The Rejected Mate by Lhainey Novel

Retain 111 Summary Kathy quietly calls out to Evan, who stands tense and unresponsive by the doorframe, refusing to face her. The corridor is silent except for distant laughter from a celebration, contrasting sharply with the emotional distance and pain between them. Kathy struggles to express her deep regret, apologizing for not waiting for Evan and revealing that she was forced by their Alpha to proceed with her mating to Michael. She confesses the heartbreak of betraying her sister Elaine and the people she loves, emphasizing that she never wanted this life or to hurt Evan.

Evan responds with disbelief and harsh words, questioning Kathy's strength and accusing her of blindly following orders without fighting for herself or others. He bitterly tells her that if she is so weak, then she and Michael are a fitting pair, both blaming fate without resisting it. Despite her pleas that they had no choice, Evan spins around and angrily insists that she did have a choice-to protect her sister, to wait for him, her true mate. He expresses the pain of finding her only to realize she already belongs to another, lamenting the lost potential of their life together.

Evan's anguish deepens as he accuses Kathy of not only failing to fight for her sister but also allowing Michael to claim her son Nathan, disrespecting both herself and her child. He highlights her silence and submission to the Alpha's commands, contrasting it with what he believes their bond could have been-a love fought for and cherished. His words cut deeply, exposing Kathy's perceived weakness and betrayal, leaving her overwhelmed with tears and sorrow. In the end, Evan coldly instructs Kathy to compose herself, using her title "Luna" as a sharp reminder of her role and failures.

He tells her he has been tasked only with escorting her to the gardens, then turns away with a sense of finality that is more painful than anger. Kathy is left broken and sobbing alone, haunted by her regrets and the loss of the mate she never truly had. Chapter 111 "Evan?" Kathy's voice was barely audible, trembling on the edge of a whisper, yet it cut through the stillness like a stone skipping across a glassy lake. Evan's hand rested on the doorframe, his body rigid beneath his shirt, muscles taut with tension. But he didn't turn around. He didn't meet her gaze.

For a suspended moment, the world seemed to hold its breath alongside her. The corridor they occupied was deserted and quiet. The soft glow of lanterns flickered against the cold stone walls of the Crescent Moon pack house, casting elongated shadows that failed to soften the icy distance growing between them. From somewhere beyond the thick walls, faint laughter drifted-a reminder of the celebrations still underway, oblivious to the heartbreak unraveling in this lonely passage. Kathy swallowed, her throat tight.

Her fingers clenched into a fist, trembling as she fought the overwhelming urge to reach out, to stop him, to grasp any feeling other than the crushing weight of regret pressing down on her chest. "Evan," she tried again, voice cracking under the strain, "I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry." Still, he kept his back to her. His shoulders rose stiffly, sharp and unyielding, as if her words were daggers slicing through his very core. "I didn't wait for you," she confessed, breath faltering. "I should have. Goddess, I should've waited. But I was forced, Evan.

The Alpha ordered me to move forward with my mating to Michael." Each time she spoke the truth, it left a bitter taste on her tongue. The memory of that day-the ceremony, her Alpha's cold command, the helplessness hollowing her soul-pierced her heart anew. "I had to watch my sister suffer," Kathy whispered, her voice breaking. "I had to watch Elaine see Michael choose me over her. Both of us-Michael and I-we were ordered by the Alpha to betray her. To betray the people we love." Her breath hitched painfully. "I never wanted this life. I never wanted any of this.

And I never wanted to hurt you." The silence between them stretched taut, like a fragile thread ready to snap. Finally, Evan's hand slipped away from the doorframe. A low, humorless laugh escaped him-wounded and bitter. "You were forced?" he echoed, disbelief laced with scorn. "Luna, tell me-are you really that weak?" The title-Luna-landed on her like a blow, sharper than if he had spoken her name plainly. It felt like an accusation, a reminder of the life she carried that he believed she had chosen willingly. Chapter 171 A curse wrapped in a single word.

"Don't you have even one bone in your body that can stand up for itself?" Evan's voice was razor-sharp, capable of drawing blood. "Are you the kind of wolf who blindly follows orders, never fights back, never refuses, never thinks for herself?" Though his tone was steady, she could sense the storm raging beneath-pain, fury, and betrayal coiled tightly like a beast trapped behind his ribs. "If that's who you are," he said coldly, "then I'm glad you chose Michael.

You two fit perfectly-two wolves blaming the world and refusing to lift a claw to change their fate." Tears blurred Kathy's vision, but she forced herself to lock eyes with the back of his head, as if her silent stare could make him turn around, could make him truly see her. "Please," she pleaded softly, "try to understand. We were ordered by our Alpha. We had no choice." Suddenly, Evan spun around, the movement sharp and thunderous. His eyes, once warm when they first met, now burned with anger and a wound so deep she could feel it in her bones. "You did have a choice," he shouted.

The walls seemed to tremble under the weight of his voice. "You could have chosen not to hurt your sister. You could have chosen not to stand beside Michael at that altar. You could have waited for me-your fated mate." Kathy flinched as if struck. His pain was a blade, and she had handed him every edge. "Do you know what it feels like," Evan's voice thickened with raw emotion, "to find your mate-your goddess-given mate-only to realize she already belongs to another wolf?" Her heart shattered into pieces.

"I would have understood if you and Michael truly loved each other," he continued, anguish bleeding through every word. "If the bond between you was real, chosen, and cherished. But that's not what you're telling me. You're saying it was all orders. That love had no place in it. That choice didn't exist." He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, but the impact was no less devastating. "My wolf would have loved you with everything we had," he breathed. "Would have loved your son as if he were our own. We would have built a life-a future together.

We would have fought for you." Kathy's knees nearly gave way beneath her. The word "would" stabbed deeper than any Alpha's command ever could. "But you," Evan's voice cracked despite his efforts to stay composed, "you didn't even consider giving us a chance. You discarded us before we even had a chance to exist. For what? Because you couldn't disobey your Alpha?" He shook his head slowly, disbelief hollowing out his face. "Alpha Darius was there through all of it. Other Alphas were there. You could have asked for help. You could have spoken up.

You could have fought." He regarded her as if seeing her truly for the first time-not as the Luna the world knew, not as the daughter of her pack, but as a wolf who bowed her head instead of baring her teeth. "But you didn't," Evan whispered. "You didn't fight for your sister, no matter how often you claimed to love her. You didn't just let others hurt her-you were one of the ones who hurt her. Over and over." Kathy's sobs broke free, tears streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably.

"And your son," Evan's voice faltered, "every time your Alpha tried to claim Nathan as his own, you stayed silent. You know the law-a pup stays with his mother. Yet you let Michael claim Nathan as if it were his right. And every time you let that happen, you disrespected yourself and your son." His final words hung heavy in the air, like a quiet before death. "And you didn't fight for me." Kathy's breath shattered, her vision blurring at the edges. "When you agreed to be Michael's Luna," he finished, voice barely a rasp, "you threw me away like I was nothing. Like our bond was meaningless.

Like I wasn't worth fighting for, worth waiting for. You knew you had your own mate out there." The truth tore her open. There was no denying it-not even a fragment. She had been weak. Cowardly. A wolf who bowed her head instead of standing tall and baring her teeth. She had failed her sister. She had failed her son. And now, she faced the mate she had lost before she ever truly found him. Evan clenched his jaw, exhaling slowly as if forcing himself to hold onto whatever control remained. "Now, Luna," he said, the title once again a cutting blade, "dry your tears.

I wouldn't want to have to explain to your Alpha why you're crying when all I've been asked to do is escort you to the gardens." And then, without another word, he turned away-not in anger this time, but with something far worse. Finality. Kathy broke completely. Silent sobs wracked her body as the man the Moon Goddess had chosen for her disappeared down the hall, leaving behind only her title, her regrets, and a hollow bond that echoed in the empty corridor. Sara Lili Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion.

She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland's breathtaking cold.