Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 173

Enzo's POV

I had been restless all night, pacing the length of my office until even Ash grew annoyed with me. Every time the guards updated us on the healer’s progress, my chest tightened. She was close now, only hours away from the border. I should have felt relief—our people’s survival depended on her—but instead there was a gnawing ache twisting inside me, an unnamed fear that made my palms damp and my heartbeat unsteady.

When the horn sounded at dawn, announcing the healer’s arrival at the eastern border, Ash and I didn’t waste a second. We shifted halfway and ran, our wolves lending speed until the forest blurred around us. My heart hammered, lungs burning with anticipation. I couldn’t explain it, not even to Ash, who kept giving me sidelong looks as though he knew I was holding something back.

But nothing—nothing—could have prepared me for what I saw when we reached the clearing.

She stood there, her back straight, her face calm, but her presence thundered through me like a storm ripping apart everything I thought I had buried. Lisa.

My Lisa.

For a moment the world stilled. I couldn’t breathe. Her scent hit me, a mixture of wild lavender and earth after rain, familiar enough to tear me apart. My legs moved before my mind caught up. I rushed forward, grabbed her, and pulled her into me like a drowning man clutching air.

“Lisa,” I breathed, clutching her shoulders, pressing her against my chest as though I could anchor her there. “Gods, you’re here. You’re alive. I—”

Her hand cut across my cheek with a sound so sharp it rang in the silence of the border.

The sting spread across my skin, but it was nothing compared to the knife of her rejection. She shoved me back with enough force to stagger me. Her eyes blazed, her jaw tight, and her voice was colder than anything I’d ever heard from her.

“Don’t touch me, Enzo.”

I froze. “Lisa—”

“I didn’t come here for you,” she snapped, each word a blade. “Don’t fool yourself. I came because your people are dying. I came because innocents don’t deserve to suffer for your betrayal. But you—” her hand trembled as if she had to restrain herself from striking me again, “—you mean nothing to me.”

The world tilted. My wolf whimpered inside me, clawing against my chest as though begging me to fight her words, but I couldn’t. I just stood there, her rejection echoing like a death sentence.

Ash shifted beside me, his eyes wide. He had known something would happen—he always did—but even he looked stunned. He touched his temple and mindlinked me.

‘She’s the healer? Enzo… it’s her. It’s Lisa.’

“I know,” I mindlinked back, my mental voice rough, strained. ‘I know.’

Out loud, Ash tried to steady the air, though his tone wavered. “Lisa… you don’t have to—”

She cut him off without even sparing him a glance. “Stay out of this, Ash. Whatever explanations you think to offer, keep them. I’ve heard enough lies in my life. I don’t need more.”

Her words weren’t just directed at me; they lanced through Ash too. He flinched, lowered his gaze, and for once had no clever retort.

I wanted to reach for her again, to beg, to fall on my knees if I had to, but the fury in her eyes warned me she would slice me apart if I dared. My chest heaved as I swallowed the storm inside.

“I—Lisa, please,” I forced out. “I never stopped looking for you. I thought—I thought you were gone. I thought—”

Her laughter was bitter and sharp. “You thought what? That using me to warm you and your brother's bed was justified? That letting me rot while you played king was acceptable?”

Her words landed like blows, and though I wanted to argue, I couldn’t. I had no defense that wouldn’t sound hollow.

Before I could respond, the sound of small voices rang out, high-pitched, unsteady but urgent.

“Mom!”

Four little figures broke from the treeline, their feet pounding against the earth. For a moment, confusion replaced the ache in my chest. My gaze locked onto them as they stumbled into the clearing.

Four.

Two boys, two girls.

Their scent hit me next, faint but familiar, stirring something primal inside me. My lungs stalled as the pieces began to snap together like shattered glass reforming.

The first boy was tall for his age, dark-haired with storm-gray eyes that mirrored my own reflection too closely to ignore. Elias. My heart whispered the name without me ever hearing it before.

Beside him, a girl with delicate auburn hair and emerald eyes clutched his hand. Aria.

Another boy—Kael, smaller but sharp-eyed, with my stubborn chin and Ash’s fire—glanced around like a wolf ready for battle.

And the last, a little girl with golden curls and wide, soulful eyes—Lyra.

They all stopped, their gazes darting between Lisa and me.

Something inside me cracked wide open. My breath left me in a rush. These weren’t just children. They weren’t just hers. They were ours.

My knees nearly buckled under the weight of the truth.

Ash’s mindlink slammed into me again, frantic this time. ‘Enzo—do you see them? Gods, they look like—’

‘I see it.’ My mental voice shook. ‘I see everything.’

Lisa stepped in front of them instantly, shielding them with her body like a wolf mother bracing against a predator. “Stay behind me,” she ordered, her voice sharp. “Do not come closer.”

“Mom…” the boy—Elias—hesitated, staring at me with eyes that were too much like mine. “Is he—?”

“Quiet!” she snapped, cutting him off.

The children looked at each other nervously, their gazes flickering back to me, as though they knew something but didn’t dare to say it aloud.

I tried to speak, but my throat closed. My heart thundered so violently I could hardly hear. My gaze clung to their faces, memorizing every detail—the curve of Lyra’s smile, the stubborn tilt of Kael’s chin, the way Aria’s hands twisted in her dress, the stormy calm in Elias’s stance.

They were mine. I knew it with every cell of my being.

And Lisa had kept them from me.

Pain tore through me, sharp and raw. I couldn’t even summon anger—just devastation.

“Lisa,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “They… they’re ours.”

Her body stiffened, her jaw clenched, but she didn’t deny it. Her silence was answer enough.

Ash took a step forward, his expression a mixture of awe and disbelief. “Enzo… those are your—”

“Don’t say it!” Lisa snapped, her glare burning into him. “Not another word from either of you. Yes, they’re mine. That’s all you need to know. Mine.”

Her voice cracked on the word, but she held her ground, shielding the children as if I might rip them from her arms.

I raised my hands slowly, palms open, my throat thick. “Lisa… I never knew. Gods, if I had known—”

“You didn’t want to know!” she shot back, her eyes glistening though no tears fell. “You made your choice years ago, Enzo. Don’t you dare stand here and act like you would have done differently.”

Her words sliced through me, but I couldn’t argue. She believed what she said with every fiber of her being.

Elias stepped forward despite her command, his small voice trembling but firm. “Mom… they don’t look bad. Please… forgive them. The people need you. We can’t let everyone die.”

“Elias—” Lisa warned, but Aria tugged her sleeve.

“Mom, he’s right. They’re handsome… and they’re sad. I can see it. Please… help them.”

Kael crossed his arms, his little chin lifting. “If they kneel and beg, then maybe. But we can’t let wolves die just because Mom is mad.”

Lyra peeked out from behind Lisa, her tiny voice soft but sure. “Mommy… don’t be angry anymore. Please save them. Please.”

I swallowed hard, my eyes stinging. Even her children—our children—were begging her.

Lisa’s face crumbled for a second, her hand rising to press against her temple as though their voices were too much. She let out a shaky breath, her fury wavering.

But her glare landed back on me, sharp and unrelenting. “Stay away from me, Enzo. I will do what I came here to do—for them, not for you. Don’t mistake my mercy for forgiveness. You’ve lost that right.”

Her words sealed the chasm between us. My chest ached so deeply I thought my ribs might splinter.

Still, I nodded slowly, my voice raw. “I’ll take whatever scraps you give me. Just… save them, Lisa. Save our people.”

She turned away from me then, gathering the children close, her back rigid, her steps deliberate as she moved toward the village.

Ash touched my arm lightly, his voice hushed, reverent, shaken. “Enzo… you have four children.”

“I know,” I whispered, my throat burning. “And she hates me more than ever.”

But none of it mattered now. Because even if she despised me, even if she never forgave me, I would not let her slip through my fingers again.

Not Lisa.

Not our children.

Never again.