Approved for Her Rejected for Me novel Chapter 54

Chapter 5

Leo had been walking when something made him turn around.

He caught a glimpse of my car pulling out of the driveway.

The sight hit him harder than he expected. His chest tightened, and a quiet, creeping sense of unease spread through him, as if something important had just slipped out of his grasp without warning.

Liora frowned slightly. “Alpha? Is something wrong?”

Leo looked away and pushed the feeling aside. He gave a casual smile. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

He woke up the next morning before dawn.

Leo had barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, the image of my back as I walked away surfaced again, looping over and over until rest became impossible.

He glanced at the she-wolf sleeping beside him. Carefully, he slipped out of bed and walked down the hall to my room.

The moment he stepped inside, his heart sank.

The room was empty.

He stood there, frozen, his breathing shallow and uneven.

After a long moment, he forced himself to move. His hands trembled as he opened the closet door.

There was nothing inside.

Not a single piece of my clothing.

The realization hit him all at once, sharp and brutal, leaving him shaken from head to toe.

He rushed back to his room, grabbed his phone, and called the housekeeper. The moment she answered, his voice turned sharp. “Where are Riley’s things? Why is there nothing of hers left in the house?”

Mrs. Anderson sounded groggy, but his tone jolted her awake. “Luna said she had too many clothes and couldn’t wear them all. She asked me to take some home for my granddaughter. Is something wrong, Alpha?”

“What about everything else?” Leo asked immediately.

“I’m not sure about that,” Mrs. Anderson replied respectfully. “You might need to ask Luna.”

The answer only made his irritation grow.

He ended the call and dialed my number.

The phone was powered off.

Chapter 5

Nothing.

The longer he stared at the screen, the stronger the unease became, curling tight in his stomach until it ached. Leo pressed a hand against it and clenched his jaw, trying to breathe through the discomfort.

The sound he made woke Liora. When she saw the sweat on his forehead and the pain on his face, she paled. She rushed to help him up and insisted on taking him to the pack hospital.

By then, I had already arrived at Julian’s current posting.

“Riley, this place isn’t safe,” Julian warned. “Don’t wander off on your own.”

As he spoke, he grabbed the man next to him who was sharpening bamboo stakes. “This is my best friend, Dominic Ashford. He’s the captain of the peacekeeping unit here. If you need anything, go to him.”

The man in work clothes was tall and broad-shouldered, with an intimidating presence. I instinctively straightened and nodded. “Understood. I won’t hesitate if I need help.”

In a place where gunfire and chaos were everyday realities, practicality mattered more than pride.

Dominic said little. He simply nodded once in acknowledgment.

The days that followed were busy and demanding. I learned my way around the area and picked up more specialized skills along the way. The work was exhausting, but for the first time in a long while, I felt grounded.

Compared to my past life, bound tightly by a mate bond and emotional dependence, this felt like freedom.

Signal was nearly nonexistent here. Phones were useless most of the time, and sometimes weeks passed before we could report our safety to family and friends.

Lily worried constantly and kept asking around for news about me. When I finally heard about it, I used the rare chance I had to call her.

The moment she answered, she didn’t waste time. “Riley, tell me the truth. What exactly is going on between you and Leo? Why did he come to me looking for you after you left?”

Hearing his name after so long stirred nothing. My voice stayed calm. “There’s nothing between us. He was probably just curious.”

“Cut the nonsense,” Lily snapped, “If there’s nothing going on, why does he keep asking me about you? He even told me that if I ever got in touch with you, I had to tell him right away.”

“Riley, listen to me. He already has a mate and a pup. We are not going to be those people who wreck someone else’s family.”

It was clear Leo hadn’t told her the truth.

Chapter 5

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