The Rejected daughter chosen by the Alpha (Maya and Atila) novel Chapter 101

CChapter 101 hapter 101

– ÁTILA

The hotel lobby looked more like a curated art exhibit than a place people actually passed through. Pale marble floors caught the golden light from crystal chandeliers, white orchids arranged with almost surgical precision, and that subtle scent of something expensive in the air-amber, maybe.

I didn’t have to give my name.

The general manager was already waiting.

“Sir,” he said, dipping his head slightly. “Mrs. Volkov is expecting you in the presidential suite.”

Of course she was.

He escorted me to a private elevator-the kind that only moved with a key card and absolute silence. The doors slid shut without a sound, sealing off the world outside. In the mirror’s reflection, I caught my own expression-hard, controlled. I checked my watch.

Shit.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I needed to let her know I’d be late. I didn’t want her waiting without understanding why. I opened the thread, my thumbs already typing a quick message-running a little late-when the screen went black.

Battery dead.

I exhaled sharply, staring at my reflection again while the elevator climbed in complete silence.

When the suite doors opened, London filled an entire wall of glass. The city looked small from up there.

She was seated at the private dining table, an open bottle of champagne in front of her and two glasses already poured.

Her hair had been freshly dyed a deep, striking red, styled in perfect waves. Skin far too flawless for someone who carried centuries on her shoulders. Elegant dress. Subtle, expensive jewelry.

My mother had always known how to reinvent herself.

“I was starting to think you’d never come visit me,” she said, lifting her glass to her lips.

I walked toward her-unhurried, but without ceremony.

“I don’t have much time, Mother. Please get to the point. I only came because you said it was urgent.”

I leaned down, kissed the top of her head, then took the seat across from her.

She studied me for a few seconds, scanning my face like she was searching for cracks..

“I heard you moved.”

My gaze went cold.

“Who told you?”

“Miss Langford. Your housekeeper. I stopped by to see you and found her alone in that enormous apartment. You should’ve

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Chapter 101

told me.”

I sighed.

55 vouchers

“Lately you’ve been treating me like I reverted back to childhood. I may have become human, but I’m still a grown man.”

She didn’t blink.

“But a weak one.”

The word landed on the table like a blade.

My jaw locked. I felt the muscle jump beneath my skin.

She waited before continuing, savoring the impact.

“I called you here because I visited Moonville recently… and I’m afraid certain things are shifting there without our knowledge.”

I crossed my arms.

“Anything specific that suddenly made you afraid?”

She set her glass down with deliberate care.

“Your house was completely burned.”

I stayed silent.

“So was mine,” she added. “The house you grew up in… reduced to ashes. Is that enough to get your attention?”

I looked away, out at the city beyond the glass.

Shit.

“Who the hell would be behind that?” I muttered.

“Honestly,” she continued, “there have been so many people, for so many centuries, invested in our downfall… I truly have no idea.”

I ran through names. Old rivalries. The war that never fully ended when it came to protecting our territory and traditions from invading factions.

I reached the same conclusion she had.

I had no idea either.

“What did Lucien say about it?” I asked.

“Lucien is on our side. And he’s worried about your safety. He specifically asked me to speak to you. He said even on this side of the portal, you’re still at risk.”

Two years.

Two years living among humans.

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Chapter 101

Vulnerable.

Without my full power.

Why now?

Why after all this time?

“Starting today, you will not go anywhere without security,” she declared.

I laughed.

“Come on, Mother… that’s excessive.”

“You’re not taking this seriously, Átila.”

“How exactly do you expect me to take seriously the idea of walking around with your bodyguards glued to me?” I shot back “If you haven’t noticed, I teach at a university now. There’s no chance I’m having your men escort me into a lecture hall. I’d look ridiculous in front of a room full of students.”

She stared at me, surprised.

“Since when are you a professor?”

“Since I developed an interest in biological psychology.”

The truth was, my interest started the day I found out Maya would be majoring in Psychology.

I studied for two years. Whole nights without sleep. I absorbed everything-neurochemistry, physiology, behavior.

I called in a favor from the university’s owner-an old lupine who chose decades ago to live among humans, managing wealth and influence far from our world’s conflicts. He granted it.

“Let’s just say I have connections.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Fine. I won’t push. You’re not a child, as you so clearly reminded me. But if something happens to you…” Her voice faltered for a second, the memory of my father’s death moving through the room like a shadow. “I couldn’t survive losing you too.”

I stood and walked over to her.

“Mother…. nothing’s going to happen. I promise.”

She rose and wrapped her arms around me with unexpected strength. Her perfume-unchanged, always the same- dragged up memories I preferred buried.

We stayed like that for a few seconds.

Then I pulled back.

I said a quick goodbye and left the hotel in long strides, remembering I had plans with Maya. I checked my watch and-shit.

Was I too late?

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