Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 280: _ Officially Mated

Chapter 280: _ Officially Mated

The front door banged open and we all spun.

"Where is she?" someone yelled. "She ran! She ran off into the trees!"

"Find her!" the Alpha bellowed. "Track her down! Guards—now!"

Dozens of footsteps thundered outside, the guards scattering into the forest as a swarm of wolves unleashed.

Oh, the joy it served me, watching the woman who had unjustly scarred María José’s face, the one who tried to push a bastard child on me being hunted down like a fly. It felt so good... too good.

However, the joy would never be complete until she was apprehended and sentenced.

Inside, My mother stood quiet, arms folded, face bland. My Father took to addressing the pack.

"My people," he said, turning to the pack, "you’ve feared that we were infiltrated. That an enemy walked among us. But we did not know... that the enemy wore the face of one of our own."

He looked around the room, at the mothers of the boys who’d died recently—Rubén, Gonzalo, and Pedro. Their mothers cried openly now, their bodies shaking, faces crumpled with grief.

"She has been working with another," the Alpha said. "They have taken the lives of our sons. Our daughters. Our mothers."

The women howled then, grief like a siren song. One clutched a scarf stained with her son’s blood. Another collapsed to her knees and beat the wooden floor with her fists.

"Justice," one of them moaned. "They need justice! My Rubén—he was nineteen!"

"You have my word. She will be brought back. And she will pay." My Father assured me as if he hadn’t killed Fathers, sons, daughters, and mothers too.

He looked around again and his eyes finally landed on Álvaro and me.

"But for now," he said, trying to salvage what was left of the day, "it seems only Álvaro will be getting married."

Hell no.

One second I was breathing through clenched teeth, the next I was walking toward them.

"I will also be getting married," I announced, voice steady as a blade pulled from fire.

Gasps flew un the air. My father’s jaw locked. Álvaro’s smug grin twitched, flickering like a candle about to die.

"To who?" Álvaro barked out a dry laugh. "The Omega who just exposed her own sister? The same pathetic little stray we’ve all been..."

"To her," I cut in sharply.

And then I reached her.

María José stood frozen, eyes glassy, cheeks blotched red from humiliation. She looked so small, like the wind could break her. But I knew better. I had watched her stand through hellfire. I had watched her suffer in silence when everyone turned their backs, including me. She wasn’t small. She was steel-wrapped in bruised petals.

I took her hands. Cold.

"Yes, to her." I entwined our hands, firming my grip on her.

She blinked at me like I’d just torn open the sky.

"While the rest of you laughed, gossiped, dragged her name through the mud, I saw her," I began.

My voice cracked, and I hated it, but I didn’t stop. "I watched her survive every damn day in this pack with a kindness that shamed us. A strength that no rank can define. And today... she delivered me. From a trap marriage. From a future I didn’t choose."

I turned to Álvaro. "She saved me. And I’ll marry her in return."

The room was soon full of gasps, murmurs, and speculations. My father took a step forward like he might slap sense back into me.

"Axel," he said in that deadly calm voice that had broken warriors before me, "cut it out. María José is an Omega. She can’t even have the Luna wolf!"

I smiled. I think I smiled. It felt like my lips moved, but all I could hear was the wind howling behind my ribs.

"Or maybe..." I cocked my head his way. "...that’s what everyone thought."

Then I turned inward.

"Hugo. You there?"

"Right here, Axel. I’m too emotional to say a word these days." My wolf purred like a storm.

"So, are you sure about this?"

Have I ever been more sure of anything in my life?

"Then let’s go."

I let go.

My fangs extended with a satisfying crack, sliding down like polished knives. Gasps rang again. I could feel power boiling beneath my skin, crawling out like fire ants—my Alpha energy howled free, surging across the space.

The walls in the cursed cottage groaned. The candles flickered. My father’s expression finally broke. I was going to awaken María José’s wolf in the same place where it was surpressed.

"María José," I said softly, leaning close. "Channel your wolf. Don’t be afraid. Just let her rise."

She flinched.

"I don’t... I’ve never shifted. I’m not even sure..."

"Yes, you are. Remember she healed you the other day." I whispered. "I can feel her. She’s there. She’s ready."

My energy roared louder. I let my fingers graze her bare wrist. Electricity jolted through me.

For a second—just a second, I thought I might’ve been wrong. That maybe her wolf really had been lost to whatever tragedy Rosa inflicted that kept her on the outskirts of our world.

But then...

Her eyes widened. A tremble took over her body and it was not fear or cold. It was power. Her power. A blinding silver aura erupted from her chest like moonlight bursting through a mountain.

"Oh, shit," Hugo whispered reverently. "She’s a Luna."

YES!

The room exploded into gasps, feet stumbling backward, hands over mouths.

"What is that?" someone cried.

"Is that a Luna wolf?"

"I’ve never seen anything so strong—"

"Not even the Alpha had this kind of presence..."

Her energy wrapped around me, gentle and crushing all at once. I’d never felt anything like it. It was holy. It was divine.

And it was hers.

Ours.

I pressed my palm to her collarbone. "I’m going to mark you now," I whispered. "You ready?"

She nodded, lips trembling, eyes glowing like stars drowning in oceans.

I lowered my head and my mouth brushed against her skin. But something halted me.

It was either a tremor or Something... else.

Beneath the radiant Luna aura, I saw it. For the briefest, most terrifying second—something darker shimmered behind her wolf. Something old. Feral. A flash of red eyes, a scaly body carved from shadow. Something not wolf at all.

A creature. A demon?

It vanished as quickly as it appeared, slipping back into the depths of her soul like smoke curling into night.

I blinked. My fangs hovered at her neck.

No one else saw it. No one gasped or screamed. The air remained charged only with awe. Thankfully.

What the hell was that? Something was inside María José. It was like she was a wolf and something else. Both light and darkness. Purity and taint.

I swallowed hard and almost retracted my fangs.

"Come on, Axel. We can’t do this to her!" Hugo scolded, sending my senses back to me.

I didn’t intend to betray her, but the shock almost made me rethink this. However, I could deal with anything else later. For now, I needed to honor this woman. My woman. My wife.

And I bit.

My fangs pierced her skin gently, just enough to make the bond form. My energy poured into her like molten gold. She gasped. Her body arched beneath me. Her wolf surged up to meet mine like thunder meeting lightning.

The mark glowed. The bond snapped into place.

Mate.

My mate.

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