Rejected by Her Mate Claimed by Four Alphas novel Chapter 10

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The mention of revenge made my heart skip a beat. Jaden had humiliated me, rejected me, and tried to have me killed. Of course I wanted payback. I hadn’t allowed myself to acknowledge that desire until now, but hearing Darius speak it aloud ignited something

inside me.

“Why would you help me get revenge?” I asked, suspicion cutting through my pain.

His eyes gleamed in the moonlight. “My reasons are my own,” he said, his voice revealing nothing. “Let’s just say we might have aligned interests when it comes to Shadowcrest Pack.”

I tried to read his expression, but his face was like stone. “What do you want from me, exactly?”

“Loyalty,” he answered simply. “Complete and unquestioning. The rest…” he smiled, a cold expression that didn’t reach his eyes, “you’ll learn when you’ve proven yourself loyal.”

“And if I’m not loyal?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his smile grew darker, more ominous. The look in his eyes sent a chill through my already cold body. It was the look of a predator contemplating exactly how he would devour his prey.

Message received. Disloyalty meant death.

There was something unsettling about his vague answers. He was hiding something important. But what choice did I have? I was dying. He was offering life.

“Why me?” I pressed, trying to understand his game. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know enough,” he replied. “I know you fought when others would have surrendered. I know you survived when you should have died.” His eyes traced over my bloodied body. “I know potential when I see it.”

His evasiveness sent a chill down my spine. There were hidden layers to this deal that I

couldn’t see.

“But make no mistake,” he continued, “this is no charity. I’m not saving you out of kindness. My reasons are my own, and you’ll serve them whether you understand them or not.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I walk away now, and you die here alone.” His voice was matter–of–fact, without cruelty or compassion. Just stating the obvious.

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CHAPTER 9-2

+25 Points

I weighed my options, though there weren’t many. Die here, or go with this dangerous Alpha and live… at least for now. The promise of revenge was tempting, more tempting than I wanted to admit.

“If I accept, and you help me get better from these attacks, what’s to stop me from running later?” I asked.

His eyes flashed with something like approval. “Smart question. The answer is simple. There will be nowhere for you to run. Once you’re part of my pack, you’ll be bound to me in the eyes of every Alpha. If you flee, you’ll be hunted not just by me, but by every pack who wishes to stay on my good side.” He paused. “And there are many who fear my bad side.”

I believed him.

The casual way he had ordered the deaths of the Shadowcrest warriors told me everything I needed to know about Alpha Darius.

But I also saw an opportunity in his offer. Protection. Power. A chance to rebuild myself into something stronger. The promise of revenge against those who betrayed me.

I had spent years dimming my light for Jaden, hiding my warrior nature to be the perfect Luna, to remain under his shadow. Look where that had gotten me.

Perhaps with Darius, I could finally be myself again. The fighter. The warrior. The woman I was before I started changing for a man. And maybe, just maybe, I could make Jaden pay for what he’d done to me.

“I accept your deal,” I said, meeting his eyes directly for the first time.

He nodded once, seemingly satisfied. “Welcome to Shadowfang Pack, Clara Ashburn.”

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