The Rejected daughter chosen by the Alpha (Maya and Atila) novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16

– MAYA

So Maya have you gone into heat for the first time yet?”

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He asked it again, with the same maddening casualness of someone asking for the time. He stopped walking, and even sem olhar pra trás cu senti o corpo enorme dele virar na minha direco

I stopped too. Swallowed hard. Turned to face him.

Those green eyes scanned me like he was measuring something in me I didn’t even know existed.

“What kind of question is that? I finally managed, irritation snapping at the edges of my voice. “You talk about it like it’s… I don’t know, sidewalk conversation

“It is for me.” he said, serious as ever, eyes locked on mine. “You fe about twenty-two.” He said it like he was doing math out loud “Most females your age have already gone through their first heat.”

1 frowned

“And how exactly do you know how old I am?”

“Based on my calculations, that’s your age.”

“Your calculations?” I crossed my arms. “And since when do you get to calculate anything about me with that kind of precision?”

He went silent for a few seconds, like he was weighing how much to reveal. His jaw tensed; a vein pulsed at the side of his neck

“It’s a long story.”

“Great,” I said, tilting my chin up. “I’ve got time.”

I stepped closer, planted my feet, and didn’t look away.

“You’re going to start telling me everything I don’t know. I want the whole truth. What your connection is to my family, why you said my parents would have to deal with the council, and why you act like you’ve known me for years when I only met you yesterday”

He drew in a long breath and glanced aside, almost like he was genuinely considering whether speaking was a terrible idea. The tension between us thickened I tapped my foot against the round, impatient.

“I’m not moving until you talk,” I warned.

He looked back at me, and-to my surprise-his expression softned just enough to shift something inside my chest.

“I’ll tell you everything

“Perfect,” I hussed. “I’m waiting”

He stepped closer, close enough that his scent hit me-warm, woodsy, intoxicating. My fingers tightened around my own arins, as if I could hold my skin together. He held my gaze, and something in him settled.

He drew in a breath and began

“There’s an old story in Moonville… something people whisper out, but only a few of us know what really happened. They

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10:16 Mon, Mar 9 M

Chapter 16

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say that about twenty-two years ago, a cursed Alpha wandered the forests growing weaker by the day. He fulfilled his duties, led his people did everything right but anyone could see he was fading. The moon was draining him. He carried a curse he had to find his destined mate marry her, seal the bond or would keep losing strength until nothing was left The problem? She’d never shown a single sign of existing. So he traveled the world searching for answers-healers, ancient seers. alchemists anyone who could point him toward her And he always came back empty-handed. It was as if the woman had never existed. Or hadn’t been born yet Then, one full-moon night, as he walked through the woods, something shifted A spark-like his entire body had flicked back on In that mistant, knew Irs Luna had been born He rushed home and ordered every newborn from that might to be checked. Only one baby had been born-a girl from a traditional Alpha Family He went to see her and confirmation hit the moment he laid eyes on her, A tiny, fragile little thing. An omega Rut the bond was there. Strong. Unmistakable. He walked home daze, relieved for the first time in years. He thought. This is it She’s here All I have to do is wait for her to grow. But..”-he paused, breathing out “days later, the news came The girl’s father showed up at his door and reported she had died. A heart defect She didn’t survive. The Alpha was devastated. It felt like losing someone who was already part of him. And with that game the terror: I’ll never find another. The curse will kill me Years later, that same Alpha returned to the couple’s home and discovered the baby had never died. She was alive, Healthy Grown into a strong young woman.”

My chest thudded painfully.

“And on top of that,” he added. “he found out she’d become a deant omega… and beautiful. Very beautiful,“

His words spun around me until I wasn’t sure if I still had solid ground beneath my feet.

Little girl

Omega

Heart defect

While his green eyes stayed locked on mine, my own began to barn. And it wasn’t just emotion-my lungs felt too hot, the am too thick. My heartbeat sped up like it was trying to outrun what he was saying.

My voice scraped out, low and raw

“That girl… is it me?”

He hesitated long enough for me to hope he’d lie. He looked away, bit the corner of his lip like he was holding something back, then met my eyes again with quiet finality.

“Yes, It’s you. Maya. You’re the Luna I thought had died twenty-two years ago.”

The world went utterly silent.

No wind no street noise, not even my thoughts.

Only that sentence echoing inside me, heavy as a stone sinking to dark water.

Iwas his curse.

His relief

My parents le

“This is a horrible joke,” I whispered, though even I didn’t believe it.

“I would never joke about this,” he replied. “Not ever.”

The way he said

steady, unwavering-cut deeper than anything else Memories slammed into me my mother’s cold bands pushing me away, my father’s distant eyes, the scolding without reason, the endless comparisons to my sisters Piece by piece, everything started falling into place in the ugliest way

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“They knew?” I asked, my voice cracking. “My parents knew who was? They know you existed? They knew I was… yours?”

He closed his eyes for a moment, like the truth hurt him too.

“They knew you mattered. They knew the story. They knew what your birth meant for me,” he said quietly. “But they chose to hide it.

A defective daughter. I muttered, the old word scraping like glass against my tongue.

His eyes hardened,

“A living daughter, he corrected sharply “And that’s what matters to me You’re mine.”

Something flared inside my chest-not comfort, but heat.

Chaotic

Wild

Something that didn’t know if it was anger or shame.

The air thickened, my skin prickled hot, too hot, like my body had jumped to a temperature the world couldn’t match.

“Why would they do that?” I asked, mostly to myself. “Why lie about their own child? Why hide… this… from me?”

The tears came fast, uncontrollable. “So my whole life was built on a lie,” I choked. A knot climbed up my throat.

He stepped toward me instinctively, like he wanted to catch me.

“Maya.”

“Don’t come closer.” I whispered, but it came out more like a shartered plea than a command.

The problem was that the more I begged for distance, the more my body betrayed me. Every cell in my skin leaned toward him, pulled by something I didn’t understand-something magnetic and inevitable.

A strange heat started at the base of my neck, sliding down my sine like molten metal, spreading across my shoulders, arms, chest. Underneath my skin, something lit up, a recognition I had never granted permission for. My eyes sharpened: the streetlights felt too bright, and his silhouette looked even larger, sharper, overwhelming.

“What the hell is happening to me?” The words slipped out before I realized I’d spoken.

He noticed. I saw the way his eyes darkened, worry flashing through his features before he regained control.

“You’re in shock,” he said.

“This isn’t just shock.” I pressed a hand to my chest My heart hammered so hard it hurt. “I’m… burning”

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