Rejected by Her Mate Claimed by Four Alphas novel Chapter 174

CHAPTER 158

Alpha Darius’s POV

Standing in the middle of the crowd, dirty and tired but very much alive, was Clara.

The world around me disappeared. Every face in the crowd, every voice calling out, every sound and smell faded into nothing. There was only Clara, standing in the middle of the courtyard like a miracle I’d stopped believing could happen.

She was dirty, her clothes torn and stained, her hair tangled from whatever ordeal she’d been through. But

she was alive. She was here. She was real.

The warlord Alpha who commanded armies and struck fear into enemies was gone. In that moment, I was just a man who had thought he’d lost everything, seeing the other half of his soul standing before him.

Iran.

I didn’t walk or stride with dignity. I ran across the courtyard like my life depended on reaching her, pushing

through the crowd of pack members who had gathered around her.

“Clara,” I breathed her name like a prayer as I reached her.

She turned toward me, and the smile that spread across her face was brighter than the sun. “Darius.”

I swept her up in my arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. She laughed, the sound washing over me like healing water after days of drought. I held her so tight I was probably hurting her, but

I couldn’t make myself loosen my grip.

“You’re here,” I said against her neck, breathing in her scent. She smelled like smoke and dirt and sweat,

but underneath it all was still that vanilla and wildflower scent that was purely Clara. “You’re really here.”

“I’m here,” she confirmed, her arms wrapped around my neck just as tightly as mine were around her waist.

I set her down but kept my hands on her face, my thumbs tracing over her cheekbones like I needed to convince myself she wasn’t an illusion. Her skin was warm under my touch, real and solid and alive.

“Are you hurt? What happened to you? Where have you been?” The questions tumbled out of me faster

than I could control them.

“I’m okay,” she said quickly, covering my hands with hers. Her fingers were cold, and I noticed scrapes on

her knuckles that hadn’t been there before. “I’m not hurt. Not really.”

“Not really?” I repeated, my voice sharp with concern. I could see small cuts on her arms, bruises on her wrists that looked suspiciously like restraint marks. Someone had hurt her, and the wolf in me was already demanding blood.

“I’ll explain everything,” she promised, squeezing my hands. “But first, are you okay? You look terrible.”

I probably did look terrible. I could feel the hollowness in my cheeks from not eating, the dark circles

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under my eyes from sleepless nights. My clothes were wrinkled from sleeping in my office chair, and I hadn’t bothered to shave in days.

“I am now,” I said simply

Xander appeared beside us, and I remembered suddenly that we weren’t alone. The entire pack was watching this reunion, their faces filled with relief and joy. But I found I didn’t care. Let them see how

much their Luna meant to their Alpha.

“Luna Clara,” Xander said, relief clear in his voice. “Thank the goddess you’re safe. The whole pack has

been searching for you.”

“Thank you, Xander,” Clara said, giving him a warm smile before turning back to me. “We should go inside. I have a lot to tell you.”

I nodded, finally remembering that we were standing in the middle of the courtyard with dozens of pack

members watching. But I couldn’t make myself let go of Clara completely, so I kept one arm around her waist as we walked toward the packhouse.

The crowd parted for us, and I could hear voices calling out welcomes to Clara. She acknowledged them

with waves and smiles, but I could feel the tension in her body. Whatever had happened to her, it had left

its mark.

“Luna, we’re so glad you’re safe,” called out one of the omega girls.

“We never stopped believing you’d come home,” added Marcus from the patrol team.

Clara’s smile was genuine, but I noticed how she stayed close to my side, how her free hand occasionally

clenched into a fist. She was putting on a brave face for the pack, but I could sense the trauma

underneath.

Once we were inside and away from the crowd, I stopped walking and turned to face her fully.

“Tell me everything,” I said.

Clara took a deep breath, and I could see her organizing her thoughts. “Jaden and Liana tried to kidnap

୮ me. They had me chained up in some old storage building on their territory.”

The rage that filled me was instant and overwhelming. My hands clenched into fists, and I had to fight the urge to shift partially. “They what?”

“They wanted me to come back to their pack as Luna,” Clara continued, her voice steady despite the anger I could see building in her eyes. “They had this whole plan where Liana would step aside and let me be the public face of leadership while she got to keep Jaden without any of the actual responsibility.”

“They kidnapped you to make you an offer?” I asked, hardly believing what I was hearing. The stupidity and arrogance of it was staggering

“They thought I was broken and desperate enough to agree to it,” Clara said with a bitter laugh. “They thought I’d be grateful for their mercy”

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The idea that anyone could think Clara was broken made my wolf snarl with fury. They clearly didn’t know

my mate at all.

“What did you do?” I asked, though I suspected I already knew the answer based on the satisfaction I

could see in her expression,

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