The Rejected daughter chosen by the Alpha (Maya and Atila) novel Chapter 61

Chapter 61

ÁTILA

I tried.

God, I swear I tried to live my life like nothing happened.

It worked for… three minutes.

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By minute four, I was already pacing my office with my hands clasped behind my back, trying to look calm-because obviously, an Alpha doesn’t stalk back and forth like a teenager who just got rejected.

I pulled open the door, and Miss Langford was standing in the hallway holding a tray of sweets.

“Are you hungry, sir? I brought these for you.”

“Miss Langford.”

I stopped, and for a single second, I remembered I had self-control.

“I found Maya.”

The tray almost slipped from her fingers.

“Thank the Moon…” she breathed, her shoulders dropping with relief. “Where is she? Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

“She’s on Stone land.”

“Stone land…” she repeated slowly. “At Cassian’s father’s house?”

I nodded.

“She’s working. With horses, fences. That kind of thing.”

Langford tilted her head, studying me like she could measure my heartbeat without touching my skin.

“I see. And she doesn’t want to come back?”

“No.”

She inhaled, and I watched her fight the instinct to ask another question. She asked anyway.

“And… are you comfortable with that?”

I laughed-short and sharp.

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“Comfortable? Of course.” I crossed the room and grabbed a random piece of paper just so I had something in my

hand. “I’m the very definition of a comfortable man, Miss Langford.”

“You’re crushing the paper like you’re angry at it.”

I looked down at my fist and loosened my grip.

“It’s nothing.”

“Alpha Attila…” Her voice softened. “You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

I straightened, pride snapping into place like armor.

“I’m not proving anything. I’m simply informing you, since I know you were worried about her disappearance. And… I apologize for not telling you sooner. I didn’t have the opportunity before

now.”

“Thank you. I’m very happy you found her.”

Langford nodded and quietly left my office, setting the tray down on my desk before she went.

A few hours passed, and I had to head to the training grounds.

The Gammas were lined up in formation while a few Alphas ran them through warm-ups. The air

smelled like wet earth and sweat.

I loved it.

Because here, at least, I could pretend my mind was a territory I actually controlled.

I walked the yard, nodding in greeting, watching posture, discipline, focus. I corrected mistakes with two words. I fixed problems with a look.

And then Beta Rowan jogged up to me with the exact energy of a man about to hand me a headache.

“Alpha Attila!”

I turned, already feeling the universe plotting against me,

“Speak, Rowan.”

“Alpha Cassian didn’t show up for Gamma training.”

I blinked once.

“What do you mean he didn’t show up?”

Rowan swallowed hard.

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“He… didn’t come. I sent for him twice.”

That was strange.

Cassian didn’t miss training.

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Cassian Stone was the kind of man who would drag himself here half-dead just to prove he was disciplined.

So if Cassian hadn’t shown up…

My imagination did exactly what I told it not to do: it sprinted straight to the farm. To the house. To Maya.

To Cassian “helping” Maya.

My woman, the primitive part of my mind corrected.

My fist clenched.

“Rowan.”

His eyes widened.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“Find Silas. He’s taking Cassian’s place with the Gammas today.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

Rowan nodded and turned to run.

I lifted a hand.

“And one more thing.”

He froze.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to personally go find Cassian.”

Rowan stared at me like I’d just announced I was going to scrub the floor with a toothbrush.

“Alpha Attila… you don’t need to trouble yourself. I can go after I find Alpha Silas.”

I smiled.

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A smile that probably looked friendly to anyone who didn’t know me.

To anyone who did, it looked like a storm warning.

“You can go,” I agreed. “But you won’t.”

“Why?”

I kept my face calm. Controlled. Completely steady.

“Because I prefer handling discipline… up close.”

Rowan hesitated.

“But-”

“Rowan, just disappear.”

He swallowed.

“Understood.”

I turned away before I said something worse.

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And before my wolf tore through my skin with impatience, I headed for the edge of the territory.

I took a deep breath.

And let him come.

Shifting had always been both relief and curse. A snap in the world. Bones rearranging, weight redistributing, senses ripping open like a door kicked off its hinges.

When it was done, I was dark fur, muscle, instinct.

And the forest belonged to me.

I ran.

Not along the main road.

Through the trees.

Deep inside.

The wind cut across my muzzle. I tasted damp earth, dead leaves, animals, thin streams… and farther ahead, the Stone territory.

I slowed at the boundary.

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Her scent hit first.

Sweet.

Warm.

Hooking into my chest like something buried deep and sharp.

A low growl rumbled out of me before I could stop it.

I moved forward silently, slipping through brush and shadow.

Until I saw them.

A clearing near a barn.

Cassian was there, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, wearing that Alpha confidence like he knew he was being watched.

And Maya…

Maya stood with a basket of tools and a rope, trying to secure something to a gate. Her hair was tied up in a careless knot, her posture steady, her body moving with the efficient rhythm of someone who actually worked.

And Cassian was close.

Too close for my taste. Bastard.

I crouched in the trees, watching.

I don’t get jealous, I reminded myself like it was a sacred vow, peering through the leaves.

“Like this, Maya,” Cassian said, his voice far too gentle. “You pull the rope and tie it here. See?”

“I know how to tie a rope, Cassian,” she shot back. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”

“I didn’t say you were.” He laughed. “I said you’re pulling it wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Then do it yourself.”

Cassian took the rope calmly.

“If I do it, you’ll say the farm doesn’t need you anymore. And I don’t want to lose you.”

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My eyes narrowed, and I watched Maya visibly stiffen at the comment.

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“I mean,” he cleared his throat quickly, forcing a timid smile-wearing that good-boy expression mothers adored. “You’re a great employee. It would be a big loss for the farm.”

Maya exhaled like she was trying not to throw something at him.

“I’m working.”

“No.” Cassian’s gaze stayed on her, intent. “You’re different. Like… really different. More confident.”

She went quiet for a beat.

“I’m handling things on my own,” she said finally. “That helps.”

Something tightened in my chest.

Cassian made a thoughtful, understanding face.

“I get it.” He stepped closer. “Did he suffocate you?”

Maya lifted her chin.

“Attila?”

“Yes.”

She inhaled slowly, choosing her words.

“No. He never suffocated me. He always respected me.”

But…

She hesitated, and I could hear the truth behind the pause.

“Even so, I still felt suffocated. It wasn’t his fault. It was me. It was the weight of depending on someone.”

Cassian nodded like he’d just been handed proof.

“Then he suffocated you. Same thing.”

Son of a-

A sound slipped out of me.

Low. Unintentional.

But it happened.

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Cassian froze and looked around.

“Did you

hear that?”

Maya glanced toward the trees.

“Probably an animal.”

An animal.

I was the Supreme Alpha. I wasn’t “an animal.”

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I inhaled hard, forcing down the urge to step out and turn Cassian into a lesson carved into bone.

Cassian turned back to Maya, and the audacity continued.

“You deserve someone who treats you like a choice,” he said quietly, “not like property.”

My wolf wanted to bite his head clean off.

Maya didn’t answer right away. She just finished tying the rope, firm and steady.

“I’m not looking for someone,” she said. “I’m looking for peace.”

Cassian leaned against the gate, elbow propped, his face too close to hers.

“I can help with that.”

I saw red.

And suddenly I was on my feet in the forest, struck by the worst idea ever created in the history of ideas.

Because I couldn’t attack.

Couldn’t show myself.

Couldn’t turn this into a war.

So I did what any balanced Alpha would do:

I decided… to interfere.

I moved through the shadows, circling the barn until I found what I needed.

A bucket.

Full.

Probably water.

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Or something worse. I didn’t have time for details.

I nudged it with

my

muzzle.

It rolled slowly down the barn ramp, picking up speed.

Right as Cassian leaned in closer to Maya, the bucket slipped out of the shadows and-

SMACK.

It slammed into his leg and tipped, dumping water and mud all over his boots.

Cassian jumped back.

“Shit!”

Maya’s eyes widened.

“What was that?!”

Cassian stared at the soaked ground.

“Someone left a bucket loose here!”

I stayed perfectly still in the trees, dignity fully intact.

Mission accomplished, I thought. Serves you right, you opportunistic bastard.

Maya frowned.

“Who leaves a bucket loose’ here?”

Cassian crouched, irritated.

“I’m going to find whoever did this.”

I almost smiled.

He stood up and looked around, searching for tracks.

Not wolf tracks. I’d been careful.

But the universe, sometimes, had a sense of humor.

A rabbit darted along the edge of the clearing, and Cassian turned fast.

“Did you

And then I did the second worst thing possible.

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I let out a low howl. Not threatening.

Just short. Like-

I’m simply passing through.

Maya narrowed her eyes.

“There’s a wolf out here?”