Rejected By My Cruel Alpha, Saved By My Cursed Mate

Kiera's POV

I woke up slowly, my head pounding with a pain so sharp it made my teeth ache. For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was or how I'd gotten here.

Then the memories came crashing back.

Damon. The rejection. The cliff. The man with blue eyes who'd jumped after me without hesitation.

Caden.

I rolled to the other side of the bed, expecting to find warmth beside me. Instead, the space felt cold and empty. The sheets were smooth and undisturbed, like nobody had slept there at all.

My eyes snapped open.

Dark wooden beams crossed the ceiling above me. Soft morning light filtered through curtains, casting everything in muted gold. The bed I was lying in was massive—bigger than anything I'd ever slept in—and the sheets felt expensive against my skin.

This wasn't the ravine or the forest floor where I'd expected to die.

I sat up quickly. Pain shot through my ribs and down my spine. I looked down at myself and froze.

Someone had changed my clothes. Instead of the blood-soaked gown I'd been wearing, I was now dressed in a soft cotton dress that smelled faintly of lavender.

"Hello?" My voice came out hoarse and cracked, barely audible even to my own ears.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my movements stiff and painful. The moment my bare feet touched the cold wooden floor, every part of my body throbbed in protest. The room tilted sideways, and I had to grip the bedpost with both hands until my vision cleared and the nausea passed.

He saved me and brought me here. But where is he now?

I took a step toward the door. My legs shook with the effort, threatening to give out beneath me. Then another step. Each one was agony, but I forced myself forward.

I needed to find him. I needed to know I wasn't alone in this strange place.

My chest tightened.

Did he change his mind about helping me? Did he realize saving me was a mistake?

The thought made something twist painfully in my stomach.

I reached the door and stepped into the hallway, one hand trailing along the wall for support. Each step sent fresh waves of pain through my battered body and my legs felt like they might collapse at any moment.

Tears pricked at my eyes. He'd jumped off a cliff to save me.He wouldn't just abandon me now, would he?

I made it halfway down the hall before my knees buckled. I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor, my arms wrapped around my knees. Exhaustion washed over me in waves, threatening to pull me under. My entire body trembled with the effort of just staying conscious.

Maybe if I just rested here for a moment—

"Kiera!"

The roar shook the walls and made my heart leap into my throat. I jolted violently, my head snapping up.

Then he was there, moving faster than should be possible for someone his size. Caden dropped to his knees in front of me with enough force that I felt the floorboards shudder.

His eyes weren't fully blue anymore. Red bled through the cerulean like blood in water.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" His hands gripped my shoulders. "You should be in bed."

I could feel the danger radiating from him. My wolf whimpered and tried to make herself smaller, recognizing the dominant predator in front of us.

But relief flooded through me so powerfully that fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.

He came back. He didn't leave me.

"I woke up and you were gone," I whispered. "I thought—I didn't know—"

"So you decided to drag yourself out of bed when you can barely stand?" He slid one arm under my knees, the other around my back, and lifted me effortlessly. "Do you have any idea how badly you're still hurt? How close you came to dying?"

"I'm sorry. I just needed to know you were still here. That you didn't—"

He kicked the bedroom door open hard enough that it slammed against the wall. He then carried me to the bed and set me down.

"Where else would I be?" His hands moved to either side of me, caging me in against the mattress. "Did you think I'd save you just to abandon you the moment you fell asleep?"

Tears streamed down my face. "I don't know what to think anymore. Everyone leaves eventually. Everyone gives up on me. Why would you be any different?"

Something dangerous flickered in his expression. His eyes flashed red again, and I felt the temperature in the room drop.

"I'm not everyone."

His hand shot out and gripped my chin, jerking my head up. My eyes met his and I saw that they were completely red with no trace of blue left.

"And you're mine now. I don't abandon what belongs to me. Ever."

His thumb pressed against my lower lip. "Do you understand what that means, Kiera?

"I don't belong to anyone,"

His hand moved to cup my face, his thumb brushing away my tears.

"You're wrong. You belonged to me the moment I caught your scent on that cliff. The moment my wolf recognized what you are to me."

"You don't even know me." My protest sounded feeble even to my own ears. "How can you be so sure—"

"I'm sure."

"And you're not leaving. Not now. Not ever."

Fear coiled in my stomach. I tried to make my voice firm, but it came out shaky instead. "You can't just keep me here"

"Can't I?" He leaned closer until our faces were only inches apart. "I'm the Alpha of this pack. These are my lands. My territory. Everything and everyone in them answers to me." His fingers tightened on my chin, tilting my head up further. "And you're my mate. That means you stay exactly where I can protect yo."

"That's not how it works. I'm not some possession you can just claim. I have a choice—"

"Do you though?

Your old pack threw you away like you were nothing. You have nowhere else to go. No one else who wants you. No one else would even take you in after what they did to you."

The words stung. Even though they were true. Especially because they were true.

"So you're keeping me out of pity? Is that it? The big strong Alpha saving the pathetic rejected omega?"

"Pity? I don't do pity. I don't save people out of charity or some misguided sense of duty." His grip on my face tightened. "I'm keeping you because you're mine and I protect what's mine. Whether you like it or not. Whether you accept it or not. Whether you fight me every step of the way or not."

I should be angry.

But part of me—a part I was desperately trying to ignore—wanted exactly his.

Someone strong enough to claim me. To fight for me. To refuse to let me go no matter what.

"What if I want to leave?" I asked quietly, testing him.

"Then you'll have to get through me first. "And I promise you, Kiera—that won't happen."

We stared at each other. The tension between us was suffocating.

"One week," The words came out before I could stop them. "Give me one week to decide if I want to stay."

"You think I'm negotiating with you?"

"I think you're a good man who won't actually force me to stay against my will." I held his gaze, hoping desperately that I was right about him. "So give me one week. Let me heal. Let me see what this place is like, what your pack is like. Then I'll decide."

He studied me for a long moment. Finally, he released me and stepped back. The loss of his touch left me feeling strangely cold.

I could breathe again. But I wasn't sure if that was relief or disappointment.

"One week," he repeated, his voice rough and strained. "But know this, if anyone tries to hurt you during that week, I'll rip them apart with my bare hands.

He moved towards the door with measured steps, then ooked back over his shoulder at me.

"And if you try to run? He paused. "I'll make the chase worth it. For both of us."

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

I sat frozen on the bed, heart racing so fast I thought it might burst from my chest.

Part of me wanted to be angry at his arrogance that he could just claim me like property.

But another part thrilled at his possessiveness.

For the first time since my parents died and left me alone in the world, someone was fighting to keep me. Someone was refusing to let me go.

Even if his methods were terrifying.