Rejected and claimed by the alpha beast Novel by Paige T

Elise’s POV

What have I just done? I slept with Rygan. I gave in to that unexplainable tug between us. I recalled how much I begged him to take me and how lost I was in his essence.

Why was it so easy to get back into his arms again? Who always felt so right when I was fighting this? How could I give in so easily?

Oh, gods, I’m such a fool. The moment I left that room and ran into the smaller door, a trashed and ruined room that had seen better days in the destroyed cabin, I let out an agonizing whimper.

I raised my hands to clasp my mouth shut to stop my cries from coming out. The voices in my head all felt too loud and too dark.

Betrayer, slut, shame! Those words rang in my ears. My legs felt like jelly as I slid down the wall. I didn’t care if I was hurting myself as I brought a hand to my chest and hit it over and over again. Why do I still feel this way for him? I was sure all my feelings were over. I was sure Rygan could never affect me again.

With Hayden by my side was a constant reminder for my revenge, but with what he had done, with how he betrayed me, trusting the enemies instead of me, he didn’t believe that I could do it, that I could get Ethan back on my own as Rygan did.

He didn’t believe that I could take care of myself and us and saw me as weak. I was hurt, and my wolf is too, but I cannot accept what I just did with Rygan, even though my wolf tells me it’s right. I let my guard down, and of all the times for my heat to come back, it was now. I showed weakness and shame.

I hear a knock on the door; I know it’s Rygan, and gods, I feel my heart wavering the moment I hear him call out to me, “Elise, we need to talk.” His soothing yet demanding voice echoes from outside.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I argued, taking off my clothes and wearing them. I thought Rygan would level and finally stop fighting my defense, but I was dead wrong. He barged into the room, his eyes blazing with focus.

I could see the desperation in his gaze, his once dark, stormy eyes now clear with a look of longing as he reached for me, his head shaking in a desperate plea and grimacing on his face.

“No, I do not care; I am not letting you go ever again; yes, you are the Luna to another pack; and yes, you have Hayden, who is your partner.

“My husband,” I correct him, “and my mate.”

“He is not your mate,” Ryan snarls so fast that I was too shocked and taken aback to notice he was closer. He marched towards me, taking over the inches of space left between us as his breath fanned on my face. “Yes, you accepted him, but I see it in your eyes, Elise; I see you, and I know what you feel for him is not the same,” he argued.

I feel my pulse quicken. I swallow, feigning amusement at his words as I laugh out bitterly, “And you know what that feels like? Don’t make me laugh. Rygan, I fucked you because my wolf was desperate; it always had been like that; we gave in to our lust and pleasure, and you went back to your Alvira each time you were done with me as your plaything.” I say, hoping my words hurt him and making him remember how hurt I was.

“Is that what you think? That you were just a plaything?” He asked, but I turned away instead. “You know this is different,” he snarled, his hands wrapped around my wrist. I watched as his eyes searched mine, looking for a wall to break. But I held steady; I wasn’t ever going to believe his lies again. “Whatever we have, what we’ve had is immeasurable and unexplainable; don’t you see that we are fated? Our bond goes beyond marks or claims; our souls belong to one another; even the heavens know it; you belong to me.”

I swallowed, watching his gaze, which never faltered. My resolve shook, and my wolf preened from it. “Don’t do this to me, Rygan; don’t.” I pleaded, I felt his palm caress my cheek and raised my gaze to match his, I could see that want for me, it showed clearly in his gaze, how he wanted me, burned for me, I needed to get away, run away before I get consumed by him and his words,

I raced for the door, but his hands on my wrist drew me back, and before I knew it, when I felt that soft crash of our lips together, the kiss was dominating, greedy, and outright filthy. I punched and pushed on his shoulders and chest to let me go, but he held on stronger, kissing me till I was well above leaving. Our lips chased each other in feverish kisses.

His hands wrapped around my waist, and my hands wrapped around his shoulder and combed into his hair. It felt like I was going to be drunk. This was really bad. I came here to get away from him; I needed to stop!

The loud buzz of something ringing finally pushed me out of his hold, leaving us both breathless. The phone–that’s when I remembered we had phones on us and it still worked! and the only saved number lights up, Hayden; he was probably too far away to use our telepathy, and this was a last resort. My eyes were still wide, and my breath was still unsteady from that ground–sweeping kiss we just had, but the moment I saw Hayden’s name, my guilt rushed back in waves.

But then I recalled my anger towards him, but right now, my sins and his betrayal were far less important than my Ethan. I picked hastily “Hayden” and started coldly. I looked to see that Rygan had stiffened, and there was something dark laced in his gaze when he heard Hayden’s name.

“How are you?”

“Why did you do it?” Instead, there was a tense silence on the other end of the phone. I knew he was sorry for it, but that didn’t stop the rage. “Hayden,”

“I’m sorry, angel. I thought it was the best option, but I’m closer than we’ve ever been. But I need to see you. I need to know that you are okay right now. Please,” he begged, and how could I refuse him? That voice that had compelled me for the past three years, a voice I felt an amount of shame listening to as I looked up to see Rygan watching me instantly,

“I’ll meet you at the cabin that we stayed at when we first came to the human lands; I’ll be waiting,” he says before the line falls dead. I feel an ache in my temple from the stress, but I wanted all this to be over and done with. I just wanted my Ethan back.

“He wants us to meet him.”

“I heard” Rygan cut off with a grunt, and I knew that Rygan did not trust him after what had been done. “I don’t think we should go; he put you and Ethan’s lives at harm; El is still sick; that poison in his system; that look in his eyes; it has to be wolfsbane and just random.

I stiffened from his words. Wolfsbane was sure to all be burned and extinct from the wolf realm; it was more deadly than its predecessor, Vardnom, whose second name is known as the’mad drug. I felt cold terror fill my veins.

“No, that can’t be.”

“El, the effect is relatively similar, but it can make a person go crazy; I’m not sure.”

“No, he just made a mistake, and he wants to make up for it. He’s my husband, and I will trust him, and I’ve known him longer than I know you.” I bit back; I wasn’t ready to hear any assumptions or lies from Rygan. “We leave in five minutes,” I tell him.

Rygan says nothing else before he leaves the room to retrieve his shirt; that is when I felt the breath I was holding release. Right now, I should anticipate meeting with Hayden.

But why do I feel like something is wrong?