Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 112

Irene's POV

I woke up to the blinding brightness of the infirmary, the sharp sting of antiseptic biting my nose and dragging me out of the thick haze of unconsciousness. For a moment I didn’t know where I was. My mind felt muddled, my throat raw, and the inside of my chest burned like someone had ripped it open and left me bleeding for wolves to pick at. The muffled throb of voices outside the room made my temples pound harder.

Then it all came crashing back.

Lisa.

The humiliation. The fight. The way she stood over me when my body gave in, as if I was nothing more than some weak, helpless pup. The memory of her smirk, her defiance, that disgusting sense of triumph flashing in her eyes—it lit fire under my skin. My stomach twisted in rage, in shame, in disbelief.

“No!” The scream ripped from my chest before I could stop it. I shot upright, the sheets sliding down to my waist. My ribs ached, my arms trembled, but I didn’t care. Pain was nothing compared to what I felt boiling inside me.

The nurse in the corner rushed forward. “Alpha’s daughter, please, lie down—”

“Don’t touch me!” I snarled, batting her hand away so violently she stumbled back. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do. Get out. Now!”

She froze for half a second, wide-eyed, before bowing her head and scurrying from the room like the coward she was. Good. I didn’t need pitying eyes or hushed whispers. I didn’t need anyone hovering as though I was fragile. I wasn’t fragile.

I was furious.

“Lisa,” I hissed her name through clenched teeth, gripping the blanket so tightly my knuckles turned white. My breath came in sharp, shallow bursts. “I’ll kill her. I’ll rip her apart with my bare hands. I’ll tear her throat out and watch her bleed.”

I slammed my fist into the mattress again and again until the frame creaked. The rage was too much to keep inside. My body shook, my vision blurred, but nothing—absolutely nothing—could smother the fire clawing at my insides.

The door burst open then, heavy footsteps storming in. I didn’t even need to look to know who it was.

“My daughter,” Father’s voice thundered, filled with power, with fury, with something darker than concern. His aura hit me like a wave, pressing against my skin.

I turned, my chest heaving, eyes burning. “Father,” I choked out, and the moment his gaze landed on me, the dam of my self-control snapped. “She humiliated me! In front of everyone! That omega dared to—”

“Quiet!” His roar shook the room, his eyes flashing with an intensity that made even me flinch for a second. “You shame yourself further by speaking of it with such weakness.”

My lips trembled. Weakness? I wasn’t weak. I wasn’t!

“She will pay,” I spat, forcing the words out through my trembling jaw. “I swear to you, Father, I’ll kill her with my own hands. No one ridicules me and lives. No one humiliates your daughter before an entire gathering. She made me bleed, she made me collapse—Father, I can’t breathe knowing she still walks free!”

He moved closer, his boots echoing against the floor, his face carved in stone. “Irene,” he said, his voice lowering into something dangerous. “Do you know what you’ve done? Do you know what your tantrum has cost me?”

“What I’ve done?” My voice cracked in disbelief, rising until it tore at my throat. “What I’ve done? Father, it was her! That cursed omega defied me, beat me, ruined me! Everyone saw it—everyone saw me lose! Don’t you understand? They’ll whisper. They’ll mock. They’ll say Irene, daughter of Alpha Rowland, was nothing but prey to a worthless omega. How am I to show my face again? How can you let her live after this?”

My breathing turned ragged. I clutched at my gown, nails digging into my chest as though I could claw the shame out of me.

He stared at me long, hard, unblinking. His jaw flexed, his eyes glowed faintly gold. Then he growled, low and sharp. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was meant to be a simple show of strength, not a disaster broadcast across every ear in the region. You think only of your pride, Irene. But I think of alliances. And you’ve threatened one of the most crucial alliances I have built.”

I froze. My heart hammered. “Alliances?”

“Enzo,” he snapped, his teeth gritting around the name. “That boy. That alpha. That… arrogant whelp of a leader. His pack is not one to be toyed with. And because of your reckless duel, because of your need to prove yourself over an omega, the alliance trembles on the edge of collapse. Do you grasp the danger you’ve put us in?”

I shook my head, refusing to hear it. “You care about him? About his alliance? What about me? What about your daughter? She mocked me, Father! She disrespected everything I am! And you stand here, scolding me?”

“Enough!” His hand slammed against the bedside table, making the vase tumble and shatter into shards across the floor. I jumped, my breath hitching, my body freezing in place. His voice cut like a whip. “You will not speak to me of disrespect while you sit here after being dragged back half-dead because you couldn’t win a duel you insisted upon. A mere omega bested you. Do you realize the insult to my name?”

Tears burned hot in my eyes. “I’ll fix it! I’ll kill her, Father. I’ll end her and prove to everyone that I am not weak. Please… please, just let me—”

“You will do nothing!” His roar cracked through the air. His wolf surged just beneath his skin, his power crashing down on me so heavy it forced me back against the pillows. “You’ve done enough damage. Do you think Enzo will sit quietly after this? Do you think he will forget the sight of his omega standing victorious over my daughter? That boy may very well spit on this alliance and walk away with every ounce of power he holds. Do you know what that means for us, Irene?”

I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood, my nails sinking deep into the sheets. “He can’t—”

“He can!” Father bellowed. “And he might. Because of you.”

The silence that followed was deafening. My breath rasped in my ears, my body trembling, my throat tight with unshed screams.

Father paced, his fists clenched, his aura storming like thunderclouds. “I should have never allowed it,” he muttered, more to himself than me. “Allowing a mere omega to challenge my daughter—it was beneath us. Beneath our name. And now look. Look what has become of it.”

I pressed my palms to my ears, rocking slightly. “Stop, stop, stop…” I whispered. “Don’t say that. Don’t blame me. It was her fault. Her fault! I’ll make her regret every breath she took against me.”

He turned sharply, glaring at me with eyes like fire. “Do you hear yourself? Still prattling on about revenge while our alliance hangs by a thread? If Enzo terminates this bond, Irene, if he pulls away from me because of your foolishness, you won’t just be mocked. You’ll be the reason blood is spilled. Do you want that? Do you want to see our pack crushed because of your bruised pride?”

My body went rigid. His words slammed into me like claws raking across my chest. For the first time, a flicker of fear sliced through the fury.

But still, the humiliation gnawed louder. “I can’t live with this,” I whispered hoarsely. “I can’t live knowing she won. I’ll make her suffer. I don’t care what it costs. I’ll make her suffer.”

Father’s eyes narrowed, cold and sharp. He stepped close, leaning down until his shadow swallowed me whole. “You will sit in this bed. You will heal. You will keep your mouth shut about Lisa, about Enzo, about this duel, until I decide what must be done. Do you understand me, Irene?”

“I—”

“Do. You. Understand?” His voice shook the walls, vibrating deep into my bones.

Tears spilled down my cheeks as I nodded, though every fiber of my being rebelled.

“Good,” he said, his tone like a final verdict. “Because if you disobey me again, daughter or not, I will make sure you never step foot in a duel ring again.”

He turned then, his cloak whipping behind him, his aura pressing against the walls until the whole room felt suffocated. At the door, he paused, casting one last look at me.

“Do not forget,” he growled. “This shame isn’t just yours. It’s mine.”

And then he was gone, the door slamming so hard the hinges rattled.

I stared after him, my chest heaving, my nails digging crescent moons into my palms. The tears kept falling, but beneath them the fire still burned, hotter, darker, more consuming.

Lisa.

She thought she’d won.

But I’d make sure she regretted it. Even if it cost me everything.