Rejected By My Ex, Claimed By The Alpha King

KAIA DAWSON POV:

"Kaia, don't go up there!"

When I pushed open the heavy oak door, just as I was about to step onto the wide, curved staircase. Suddenly, my adoptive mother rushed forward and blocked my path. She grabbed my arm with surprising force, her fingernails even digging into my skin.

"Janine... she's not well. she needs rest! "Her voice was tinged with a hint of anxiety.

However, her eyes weren't on me. They kept darting past my shoulder, up the curving staircase, toward the closed door at the end of the hall.

My adoptive sister Janine's room.

The over-the-top theatrics sent suspicion through me. Immediately, I smelled a wisp of extremely light but can't be ignored, cedar and rain.

My boyfriend Rhys's scent. Drifting down from Janine's room.

"What happened?"

I broke free from her grasp and pretended to speak to her, then began to ascend the wide, curving staircase.My worn-out sneakers silent on the plush runner.

But before she could answer, the door to my adoptive father Barton's study burst open.

He stormed out, his hair a mess and his tie askew. He didn't even look at me, his eyes fixed on his wife. "Did Janine agree? The union with the Argent Pack is our only way out, the entire future of Hicks Industries depends on her answer!"

He glanced at me, then continued. "If we default, we're not just facing the Bankruptcy Code, we're facing the wrath of other packs we owe!"

In the wolf world, he explained, business failure wasn't just about losing money. It was about losing everything, sometimes even your life.

Just then, Janine's bedroom door creaked open. My adoptive sister stood there, draped in a silk robe, a pristine white bandage wrapped around one wrist. Not a single drop of blood stained the gauze. She leaned against the doorframe, her eyes wide and tearful.

My gaze flickered past her, into the room. A shadow moved.

It was Rhys.

He was standing beside her bed, his hand hovering near her shoulder as if he'd just been comforting her.

His eyes met mine, and for a split second, a flicker of guilt crossed his face. It vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by a practiced, soothing smile. "Kai, you're back. Janine's been very emotional."

Janine let out a sob, her performance aimed at our parents. "Daddy, Mommy, I can't... I can't marry a vegetable! So what if he's the Alpha King? Braxton Sinclair has been in a coma for a year. He's no better than a living corpse!"

Sharon rushed to her, wrapping her in a protective embrace. "Oh, my sweet baby, of course you don't have to. We'll find another way." The scene of motherly devotion made my stomach churn.

"There is no other way!" Barton slammed his fist against the wall, the sound echoing the desperation in his voice. "Refuse the union, and Hicks Industries is finished tomorrow!"

A heavy silence fell. Then, Janine's tear-filled eyes shifted to me, a flicker of calculation in their depths. "Sister... you've always been so much stronger than me, so capable..."

A chilling cold seeped into my bones. I watched her, waiting.

Rhys stepped forward, placing his hands on my shoulders. His voice was the same gentle tone he always used, the one I used to find so comforting. "Kai, I know this is a shock. But you're a doctor. You know how to care for patients. Braxton Sinclair needs a mate to try and break the curse, and the Hicks family needs this marriage to survive."

His words were a poisoned knife. He wasn't comforting me. He was selling me.

I almost laughed. The irony was almost funny. My boyfriend was standing there, calmly offering me to another man.But this wasn't heartbreak. It was confirmation.

A man who would cheat on me with my adoptive sister would have no problem selling me to save her.

"Janine is too fragile," he continued, his thumb stroking my collarbone. "She couldn't handle a life like that. But you're different. You've always been so independent. Please, do this for me. For Janine."

I looked into his "loving" eyes and saw nothing but a hollow, manipulative void.

Barton seized the opportunity. "Yes! Kaia, you'll marry him in Janine's place! You're a Hicks, after all. It's your duty!"

The four of them-my adoptive parents, my sister, my boyfriend-formed a wall around me, pushing me toward a sacrificial altar I never chose.

I didn't cry. I didn't scream.

My gaze swept over their expectant, pleading, scheming faces. This was it. This was my only way out of this gilded cage. They wanted a sacrifice, but I wouldn't give it for free.

I took a deep breath, pushing Rhys's hands off my shoulders and taking a step back, creating a space that was entirely my own.

My eyes locked onto Barton's. My voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. "I'll consider it."

Relief washed over their faces, turning into pure joy. But my next words froze them in place.

"But I have conditions. Two."