Rejected by Her Mate Claimed by Four Alphas novel Chapter 228

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CHAPTER 210

Alpha Darius’s POV

The suggestion that I controlled Clara’s choices was designed to provoke. But underneath the provocation was a more dangerous implication that Clara might want the help he was offeririg.

“Clara doesn’t need permission for anything,” I snarled, taking a step toward his chair. “But she also doesn’t need interference from Alphas who can’t respect her relationship.”

“Relationship,” Killian repeated mockingly, his green eyes bright with malicious amusement. “Right. Though I have to say, if I needed backup in a discussion about my mate, I’d probably ask her to handle it herself. Since this is Clara’s pack and all.”

The insult hit exactly where he’d intended. He was suggesting that I was weak and that I needed Clara to fight my battles. That I was hiding behind my mate instead of handling threats myself. In front of witnesses who would spread word of my supposed weakness.

I moved around the table with predatory grace, my presence filling the space around Killian’s chair. He couldn’t escape now without looking like he was backing down.

“You want to repeat that?” I asked, my voice carrying the promise of death.

“Which part?” Killian asked, completely unfazed by my threatening posture. If anything, he looked more amused. “The part about this being Clara’s territory? Or the part about you running to your Luna Alpha for backup when things get tough?”

The mockery in his voice was designed to provoke maximum rage. He was calling Clara the real Alpha, suggesting I was subordinate to her and questioning my authority in front of the other pack leaders.

“Learn your place,” I growled, my hands clenching into fists that could crush bone. “And stay away from my mate.”

“Your mate,” Killian said with obvious delight, like he’d been waiting for me to claim ownership. “Who happens to be an Alpha in her own right now. Maybe you should remember that before you start making demands about who she can associate with.”

“I remember everything that matters,” I replied, my voice dropping to a whisper that somehow carried

more menace than shouting. “Including the fact that you’re supposed to be my ally, not my competition.”

“Competition?” Killian’s smirk widened into something genuinely dangerous. “That’s an interesting way to phrase offering professional support to a fellow leader. Makes me wonder what you’re really worried

about.”

“Professional support,” I repeated, not believing a word of it. “Right.”

“What else would it be?” Killian asked with false innocence that fooled no one.

“You tell me,” I said, moving even closer to his chair until I was looming over him. “Because your interest in

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Clara seems to go beyond professional courtesy.”

25 Pointe

The accusation hung in the air between us like a loaded weapon. Either he would deny it and back down, or he would escalate this confrontation to the point where blood would be spilled.

“You’re being paranoid, Darius,” Lucien interjected, his voice carrying that cold, analytical edge I’d grown to hate. “And frankly, it’s making you look insecure.”

I turned the full weight of my attention on Lucien, my eyes promising violence to anyone who dared question my authority again.

“Insecure?” I repeated, my voice deadly quiet.

“Yes,” Lucien said calmly, meeting my stare without flinching. “You’re acting like a jealous mate instead of a confident Alpha. It’s not a good look for someone of your reputation.”

The accusation that I was jealous instead of justifiably protective made my blood boil. These were supposed to be my allies, my brothers in arms, and they were questioning my authority, my confidence, my right to protect what was mine.

“I’m acting like an Alpha who protects what’s his,” I said through gritted teeth, my voice carrying the promise of consequences for anyone who challenged that right.

“By threatening allies?” Lucien asked, raising an eyebrow with that infuriating calm that suggested he thought he was above my threats. “By making accusations without basis? That’s not protection, Darius. That’s insecurity.”

Before I could respond to Lucien’s provocation, Killian spoke up again, his voice cutting through the tension with unexpected sharpness.

“Back off, Lucien,” he said, his tone carrying a warning edge that surprised me. “This has nothing to do with you.”

Lucien turned to look at Killian, his dark eyes flashing with annoyance at being dismissed so casually.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Killian replied, his tone harder now, more aggressive than his usual calculated charm. “This is between Darius and me. Keep your analysis to yourself.”

“Since when do you tell me what to do?” Lucien asked, his voice dropping to match Killian’s threatening

tone.

“Since you decided to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Killian shot back, his green eyes flashing with genuine anger now. “Nobody asked for your psychological evaluation.”

I watched the exchange with growing confusion and suspicion. Killian was defending me? Or defending his right to challenge me without interference? Either way, the sudden shift in dynamics was unexpected.

“I’m simply pointing out the obvious,” Lucien said coldly, his composure cracking slightly. “Someone needs

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to inject some rationality into this conversation.

“Well, don’t,” Killian snapped, his mask of casual amusement completely gone now. “Nobody asked for your opinion, and nobody wants it.”

The tension in the room ratcheted up another notch. Now, instead of just two angry Alphas, we had three ready to tear each other apart. The air itself felt charged with barely controlled violence.

My eyes drifted to Ronan, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. He sat perfectly still in his chair, watching all three of us with those calculating hazel eyes that missed nothing, like he was memorizing every word, gesture, and micro-expression for some future purpose.

That stillness bothered me more than Killian’s provocations or Lucien’s accusations. Ronan was the strategist among us, the one who saw patterns others missed, who could predict outcomes three moves ahead. His silence felt loaded with meaning, heavy with knowledge he wasn’t sharing.

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