Rejected by Her Mate Claimed by Four Alphas novel Chapter 234

CHAPTER 216

Clara’s POV

I hesitated, knowing the truth would only hurt him more. “Months. Since first met them.”

“Months,” Darius repeated, his voice hollow. “You’ve known for months that you’re mated to other men, and you never told me.”

“What was I supposed to say?” I asked, desperation creeping into my voice. “That I felt pulled to your allies? That my wolf recognized them as mates too? How do you think that would have gone over?”

“Better than finding out like this,” Darius snapped.

“Finding out how? I didn’t tell you anything. How do you even know about this?”

Darius’s jaw clenched. “They told me. All of them. Tonight.”

My heart stopped. “What?”

“They had a meeting after you left,” Darius said, his voice getting louder with each word. “And they took great pleasure in telling me about their connections to my mate. About how you belong with them just as

much as you belong with me.”

“Darius, I can explain-”

“Explain what?” he interrupted. “Explain how you’ve been lying to me for months? Explain how you’ve been feeling the mate bond with three other men while pretending I was enough for you?”

“You are enough,” I said, tears streaming down my face now. “You have to believe me.”

“How can you say that when you just admitted you’re mated to four other men?”

“Because it’s true,” I insisted. “What I feel for you is real. It’s strong. It’s-”

“It’s not exclusive,” Darius cut me off. “And that changes everything.“”

I reached for him, but he stepped back, keeping the distance between us.

“Please,” I begged. “Let me explain. Let me help you understand.”

“Understand what, Clara? That my mate is connected to three other Alphas? That everything I thought we had was built on a lie?”

“It wasn’t a lie,” I protested. “My feelings for you are real.”

“But so are your feelings for them,” Darius said. “Aren’t they?”

I couldn’t answer. Because he was right. What I felt for Killian, for Ronan, for Lucien, it was real too. Different, maybe, but just as powerful.

“I thought so,” Darius said when I remained silent.

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CHAPTER

“What do you want me to say?” I asked, frustration mixing with my desperation. “That I can turn off the mate bond? That I can choose who to feel connected to? It doesn’t work that way?

“Maybe not,” Darius agreed. “But you can choose who to be with.”

His words sent a chill down my spine. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying you need to make a choice, Clara.”

“A choice?”

“Between us,” Darius said, his voice hard and final. “Between me and them. You can’t have all of us.”

“Why not?” The words tumbled out before I could stop them.

Darius’s expression turned thunderous. “Because I don’t share. I won’t share my mate with anyone. Not

with three other Alphas. Not with anyone.”

“But the bond-”

“I don’t care about the bond,” Darius interrupted. “I care about you. And I won’t spend the rest of my life competing for your attention with three other men.”

My wolf whimpered at the pain in his voice. She could feel our mate’s anguish, his sense of betrayal, and it was tearing her apart.

“It wouldn’t be like that,” I said weakly.

“Wouldn’t it?” Darius challenged. “How else would it be, Clara? You’d split your time between four different men? Four different packs? Four different futures?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“Well, start thinking,” Darius said harshly. “Because this situation can’t continue.”

“What if I can’t choose?” I asked, the question barely a whisper.

“Then you’ll lose all of us,” Darius replied without hesitation.

The threat hit me like a physical blow. “You don’t mean that.”

“I mean every word,” Darius said, his voice as cold as winter steel. “I won’t be one of four mates, Clara. I won’t share you. Either you choose me, and only me, or we’re done.”

“That’s not fair,” I protested.

“Fair?” Darius laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Nothing about this is fair. It’s not fair that the woman I love is mated to three other men. It’s not fair that you’ve been keeping this secret from me for months. It’s not fair that I found out from them instead of from you.”

Guilt washed over me in waves. He was right. I should have told him. I should have been honest from the beginning.

CHAPTER 21 AT

I’m 3011” I said, the words inadequate for the pain I’d caused.

“Sorry doesn’t fix this, Clara.”

“Then what will?”

“A choice,” Darius said firmly. “Your choice.”

I stared at him, seeing the determination in his eyes, the finality in his posture. He meant it. He really meant it.

“I need time,” I said desperately.

“How much time?”

“I don’t know. This is huge, Darius. You’re asking me to choose between four mates. That’s not a decision I can make in five minutes.”

Darius was quiet for a long moment, his jaw working as he considered my words.

“Three days,” he said finally.

“What?”

“I’m going to Shadowfang,” Darius announced. “I’ll be gone for three days. Use that time to figure out what

you want.”

“You’re leaving?” The panic in my voice was unmistakable.

“I can’t be around you while you’re deciding,” Darius said, his voice softer now but no less resolved. “It

wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”

“Don’t go,” I begged. “We can work through this together.”

“No, we can’t,” Darius said, shaking his head. “This is your choice to make, Clara. And I can’t influence it by being here.”

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