Rejected, Then Reborn
Chapter 23

At first Lacy had been stiff.

Her mind racing at a mile a minute as she tried to figure out the reason why the insufferable hunk was finally giving her the one thing she had long been itching for ever since meeting him.

Then she had been angry.

For after all that time, it was now that he wanted to k**s her? Now, when she was only finally figuring out how to control the mate bond pull? She had been livid, trying to pull away so she could give him a piece of her mind, but he had pulled her in, biting her bottom l*p gently to keep her from moving away, and f**k if that hadn’t been the most erotically sensual thing that had ever happened to the human girl. Before long, she was relaxing into the k**s, opening her mouth to grant him even more access, her fingers looping into his dark curls like she had long fantasized herself doing. A loud g***n slipped past his lips at her touch, one that was swallowed by her warm mouth even as she let out a small supporting m**n of her own.

Kissing him was bliss.

One that Lacy knew was certainly going to throw more obstacles both their ways, but in that moment, she did not even care.

To hell with all of it.

She had finally found what seemed to be her paradise, and she’d be damned if she let any other inhibitions rob her of this beautiful moment. Even when Reed drew back to allow her catch her breath, the human girl did not want to pull away, and why would she, when he had only tore his lips away from hers to explore her creamy neck and that space behind her ear?

How in f**k’s sake had he so easily found her point of weakness?

This man was a murder mission just waiting to happen.

The wanton grey mortal thrust her chest out at him, silently telling him everything that her words did not have to say.

That she was completely his for the taking.

And something must have been terribly frightening about that, frightening enough to snap the ruthless Alpha King of the B***d Moon Clan from the erotic glaze he suddenly seemed to have been shroud in… for he pulled away from her suddenly, standing up and scrambling backwards until his back touched a wall, his chest heaving like he had just awoken from a freakishly terrifying nightmare. “You—you can’t stay here.” He declared, the realization of that simple fact becoming clear to him even before the words fully registered in his brain. He could see the confusion in the beautiful human’s lovely green eyes again, windows to the fact that the clogs in her mind were turning like an overstressed engine in motion as she tried to make sense of everything. The girl bit her bottom l*p, still deep in thought, and damn if it didn’t only want him to roughly claim her lips once more. That was the very thing that had gotten them in the situation they were in in the first place.

Her lips.

He had been stuck staring at it, fixated until the image was simply all he could see, until it was shadowing his reason, clouding his judgment. He was f****d.

In every sense of the word.

This time, for what was most probable the first time ever, Alpha King Reed Alderon Winchester found himself wondering if perhaps the little human had been speaking the truth all along.

But—but how was that even possible?

He couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her… but Ace’s behavior towards her was nothing but full of pure hate, it certainly made the outrageous story she was selling even more unbelievable, for they certainly couldn’t be mates if one half of him completely detested her guts.

“Y—you want me to go back to my room? B—but your beastly half literally ordered me to stay here,” Lacy could not even believe that she was asking for confirmation when just a few minutes ago, she had been begging for this very thing to happen. Funny how just one k**s— an eye opening, sensual, extremely passionate k**s had her rethinking every decision she had ever made since getting here.

“I know what he said,” Reed huffed, muddling her thoughts, “And I’m telling you that you can’t stay here.”

“B—But…” Was this how much a single k**s had reduced her into a stuttering mess? “You kissed me.” As if to emphasize on the act, the human girl’s fingers unconsciously traced her lips.

“I kissed you only to get you to stop talking about the stupid mate bond you seem so hellbent on not letting go of,” Reed told her blankly, lying through his teeth, but it did not even matter anyway, for judging by the tears rapidly forming in her eyes, it was obvious that Lacy had completely bought it. “Looks like it worked after all,” He stated the obvious, even managing a smirk at the end. Gods was he callous. “Nothing has changed Lacy, make no mistake… I’m still betrothed to Rieka, and I intend to marry her by the end of the month. And you, are still my slave… you will never be anything more than that so get that straight.”

Lacy did not say a word. She turned her attention to the icepack lying at the edge of the bed right near the first aid box and reached for it. Reed made to close the gap between them to help her out, but she shot him a glare so deadly that for the first time it seemed that he had finally met his superior in the terrifying gaze department. She iced the sprain expertly, bringing Reed’s attention to the fact that she said she was a Registered Nurse. He forgot about that for a hot second.

Before long, Lacy was done attending to her injury, and then she was back on her feet, taking extra care not to put her weight on her sprained leg. It was then that she shot him a look, her eyes shining with the hate he was all too familiar with. “If your mind is so made up, reject me then,” She declared, her chin raised high in pride and defiance, “Reject me then so I can go about the rest of my three months here without giving a f**k about you or who you decide to settle with then.” She declared.

“I would if I knew how… but unfortunately, I don’t.” Came his reply, but Reed knew deep down that he was just lying. Just stalling, because in all actuality, he wanted nothing more than to make her happy, wanted nothing more than to have her far away from here and back in human territory so he could be relieved of these weird, nouvelle feelings that seemed to be plaguing him.

But he had struck a deal with the Alpha of a certain Blue Valley Pack.

And granted, his exchange had been rejected… but Reed knew all too well that it wouldn’t be long before Lucius Smith would come to his senses and come back begging.

He would be there waiting when that day came, waiting with the human girl who had no knowledge about the huge part she played in bringing about the Restoration of the B***d Moon Clan. It was why he didn’t want to completely sever the connection she claimed was between them, for if he did that, then nothing would hold her back anymore… nothing would tie her to him anymore. And then she’d fight even harder to leave, and his resolve would weaken and he’d grant her her wish.

He couldn’t have that.

“Fortunately, I know someone who has interacted with the Werewolf community enough to have a fair idea about how the Rejection Process works.” Reed informed her. “The bad news is that he’s out on a quest, meaning we’re going to have to wait till he comes back.”

Oh.

Lacy opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of a phone ringing cut her line of thoughts, and she sat back down at his silent command, watching as he picked up the call, “Reed.” She hadn’t seen or heard those in a while.

She heard some faint sounds on the other end, and then the Alpha King was saying, “Hold on, I’ll be there soon.” He hung up soon after, eyeing her leg warily. “Wait for me here, don’t stress your leg any further. I’ll be back in a few to take you back to your room.”

And then he was gone.

Tell you what… had you been Lacy, what would you have done, left alone in the room of your captor with gods knew how long to try and find anything at all that could give some insight as to who he was?

Of course, you would have taken a peep around!

So that was exactly what she did, ignoring the parting warning he had left her to stay put and wait for him. Her wandering around despite her painful limp took her to what she figured was his study room, and she wondered what else the huge space that was apparently his wing concealed, for she had already seen a huge hall, the bedroom, the lavish bathroom, and now, the study. A couple of papers lay on the Alpha King’s huge mahogany desk, catching her attention just when she had literally decided that invading his privacy like that was a bad idea… and just like that, all the worries were gone. Lacy inched closer to the desk, her eyes sweeping over the many documents lest her hands mess up the arrangement they were in. One document in particular caught her attention, making her ignore the many others piled up on the otherwise neat desk.

The s*x Slave Contract.

It was perfect!

Now that she had some time on her hands, she could better read through and take a look at all the other clauses she missed. With that settled, Lacy limped back to her spot on the bed, right where the Alpha King had left her and proceeded to read through the document.

She had barely been ten minutes into it when she saw something completely alarming. Something so serious that it had her eyes popping wide in disbelief.

The f*****g bastard!

CHAPTER 23- BUSTED

Reed could sense a change in the atmosphere when he returned back to his wing almost forty-five minutes later. It quickly made him on edge, and good for him too, for a vase came flying his direction so fast that he would have missed it if it had not been for his superhuman abilities. But thanks to it, he saw it in time… just in time to manage a narrow duck. “YOU BASTARD!!!!!!!” He heard the human scream at him, but he barely paid her any mind, for he was trying all he could to rein his wolf in, putting mind blocks in place to ensure that the beast saw none of what was happening, for the last time Ace had been triggered like so, it had almost not ended well.

What the f**k had gotten into her this time?

“YOU NEVER HAD ANY INTENTION OF MAKING ME GO BACK TO MY FAMILY, DID YOU?” She seethed, wielding one of his glass bottles in her hand, poised for action, even though he stood there, surprisingly still calm. “What are you talking about?”

“THE f*****g CONTRACT!” She practically screamed, her chest heaving even as her right hand tightened around the glass bottle. Standing there like that, legs open, with one leg of her sweatpants pulled up to her knee, the injured shin bandaged securely and her left hand drawn in a fist, she looked like an avenging angel, hellbent on seeking retribution. “I was never going to leave here in three months, was I?” She whispered, as though the revelation had drained her, and who knew? Perhaps it had. It wasn’t everyday one woke up to realise that the one thing that had been giving them hope… that the one thing that kept them fighting even when the future seemed bleak was all a lie. “You intended to keep me here for good.”

s**t.

He had been perusing the Contract when the guards had mind linked him that the human was escaping, and he had instantly gotten into action, forgetting about hiding the goddamned document. And now she had seen it.

“In my defense, you were supposed to carefully read the contract and tell me the areas you had a problem with—”

“No one is given just a night and that much pressure to go through a f*****g fifty paged contract!” Lacy cut him off in a rush, her anger and disappointment revealing itself once more. She took a deep breath and started moving, limping towards him. At first, Reed thought she was coming for him, but she only brushed past him and continued to limp on. “Where are you going?” He found himself asking, chasing after her. “Where else but to my prison, your Eminence?” She threw at him, somehow making him hate his honorary title even more. “I mean, that’s where you charged me to be at all times, right?” She wasn’t even looking at him as she walked on, and that was something that was frowned upon in Lyken culture, for no one ever turned their back to the Alpha King during conversation… but she didn’t know, so he couldn’t really fault her on that one, though it made him quickly catch up to her, grabbing her by the arm, “Come, I’ll take you,” He looked at her injured leg, “It’s not a good idea to walk on that.” But the infuriating human only forcefully pulled her arm out of his grasp, her beautiful face set stubbornly in stone, “I don’t need your f*****g help.” She seethed.

This wasn’t going anywhere.

Reed had wanted to explain things to her, but as it was, she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to listen to reason. He’d have to go see her later, when she had calmed down a bit, and so still grabbing her by the arm, he mind-linked his most trusted guard, Bruno to come in. “Have her taken to her chambers,” Reed ordered when the super hairy, tall man appeared. It was then he let go of her arm, watching with an expressionless look on his handsomely stoic face as he watched the guard sweep the human up into his arms, flinging her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. The action took the girl completely by surprise, and she let out a loud shriek, one that had Reed showing just the slightest of smiles. Oh, how he wished she were in his arms instead, like a soft smack on the a*s would have very much been in order at her defiance. “I can walk, no need to carry me, you can let me down this instant,” She ordered the guard haughtily as she pounded at his back with her fists. This time, Reed chuckled as he watched them retreat.

The girl was cute.

Cute and still very much upset.

He was going to give her a few hours to cool down, and then he would go see her.

*****

Lacy couldn’t sleep.

She had really tried, but nothing she did seemed to be working. Her heart was so full of disappointment and then anger, and then even more disappointment at her current predicament. She couldn’t believe that the Alpha King had played her like that. All this while, she had been living her life, hoping that three months would arrive sooner than later, so she could be done with this life, but then the Lyken had no intention of letting her go. And as much as he had wanted to shift the blame to her and accuse her of not reading through the contract, he was the one who had f*****g put that clause in there, and then rushed and intimidated her so much that she had been unable to read through.

It was all his fault.

And then to top it all off, her plan to escape had failed miserably, which meant that now security was going to be even tighter. Indefinitely, she was stuck in this hellhole, and only the gods knew when another opportunity like that would come her way.

Speaking of the gods, what the hell was that?

She had briefly heard the Moon Goddess speak to her, and so what had happened? How had she still ended up right where she started? All of this kept Lacy from sleeping. She tried to watch some TV, but it wasn’t helping either, and so she simply turned it off, choosing to lie in bed staring at the ceiling instead. She was in that position for gods knew how long when a knock sounded at the door. Lacy didn’t say a word hoping that whoever it was would just assume that she was asleep and f*****g go away, but the key only turned in the lock, leaving Lacy to do only one thing,

Feign sleep.

She could sense him by the intoxicating scent that filled her nostrils even before he came in, and her heart beat heavily in her chest as she continued with her charade, fully determined not to talk to him. “I know you’re not asleep, Lacy,” She heard him say softly, amusement lacing his tone.

Oh, s**t.

She resignedly rolled over to face him and sat up, quickly reaching for the bedsheets to cover her huge creamy thighs from his heated gaze. “What do you want?” She asked him quietly, refusing to look at him.

“I—” He took a deep, shaky breath, and this time, Lacy couldn’t help it, her green eyes shot up to look at him briefly before she looked away once again. “I just wanted to apologise to you, Lacy. I—I haven’t exactly been fair to you with the smart stunt I pulled.” It seemed that the Alpha King wanted some response from her, but she gave him nothing. “Very well. Now that that is out of the way, here are all the copies of the contract we signed,” This time when Lacy looked at him, she realised that he truly had them in his huge hands. All three of them. Confusion suddenly graced her features as she watched him place two on the coffee table next to him and then proceed to rip the third one into shreds. She watched, stupefied as he did the same thing to the other two, the shredded evidence finally registering in her head. “Why are you doing this?”

“It was the least thing I could do for all that I put you through.” For all I’m about to put you through. He shrugged, not saying that part though. “You’re no longer enslaved to me, human…”

“Meaning you’ll not require my services anymore?” She asked for confirmation, earning an amused chuckle instead, “Why do you sound so disappointed at that?” He teased, quickly turning serious. “But yeah, no more s*x services.”

Oh.

To say Lacy was disappointed was an understatement, for she knew she went on and on about being held against her will, but she didn’t exactly hate their one and only session? Hell, if she was being really honest, she had waited and waited for the next time he’d call her, but she’d never heard from him again. And now this.

“I realise now that if you think we have some mate bond connection, it would not exactly be right getting together to you as an attached woman is the last thing I need right now, seeing as I am a betrothed man and all.” She heard him clarify, the words taking her out of her thoughts. “I see.” She murmured.

“You must understand that the only reason why I threw that clause in is the fact that I need to protect my Clan from the outside world, and not because I have anything against you in particular.”

It made a lot of sense if Lacy looked at it from his point of view, but of course it did not mean that it was right.

“Why didn’t you let me know instead?” Lacy asked, “I’m not sure we would be in this position had you made me aware of how much I’d f****d up.”

“Perhaps.” He shrugged, “But this is for the best anyway.” He turned to leave, but stopped once more, “Anyway, you can come and go as you please now… work at the clinic, explore the castle as much as you want and meet members of the Clan, but just know that should you try anything funny, like escaping I will not hesitate to wring your pretty neck myself.”

“Ah, that’s more like it,” Lacy rolled her eyes as she chortled, not in the least bit scared of his solemn promise, “I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you, glad you hadn’t bumped your head or even worse after all,” She teased him, straightening in satisfaction when he laughed, a full-fledged melodious sound that tugged at her insides. Gods he really needed to laugh more often, for that simple act seemed to do wonders for his face, making him look much younger, much freer… and she’d be damned but more handsome as well. He had dimples on his cheek for crying out loud, now why would anyone want to hide those?

“Have a good night, Lacy,” He shot her one last smile, and then he was gone, leaving the human alone to make sense of the weird feeling in the pit of her belly at his mention of her name.