Rejected by Her Mate Claimed by Four Alphas novel Chapter 249

CHAPTER 228-2

CHAPTER 228-2

“Clara,” Killian said, concern bleeding through his usual composure.

“I said I’m fine.” But my voice wavered. Betrayed me.

“Let me help you to your room,” Bethany said.

I wanted to refuse. Wanted to prove I could handle this on my own. But my legs were shaking and

the room was starting to spin slightly.

“Fine,” I whispered.

Bethany supported me as we headed toward the door. The three Alphas followed at a distance, their presence heavy behind us.

“Luna Clara?”

I turned to see Sarah standing in the hallway with little Melody. The girl was clutching her mother’s

hand, eyes wide.

“I just wanted you to know,” Sarah said quietly. “Not everyone thinks badly of you. Some of us understand that life isn’t always simple.”

“Thank you,” I managed.

Melody tugged on her mother’s sleeve. “Is Luna Clara sick?”

“She’s just tired, sweetheart.”

“Will she be okay?”

Sarah looked at me, and I saw the question in her eyes too. Will you be okay?

“I’ll be fine,” I told Melody. Another lie to add to the collection.

They left, and Bethany guided me up the stairs. Each step felt like climbing a mountain. My chest was tight, my breathing shallow.

“Almost there,” Bethany murmured.

We reached my room finally. I collapsed onto the bed without bothering to change clothes. The wrinkled shirt, the uncomfortable formal attire, none of it mattered.

“Get some sleep,” Bethany said. “Things will look better in the morning.”

“Will they?” I asked the ceiling after she left.

The room was dark. Quiet. For the first time in hours, I was alone with my thoughts.

CHAPTER 278-2

And my thoughts were vicious.

They think you drove Darius away. They think you’re a whore who can’t control herself. They think you’re using the mate bond as an excuse for greed and lust.

Maybe they were right.

Mira’s face kept replaying in my mind. The devastation. The betrayal. The way she’d looked at the

like I was the worst kind of monster.

And now my own pack looked at me the same way.

Tomorrow Darius would be home. Tomorrow I’d have to face him and make the choice he’d demanded. Choose him and lose the others. Or refuse and lose him too.

But now there was more at stake than just my heart. My pack was divided. My reputation was shattered. And they all thought I’d driven away the one mate they knew about because I couldn’t

control my desires.

I pressed my hands to my stomach again. The nausea was back, rolling through me in waves. Dr. Mitchell’s pills were in my pocket, but I couldn’t summon the energy to take one.

Not pregnant. Just stressed. Just my body breaking down under the weight of impossible choices

and terrible consequences.

A knock on my door made me flinch.

“Clara?” Lucien’s voice came through the wood. “May I come in?”

“No.”

“Please. Just for a moment.”

I didn’t answer. Didn’t have the strength to argue.

The door opened anyway. Lucien stepped inside, closing it softly behind him.

“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” he said.

“That’s exactly what I should be.” I didn’t look at him. “Everyone I get close to ends up hurt. Mira. My pack. You, Killian, Ronan. Even Darius.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” I finally turned my head. “My own pack thinks I drove Darius away with my behavior. They think I’m using all of you. And maybe they’re right. Maybe I am just selfish and greedy and unable to be satisfied with what I have.”

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CHAPTER 228-2

Lucien sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re not greedy. You’re trapped in a situation no one shourd

have to face.”

“A situation I made worse by not choosing sooner. By letting all of you stay. By being too weak to do what needed to be done.”

“Choosing isn’t weakness,” Lucien said quietly. “And taking time to make the right choice isn’t

selfishness.”

“Tell that to Mira. Tell that to my pack.” I closed my eyes. “They’re right about me. All of them.”

Lucien was quiet for a long moment. Then he stood, moved toward the door.

“For what it’s worth,” he said, pausing at the threshold. “I think you’re stronger than you realize. And no matter what you choose tomorrow, that won’t change.”

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