Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By The Hidden King

Thorne

lled the collar of my daughter Cora's coat tighter, my fingers brushing against her small, trembling shoulder

ined towards Faye Dawson. Her fiery auburn hair was a slash of color in the greyscale of the Blackwood Pack's cemetery. He murmured

vieve. It should have been a day of unity, of shared grief.

ession was pure acid, a look of disgust she reserved just for me. A moment later, tha

didn't have to strain to hear them; they were

t's how an Alpha a

It's only a ma

left him. This one... s

voice was a bare whisper, lost to everyon

ield her from the prying eyes and venomous whispers. It was a practiced mov

r guests, sweetie. He'

uth. He wasn't busy. He was choo

grandmother, of her strength, of the alliances she had forged. His stormy grey eyes swept over the crowd, and for a fraction

s, a perfect portrait of beautiful, resilient

rs past, Ryker would have offered me his hand, a public show of support. Today, he didn't even look

, the weight of hundreds of judging eyes a physical pressure on my back. I placed the pale, glowing flower on the dark

They formed a line, a long, flowing river of bodies that parted around me, flowing directly t

ed my shoulder as she passed. Her voice was a low, vicious hiss.

s, protective roar. I clamped down on the rage,

it was fleeting. He turned to Faye, his voice carrying clearly in the co

tly by her side. Surrounded by his Beta and other senior pack members, he led the

und us, the whispers finally fading as the crowd dispersed

, pierced through the fog of my misery. Another time, another crisis. A rogue attack years ago. That same back, shielding

ark

ent in my memory... it was deeper, richer than Ryker's. More potent. T

skin. For the first time in six years of unhappiness

that day, the one that had

ing me back to the present. I took a deep, sh

urmured, my voice ho

felt like home in a very, very long time. We turned and walke