Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 212: _ Let’s Be Selfish

Chapter 212: _ Let’s Be Selfish

Axel just confessed his feelings to me. He loved me. What do I do with this?

Why was my heart shuddering so badly like it’d been forgotten in a deep freezer for days?

Why did my eyes sting like onion juice had been accidentally smeared into it?

"I love you," he repeated, this time with more certainty. "I’ve been such an idiot. I didn’t realize it at first. But maybe... maybe I started falling for you the moment Álvaro threw you out of that room during the Luna Gala. Or maybe it was later. I don’t know. All I know is... I’ve been drawn to you. Protective. Obsessed, even. And it wasn’t just guilt. It was never just guilt. I love you, María José."

Tears flooded my eyes again, but this time they were different. Today, I didn’t shed tears from grief but joy. From the sharp, radiant joy of having someone you love say they love you back.

I surged forward, about to kiss him again...

... But I stopped. My lips were barely an inch from his when I remembered.

The wedding. Rosa. His fiancée.

I drew back, the reality of the cold and cruel world slamming back into me.

Axel blinked, confused by the sudden shift in my demeanor. "What—what’s wrong?"

I smiled sadly, stepping away and shaking my head. "It’s a pity."

"What is?"

"That despite all this love, despite what we feel, we can’t be together."

"Why not?" His voice was rough and so frustrated like he was tired of all of these back and forth and would wife me up at this moment if he was pushed why further:

"You’re marrying Rosa in a few days."

He flinched like I’d slapped him. And in that moment, I hated how much I still loved him. I hated how much it hurt to do the right thing.

I stepped back again, trying to create distance before I lost all control. But Axel didn’t let me go that easily.

His hand shot out, catching my wrist, and dragging me back into his orbit. "Don’t walk away from me."

"Axel..." I began, but the words died when he stepped closer, crowding into my space with his eyes burning into mine.

"I meant every word. I love you. Not Rosa. Not anyone else. You and God help me, María José, I’ll kill your sister if I have to. If that’s what it’ll take for me to have you."

"Axel, no. We... we can’t do this!" I jolted backward when his hand slid up my thigh, pulling at the hem of my skirt.

The tension in the air had begun to crawl up my skin.

As if to retaliate, Axel caught my wrist again and yanked me back with a force that sent my body crashing into his chest.

"We can do whatever I say we can do, María José," he growled, and his breath was hot against my cheek.

I sucked in a breath, panic and desire battling in my throat. "I’m your brother’s reject," I spat. "Do you even hear yourself right now? He didn’t want me, Axel. What does that make me to you?"

His nostrils flared. "I don’t care about Álvaro’s foolishness. It’s his loss for losing a woman like you."

"Okay," I said, shoving at his chest weakly. "I must confess. I’m not worried about him either. It’s Rosa... you’re getting engaged to my sister in a month!"

"Let me remind you, María José—I don’t give a fuck about that either."

My heart beat faster, matching the fury of his own. He was holding me like he’d burn everything down just to keep me close.

No matter how hard I jerked, Axel wasn’t letting go.

And part of me—so, so foolishly, didn’t want him to.

"I can’t do this," I whispered, voice breaking with my head violently shaking.

"Why not?" he snapped, like he couldn’t understand how we were even having this conversation.

"Because it’s wrong," I choked out. "Because it’ll ruin everything."

"No. They ruined everything the moment they treated you like you didn’t matter. Álvaro. Don Diego. Rosa. The entire damn world." He grabbed both my wrists now, pressing them gently above my head, trapping me against the wall. "But not me. I see you. And I’m not letting go, María José. Not again."

His forehead pressed to mine, and for a moment, neither of us moved. We breathe into each other’s faces, hearts racing, silence shivering with unspoken words.

"I want you," he confessed. "Even when I shouldn’t. Even when it’s selfish. Even when it hurts."

Oh, Axel. I want you too. It kills me to know that you can never be mine. That you’re now betrothed to someone else and have a wedding on the way.

But I’ll never be able to hold him like this again. We would never have a moment like this again.

Tears burned in my eyes. "Then be selfish. Just for a moment."

He didn’t hesitate.

His mouth crashed into mine, and everything else; duty, fear, Rosa... dissolved into that kiss. His lips were desperate, rough, like he needed me to breathe. I melted under him, into him, my hands wrapping around his neck as my soul tried to crawl inside his chest and stay there forever.

I want to stay there forever.

The wall scraped my back, and noises of the retiring packhouse bubbling outside, but none of it mattered. Not when he kissed me like I was his only salvation.

When we finally broke apart, gasping, dazed, I rested my forehead against his.

"This won’t be easy," I said softly. "We’ll burn bridges."

"Then let them burn."

He pulled me to his chest again, arms locking around me like he was terrified I’d disappear. I won’t.

"I’ll choose you," he murmured, "every time."

I closed my eyes, and for the first time in my life, I believed him. But I also knew the storm ahead would be unlike anything we’d faced.

Because love... love didn’t come without consequences.

And in this pack, someone always pays the price.