Rejected By The Alpha, Desired By The King

The forest changed beyond the Ridge.

No longer cruel, but quiet.

Not safe—just ancient.

It no longer whispered threats. It remembered.

We walked for hours without speaking. Rylan didn't rush me. He moved like he knew the trees would open when they were ready.

And they did.

Near midnight, the canopy thinned into a crumbled clearing. The ground sloped downward into a sunken depression choked with vines, half-covered by ash and moss.

I stopped.

My breath caught.

Stone.

Carved pillars. A domed ceiling collapsed inward. Half-circles buried in the earth like forgotten bones.

This wasn't just a ruin.

It was a temple.

And I had seen it before.

In my vision.

The Moon Goddess. The burning sky. The silver threads strung across twisted branches.

This place was older than any scent. Older than the packs.

"Rylan," I whispered. "This is it."

He nodded once. "The Temple of the First Luna."

We lit no torches. The temple walls glowed faintly under the moonlight — not from magic, but memory. It soaked the stones. Runes curled like vines over the columns. Some matched the ones that had burned into my skin.

We walked slowly.

In silence.

I stopped at the altar.

A broken bowl sat in its center. Runes burned into its rim.

One word I could read.

Riverwind.

My name.

"You were always meant to come here," Rylan said softly behind me.

I turned. "How do you know?"

"Because it opened for you," he replied. "I've passed this clearing before. A dozen times. It never looked like this. The trees moved."

I ran a hand over the stone.

"It's calling something inside you."

"I don't know what I am."

"Yes, you do," he said.

I turned again. He was closer now. Too close.

"You felt it in the dungeon. You saw it in the vision. Your blood carries something older than any Luna bond. That's why they tried to erase you."

My throat dried. "Then what am I?"

His eyes darkened. "Divine."

We sat near the broken altar, warmth from the ground seeping through our cloaks. The vines rustled above us. Somewhere, an owl cried.

Rylan didn't move.

But he was close enough to feel.

Not touching, but nearly.

His arm brushed mine once. Then again.

"Why did you help me?" I asked.

"I was supposed to observe you. Report your scent shifts. Log the bond decay."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because I saw your eyes," he said quietly. "And I didn't want to be the wolf who destroyed something holy."

He turned toward me.

I turned toward him.

His gaze dropped to my mouth.

And for a moment, everything stilled.

His breath brushed mine.

I leaned closer.

His hand reached up, slow, like he was about to touch my cheek.

And then—A pulse.

Not from him.

From inside me.

A silver thread, burning behind my ribs, tugged.

Hard.

Not toward Rylan.

Toward something else.

Toward Kael.

I gasped and stood fast, backing away.

"I—no. I can't."

Rylan exhaled, lowering his hand. "I know."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "That bond… whatever it is… it's not done with you."

I turned toward the altar.

And this time, the vines parted on their own.

A narrow passage opened beyond.

Carved into the wall, one final line:

"The Luna returns through fire. Not love."

WHEN KINGS DREAM

KAEL POV

He dreamed of her again.

Not her face. Not her voice.

Just her scent.

Wild rain and silver smoke, burned pine, and something beneath it—something divine. A scent that made his wolf claw beneath his skin like it needed out.

She stood in moonlight, backlit by fire, eyes glowing silver. Runes burned down her arms. She didn't speak.

She didn't have to.

The bond snapped taut.

He woke with a growl tearing from his throat.

"Your Majesty."

Cassia.

He was already out of bed before she stepped through the door. His blood ran hot. Too hot.

"I didn't summon you," Kael said, voice low.

She smiled in that soft, calculated way she'd practiced too many times.

"You called for me in your sleep."

"I was dreaming."

"Of me?"

"No."

He didn't need to say who.

His scent had changed. His aura was twisted. His wolf, usually restrained under royal control, paced openly behind his eyes now. Watching. Snarling.

Cassia stepped closer.

She wore the silk nightgown she always chose when she wanted something—bare shoulders, exposed thighs, soft perfume.

It made him flinch.

That wasn't her scent.

That wasn't what his wolf wanted.

She reached for his chest.

He caught her wrist.

Not hard. But hard enough.

"Stop," he said.

Cassia's smile faltered. "You're upset. You're confused. I can ease it—"

"I'm not confused," he snapped. "I'm angry."

She pulled back quickly, eyes narrowing.

Kael's voice dropped to a growl. "I asked the High Seer about the bond between us. He found nothing. No thread. No recognition."

"That's not possible," Cassia said, too fast.

"It is. Because I was never yours."

She blinked. Then smiled again. "Your wolf reacted to me when we met."

"No. He was confused. Because someone used scentbinding magic in my court."

Cassia took a step back. "You're accusing me?"

"I'm warning you."

His eyes burned gold. His claws prickled at his fingertips.

Cassia turned cold. "She's manipulating you. Ayla. She wants your crown."

Kael's voice dropped to a dangerous murmur.

"She wants nothing from me."

He stepped forward. "She ran. She didn't beg. She didn't plot. She didn't fake a bond and poison the court to do it."

Cassia's expression cracked. "She was rejected. She was cast out."

"And yet," Kael growled, "my wolf would kill for her."

Cassia's lip trembled.

But Kael had already turned away.

He reached for the ledger on the desk — the one with rogue reports, scent records, sightings. And there — buried between scrolls — was her name:

"AYLA RIVERWIND – OUTLANDS SIGHTING / BLOODMARKED"

Kael stared at the word. Bloodmarked.

It confirmed what he already knew.

"She's not gone," he murmured.

"She's cursed," Cassia spat.

"No," he said. "She's mine."

burning.

The forest beyond the ridge stank of rogues.

But beneath it, clear as blood in snow, her scent blazed like a brand.

Pine smoke. Wild moonlight. Something holy.

He'd ridden three days without stopping. His men begged for rest. He sent them home. Alone, he moved faster.

No patrols. No politics. No crown.

Just his wolf, pulling toward the scent like a beast on the edge of madness.

Then—he stopped.

She'd passed here.

Fresh.

Hours ago.

His hands shook. His heart thundered.

He pressed his palm to the earth. Closed his eyes.

And felt it.

The bond.

A thread, thin and silver, stretched between him and the dark woods ahead.

It pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Then it pulled

AYLA – POV

Something pulled behind my ribs.

Hard.

I stumbled in the underbrush, grabbing a tree for balance. My lungs seized.

Not pain.

Not fear.

Him.

Kael.

Rylan turned, sensing it too. His eyes sharpened. "You feel him?"

I nodded.

"He's close."

Closer than ever.

I tasted him in the air. The heat. The fury. The hunger.

I shouldn't want it.

I wanted it anyway.

Rylan's jaw locked. "If he finds you—"

"He won't."

"I'm not sure I can stop him this time."

KAEL – POV

He saw her.

A flicker of white through the trees.

Hair tangled. Cloak torn. Eyes wide and wild.

Ayla.

His chest cracked open.

He moved.

Fast.

Not running—hunting.

She turned just as he reached the glade, feet scraping backward.

Their eyes met.

And everything stopped.

The bond exploded.

Not gentle.

Not gradual.

A surge.

Silver threads burst between them, visible even in daylight, wrapping the air in heat and instinct.

His wolf screamed inside.

Mine.

She didn't move.

Didn't breathe.

He took a step forward.

Then—Steel flashed.

Rylan stepped between them, blade drawn, eyes glowing with seer fire.

"Not yet," he said.

Kael's lips curled. "Move."

"She's not ready."

"I don't care."

Rylan's aura burned violet. "You should."

AYLA – POV

I watched them.

Two forces. One divine. One ancient.

Both burning for me in different ways.

Kael's voice was low. Controlled. Terrifying.

"I'll give you one chance."

Rylan raised the blade. "Take it and you lose her."

I didn't wait to see what Kael chose.

I turned.

And ran.

KAEL – POV

She was gone.

Again.

But not far.

Not for long.

He stared at Rylan, blood humming with rage.

"You'll regret that."

"I already do," Rylan said. "She deserves the choice."

Kael stepped back, teeth clenched.

"I'll let her choose."

He turned toward the trees, toward her fading scentline.

"But when she does—"

He bared his teeth.

"I'll make sure she never runs again."