Rejected by Her Mate Claimed by Four Alphas novel Chapter 263

CHAPTER 239

Clara’s POV

That question hung heavy between us.

Darius spoke first. “My pack is strong. They can function without me there constantly. I can split my time.”

“Same,” Lucien agreed. “The Red Moon pack has competent leadership below me. They won’t fall apart if I’m not there every day.”

“My territory is smaller,” Ronan admitted. “But I have good people. It’ll work.”

“We could rotate,” Killian suggested. “Spend time in each territory, keep all the packs stable while building

something new here. Make this place the central base.”

It made sense, even if it sounded complicated. Four territories, four packs, one Luna binding them all

together.

“The Council won’t like it,” I said quietly. “Four Alphas sharing one mate? That’s going to look like we’re building a power base that threatens them.”

“We are building a power base,” Darius said bluntly. “Four major packs tied together through mate bonds? That’s significant political power. The Council has reason to be nervous.”

“Which means they’ll try to stop us,” Lucien finished. “Or at least control us. We need to be prepared for

their response.”

“What can they actually do?” Killian asked. “The mate bonds are complete. They can’t undo what the

Goddess herself created.”

“They can make our lives difficult,” Lucien said. “Question our leadership. Investigate our packs for violations. Create political pressure. At worst, they could try to force Clara to choose one mate and reject

the others.”

My wolf snarled at that idea, rising up inside me with sudden fury. “No. I’m not rejecting any of them. The bonds are complete. Trying to break them now would kill me. Probably kill all of us.”

“Then we don’t give them that option,” Darius said firmly. “We present this as fact, not up for debate. The

Goddess created these bonds. We completed them. End of discussion.”

“We should research precedent,” Lucien suggested. “Find examples from history of multiple mate bonds.

Build a legal argument if we need one.”

“Do we have time for that?” Ronan asked.

Before anyone could answer, Killian groaned and slumped back against the wall. “Can we deal with all this

political stuff after we sleep for about twelve hours? I’m so tired I can barely think straight.”

He had a point. We were all running on fumes, exhausted beyond measure. But we couldn’t afford to hide

<CHAPTER 239

in this room forever.

Claim

“We need to face the pack,” I said. “The longer we hide in here, the more it looks like we’re ashamed or

scared. We go out there, heads high, and we own this.”

“Now?” Killian whined.

“Now,” I confirmed.

Darius stood first and offered me his hand. I took it and let him pull me up carefully, mindful of my leg. The

others rose too, forming a loose circle around me.

“Whatever happens out there,” I said quietly, “we face it together. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” they answered in unison.

The sound of their voices together, unified, sent a thrill through the mate bonds. This was right. Whatever the world thought, whatever consequences came, this was exactly where I was meant to be.

We moved toward the door as a unit. I was in the center, the four of them surrounding me protectively. Not because I was weak and needed protection, but because we were a pack now. A unit. And that’s how

packs moved, together.

My hand touched the door handle and hesitated for just a moment. On the other side of this door was reality. Judgment. Questions. Possibly anger or fear from pack members who didn’t understand.

But also on the other side was our future. Whatever that looked like.

I looked back at the four of them one more time. Darius with his blue eyes steady and determined. Killian

trying to look confident despite his exhaustion. Lucien calm and analytical even now. Ronan watching me

with complete trust.

My mates. All of them. Mine.

I opened the door.

The hallway was empty, but I could hear voices from downstairs. A lot of voices. The pack had gathered,

୮ probably waiting to see what would happen. How long had they been down there?

We moved toward the stairs together, our footsteps echoing in the quiet hallway. As we descended, the

voices below got louder, then suddenly cut off completely.

They saw us.

All five of us emerging from the Alpha’s quarters together, it was impossible to miss what that meant.

What we’d done. What we’d chosen.

The main room was packed with pack members. They stood in clusters, all turning to stare as we came

down the stairs. I could see every emotion on their faces. Shock. Confusion. Some disgust. Some

curiosity. A few showed what might have been approval.

< CHAPTER 239

Claim

Derck pushed through the crowd immediately, looking relieved and stressed in equal measure. “Luna Clara.” He stopped, glanced at the four Alphas surrounding me, and seemed to reconsider how to address this situation. “You’ve been in there three days. The pack has been waiting. We have urgent matters that

need your attention.”

Three days. It felt longer and shorter at the same time.

“I’m here now,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite my raw throat. “What needs to be addressed?”

Derek hesitated, clearly uncomfortable having this conversation in front of everyone. “Perhaps we should speak privately first.”

“No.” I looked around the room at all the watching faces. “Whatever needs to be said can be said here. They’re going to have questions anyway. Better to address it directly.”

An older pack member, Elder Thomas, stepped forward. His face was carefully neutral, but I could feel disapproval radiating off him. “Luna Clara. We respect your authority as our leader. But what you’ve done here goes against tradition. Against the natural order of mate bonds.”

Here it was. The challenge I’d known was coming.

“The natural order,” I repeated. “Tell me, Elder Thomas, who decides what’s natural? The Goddess creates

mate bonds, does she not?”

“Yes, but-”

“And the Goddess created these bonds. All four of them. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t plan it. But the bonds

exist. They’re complete now. That’s not tradition or politics. That’s divine will.”

“One mate is the tradition,” Thomas insisted. “One Luna, one Alpha. That’s how it’s always been.”

“Not always,” Lucien spoke up. His voice carried authority despite his exhaustion. “There are records of multiple mate bonds in our history. Rare, yes. But not unheard of. Usually they appear during times of great change. Times when the Goddess needs to create something stronger than tradition.”

“Records from hundreds of years ago,” Thomas argued. “Legends, not facts.”

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