The Alpha's Rejected Mate Is A Secret Legend

Kaci Reynolds POV:

"Kaci, Alpha Damien has an absolute emergency at The Obsidian Club. Bring the black velvet box from his nightstand immediately. He said you must deliver it personally."

When I cut the mind-link with Damien's Beta, Marcus, I was burning with a 102-degree fever. My inner wolf whimpered in agony from extreme weakness.

But I didn't hesitate. I thought it was a crucial pack artifact or some highly confidential document. Dragging my aching body, I found the box, shoved it into my coat, and braved the torrential downpour outside, running all the way to the club's VIP lounge.

Pushing open the heavy carved oak doors, my heightened hearing caught a wet, sickeningly sweet moan.

I froze in my tracks. Damien was leaning back lazily on the plush leather sofa. Carly Santos was straddling his lap, her flimsy slip dress pulled down to her waist, exposing her pale skin. They were kissing heatedly, the air thick with the heavy scent of arousal.

Seeing me walk in, completely drenched and looking like a miserable, drowned rat, Damien didn't push her away. He just furrowed his brows in impatience.

"What took you so long?" he demanded, his voice hoarse with lust. "Bring the box here, open it, and hand it to me."

The anxious worry that had fueled my exhausted run instantly turned into a bucket of ice water, poured directly over my head.

I walked over with heavy, numb steps and placed the velvet box on the glass table. My fingers trembled slightly as I flipped the lid open.

Inside, there were no important documents. No pack artifacts. Sitting neatly on the dark satin was a full box of condoms.

My breath caught in my throat. My blood froze in my veins.

He made me-his fated mate, burning with a severe fever and braving a torrential storm-run across the territory just to personally hand him a box of condoms so he could sleep with his new plaything.

Carly pulled her dress up slightly to cover her chest, letting out a string of sweet giggles. She looked at me with innocent eyes. "I'm so sorry, Luna. I know it's raining heavily, but Damien insisted he only uses this specific brand from his bedroom. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you."

Damien rubbed Carly's bare shoulder, his tone dripping with a gentleness I had never received. "No need to be polite to her. She loves doing this kind of thing."

A sharp, piercing ache gripped my heart, making my inner wolf howl in absolute sorrow and humiliation.

Three years ago, the Bloodline Awakening Ceremony revealed that I wasn't the proud daughter of the Beta lineage, but a fake who had stolen the true heir's place. Even more tragic was the revelation that my biological mother-a rogue wolf who worked as a maid in the pack house-was the very culprit who murdered Damien's mother during a feral frenzy!

Since that day, Damien's attitude toward me became a twisted mix of lingering attachment and deep hatred.

For love, and to atone for my mother's sins, I abandoned my award-winning photography career and willingly stayed by his side. For these three years, I took care of every aspect of his life like a servant with no dignity. A single mind-link from him, and I would be at his beck and call, even if I was dying.

I thought my absolute submission would somehow lessen the pain my mother caused him. But I was wrong. In his eyes, my desperate attempts at redemption were nothing but a pathetic joke. To him, I was just a lowly creature who "loved doing this kind of thing."

Swallowing the bitter grievance and the taste of blood in my throat, I slowly stood up straight and looked coldly at the half-naked girl in his arms.

"A midnight emergency delivery in a severe thunderstorm," I said calmly, my voice completely flat. "My special delivery fee is $25,000. You can wire the money first before you get back to your business."

Carly froze, her sweet facade cracking into a look of disbelief. She buried her face in Damien's chest, her tone turning accusatory. "Damien... is she crazy? Asking for $25,000 just for delivering this? She's deliberately trying to ruin our mood..."

"Kaci! Are you out of your damn mind?!" Damien roared. He slammed his whiskey glass onto the glass table, his icy gaze and crushing Alpha aura pressing down on me. "Have you forgotten your place? Making a scene over a bit of money to embarrass me? Put the damn thing down, put it on my tab, and get out!"

As he spoke, his large hand gently patted Carly's back, comforting her.

I always knew he could be gentle with other females. But today, seeing his tender, affectionate side directed at someone else made me realize just how pathetic I was.

"I haven't forgotten." I met his stormy gaze, my eyes dead and hollow. "But my dignity doesn't come free."

"Your dignity?" Damien sneered, his voice dripping with absolute contempt and cruelty. "You are the daughter of a murderer, a fake who stole another wolf's life! If the Knight Pack hadn't shown mercy and kept you around, you would have been executed as a rogue years ago! I ask you to run a simple errand, and you dare ask for money? Your filthy rogue of a mother took my mother's life! You owe me, Kaci! You couldn't pay it back if you spent your entire miserable existence trying!"

I finally heard the absolute disdain hidden in his voice. I heard that his hatred for me hadn't lessened by a single fraction.

Most importantly, I realized my place in his heart had never changed. To him, I was nothing but a sinner he could trample on at will.

"You're right, Damien," I whispered, my strangely calm voice cutting through the suffocating tension in the room.

I didn't hand the box to him. Instead, I picked up his half-empty glass of whiskey from the table and poured the amber liquid directly into the velvet box, ruining the entire box of condoms, and splashing the sticky alcohol all over Carly's half-naked body.

Carly shrieked, jumping up in horror as the cold liquid hit her skin. Damien bolted upright, his eyes wide with fury as his Alpha command rattled the windows. "Are you seeking death, Kaci?!"

I looked straight into the eyes of the man who was supposed to be my destiny. "I owed you a life. But over these past three years, I've paid back more than enough. So now, I'm returning the very last piece of it to you."

Before he could comprehend my words, I summoned every ounce of strength left in my broken wolf and spoke the sacred words that would sever our souls forever.

"I, Kaci Reynolds, hereby reject you, Damien Knight, as my fated mate."