his desk, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. "Are you still in love with Gabriella?"

The silence stretched between us like a taut wire. Outside, I could hear the distant sounds of pack life continuing—children playing, warriors training, the normal rhythm of our world that suddenly felt like it was crumbling beneath my feet.

"It's complicated," he finally said, and those two words shattered something inside me that I hadn't even realized was still whole.

"Complicated." I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Seven years of marriage, and my feelings are complicated?"

"That's not what I meant—"

"Then what did you mean, Paxton?" My voice rose, all pretense of calm Luna composure abandoning me. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you've been waiting seven years for an excuse to get rid of me so you can go back to your precious chosen mate."

He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. "You're being dramatic. This is about Marcus Nelson's life, about doing what's right—"

"What's right?" The words exploded out of me. "What's right is honoring the mate bond the Moon Goddess gave us! What's right is—" I stopped, my breath catching as a terrible thought occurred to me. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you been seeing her behind my back?"

The color drained from his face, and I knew. God help me, I knew.

"Elaine—"

"How long, Paxton?"

He ran a hand through his dark hair, his composure finally cracking. "It's not what you think. There have been... moments. Times when we've talked, when old feelings—"

"Other women." The words came out flat, emotionless. "There have been other women too, haven't there?"

His silence was answer enough.

I felt something inside me die—not dramatically, not with fanfare, but quietly, like a candle being snuffed out. Seven years of devotion, of healing his wounds, of believing in our bond, and all along he'd been...

"How many?" I whispered.

"Elaine, please—"

"How many, Paxton?"

He looked away, unable to meet my eyes. "It doesn't matter. They didn't mean anything."

"But Gabriella does." It wasn't a question.

When he didn't deny it, I felt the last piece of my heart turn to ash.

I turned and walked toward the door, my legs feeling like they belonged to someone else.

"Where are you going?" he called after me.

"Away from you," I said without looking back.

I stepped into the hallway and nearly collided with Beta Ryan Mitchell. He took one look at my face and his expression shifted to one of uncomfortable recognition.

"Luna, I—"

"You knew." It wasn't a question. The way he couldn't meet my eyes, the way his shoulders hunched—everything about his posture screamed guilt.

Ryan's face flushed red. "It wasn't my place to—"

"You all knew." The realization hit me like a physical blow. "The entire pack knew my mate was cheating on me, and no one thought to tell me."

"Luna, please understand—"

"Understand what?" My voice cracked. "That I've been living a lie for seven years? That while I was healing pack members and playing the perfect Luna, everyone was laughing behind my back?"

"No one was laughing," Ryan said quickly. "We all respect you, Luna. What the Alpha does... it doesn't change how we feel about you."

But his words felt hollow, meaningless. I pushed past him, desperate to get away, to find somewhere I could breathe.

I made it to the pack house kitchen before Gabriella found me.

"Elaine," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "I heard raised voices. I hope you and Paxton worked everything out about my father."

I turned to face her, and the smug satisfaction in her eyes made my blood boil.

"You planned this," I said quietly.

"I don't know what you mean." But her smile gave her away.

"Your father's accident. This whole sob story about needing me to mate with him. You orchestrated all of this to break up my bond with Paxton."

Gabriella's mask slipped, revealing the calculating woman beneath. "Oh, Elaine. Sweet, naive Elaine. Did you really think Paxton loved you? You were convenient—a healer who could patch him up after his battles. But love?" She laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. "He's been coming to me for years. In my bed, whispering about how he never stopped loving me, how mating with you was just... practical."

Each word was a dagger, but I forced myself to stand tall, to not give her the satisfaction of seeing me crumble.

"You want to know what he said last night?" she continued, stepping closer. "He said he'd been looking for a way out of your bond for years. My father's accident was just the perfect excuse."

The kitchen walls seemed to close in around me, the familiar space suddenly feeling foreign and hostile. Seven years of my life, reduced to convenience and practicality.