Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 206

Enzo's POV

I was crouched in the garden, inspecting the formations of the newer guards who had failed yet again in their drills, the hot sun beating down on my shoulders and the sharp scent of wet earth filling my nostrils. Their mistakes should have been simple enough to correct—yet time and again, they slipped. A small part of me wanted to let them falter entirely, teach them the cost of incompetence firsthand, but discipline was drilled into me as surely as the alpha’s mark had been branded on my soul. I gritted my teeth and gestured sharply, correcting their stance, my voice carrying authority like a whip crack across the stones.

“This is unacceptable! You call yourselves my soldiers, my pack’s line of defense, and yet you falter at the basics? Do you not see the eyes of the enemy around us? A single lapse could cost lives!” My words were sharp, precise, each syllable deliberate.

The younger guards shifted uneasily, their faces pale under the sun, but I could see the seed of shame and fear planting itself as I had intended. If they failed here, when there were no rogues or intruders, how would they survive the day the real test arrived?

I crouched lower, examining one of the rookies who had clearly lost his footing again. His trembling hands betrayed his terror, but there was something more—a stubbornness that refused to fully break under my gaze. I had seen that stubbornness before in my own brothers, in my sons, and I knew it could be molded into ferocity… or destroyed.

But before I could even begin my lecture, Ash came barreling across the garden, his boots tearing up clumps of dirt and sending birds into the air. His face was pale, eyes wide, and the urgency in his step set my instincts screaming.

“Enzo!” he gasped, coming to a halt in front of me, chest heaving. “It’s Baron… and Lisa…”

My heart constricted sharply at the mention of her name, an instinctual flash of dread that immediately hardened into rage. I stood swiftly, the younger guards flinching under my sudden movement, and the world narrowed down to the two words he had just spoken.

“What about Lisa?” I demanded, my voice low but deadly, every word carrying the weight of a predator circling its prey.

“They say… she’s being questioned,” Ash continued, his voice barely more than a whisper now. “Baron… he’s dead, Enzo. And Lisa… they have her—Bryan has her.”

I felt the world tilt beneath my feet, a mixture of fury and dread coiling tight in my chest. My hands clenched into fists, veins standing out on my forearms as the fire in my chest threatened to consume everything in its path.

“No,” I growled, the single word trembling with barely contained wrath. My mind raced, plotting, calculating. Bryan. That viper of a wolf. He had crossed every line in the code of packs. My fingers itched to tear through the defenses, to strike down anyone who had dared to lay hands on Lisa.

“Call him,” I ordered Ash, my voice slicing through the garden like steel. “Now. Contact Bryan. Tell him—no, warn him—that if Lisa isn’t returned before dusk, if she doesn’t step across our lands safely before the sun sets, we prepare for war. Mobilize our men. Every soldier, every wolf capable of fighting, must be ready.”

Ash nodded rapidly, fumbling for his communicator. “Yes, Alpha… yes!” He dashed off toward the barracks, and I barely spared him a glance. My mind was already in motion, shifting into the warplans I had drilled into myself countless times. Bryan had crossed a line, and I wouldn’t tolerate it. Not for Lisa. Not for my sons. Not for the pride and blood of my pack.

I turned my attention toward Atlas and Kael, who had been watching silently from the edge of the garden. Their expressions mirrored my own, a mixture of restrained fury and readiness. I could feel the unspoken question in their eyes: what next?

“Mobilize the men,” I said, my voice cutting through the tension like a blade. “Kael, Atlas—you know the drill. Call the squads. Every sentry, every warrior, every guard stationed at the borders. I don’t care if it disrupts training, I don’t care if the infirmary is understaffed. Prepare our forces. Bryan has crossed the line. We will respond.”

Kael’s jaw tightened, his hands already moving as he pulled out his communicator, barking orders to the closest units. Atlas, ever precise and calculating, began organizing the patrols, sending the appropriate squads to strategic positions, ensuring our rear defenses wouldn’t falter once we moved toward Bryan’s territory.

I took a deep breath, my mind refusing to calm, knowing that every second counted. Lisa was out there, alone, vulnerable, and in the hands of wolves who had no right to touch her. The thought of it made my blood boil hotter than the sun beating down on my shoulders.

Ash returned shortly, breathless, eyes wide. “I’ve reached him, Alpha… but he—”

“Don’t give me excuses!” I snapped, my glare pinning him to the spot. “Tell me exactly what he said, now!”

Ash swallowed hard, clearly intimidated by my intensity. “He… he didn’t answer directly. He says… he will ‘consider’ her return. That’s all. He refuses to give a time, refuses to acknowledge our warnings.”

I could feel the cold steel of rage settle into my chest like a blade being driven through bone. “Consider?” I repeated, disbelief lacing my tone. “Consider her life? Consider her safety? He doesn’t get to consider anything! She is ours! She is ours by right, by bond, and by the oaths of our pack. If he doesn’t release her, we take her. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Ash said, nodding rapidly.

I didn’t answer. My eyes had drifted back to the garden, to the stones beneath my feet, to the scent of blood and earth mingling in the air. Every instinct in me screamed. I would not allow another second to pass where Lisa remained in that monster’s hands. I could feel the weight of my brothers behind me—Kael, Atlas, Ash—all ready to fight, ready to tear Bryan’s pack apart if necessary.

But even as I prepared to give the orders for war, there was a gnawing part of me that I refused to acknowledge—a fear. The fear that, despite all our planning, all our strength, Bryan might have anticipated this, might have set traps, might have done the unthinkable to hurt her. The thought made my teeth grind together painfully, and I forced myself to push it away. Fear was useless now. Action was all that mattered.

I stepped forward, voice dropping to a low growl. “Ash, I want every scout I have on the borders. I want details on his forces, positions, patrols, everything. Kael, Atlas—ready our fastest riders. I want contingency routes, reinforcements, and extraction points for Lisa. If they try anything… anything at all, we will respond immediately.”

Kael nodded without a word, his expression a mask of lethal focus. Atlas’s eyes were already scanning the horizon, calculating distances, estimating response times. I could see the tension in their posture, the energy brimming just beneath their skin. They were ready.

I took another breath, turning my gaze back toward the horizon. The sun was higher now, burning, unforgiving, and with each passing second, I could feel the urgency gnawing at me. Dusk would come too quickly, and by then, Lisa had to be safe—or we would be on the march, no holds barred.

“Kael, Atlas, Ash—listen carefully,” I continued, my voice harder, sharper. “This isn’t just a warning. This is a declaration. If Lisa isn’t returned, we invade. Full force. No mercy, no hesitation. Our men know the terrain, our brothers know the strength of our pack. They will not survive what comes unless they retreat immediately. We cannot fail her. Do you understand me?”

All three nodded, each of them exuding a quiet, lethal confidence. But even in that confidence, I could sense the tension, the same fire that burned within me—a fire that would not be quenched until Lisa was safe.

I clenched my fists, feeling the burn in my knuckles as I imagined Bryan’s face when he realized he had crossed a line that could not be forgiven. He thought he could hold her, thought he could manipulate the situation, but he had underestimated our bond, underestimated the lengths we would go to protect our own.

My mind raced through strategies, contingencies, battle plans. If Bryan resisted, if he fortified his pack, we would breach with precision. Ash would flank, Kael would cut off escape routes, Atlas would neutralize any traps. And I—Alpha Enzo—I would lead the charge, and I would not rest until she was safe in my arms.

A cold wind blew through the garden, carrying with it the scent of rain and the distant smoke of the training fires. It reminded me that time was short. Every moment we delayed increased the risk to her life. I took a deep breath, calming my pulse, letting the fire inside transform into controlled energy.

“Prepare the men,” I ordered finally, my voice a low growl of authority. “We move at first light if she is not returned. If she is in any danger, we go now. No excuses. This is our line, our home, our blood, and our family. We do not fail her.”

Ash, Kael, and Atlas all acknowledged, their faces set in determination. The sun was dipping slowly, casting long shadows across the garden, and with each passing second, the tension mounted. I could feel it in my bones—the weight of responsibility, the fire of fury, the iron resolve of a pack united.

Lisa was ours. She always had been. And if Bryan thought otherwise, he was about to learn exactly what it meant to cross the Enzo pack.

I clenched my fists again, the world narrowing down to a single focus: bring her back, safe. Whatever it took, whatever the cost.

And as dusk approached, painting the horizon with streaks of blood and fire, I knew that when the sun set, Bryan’s pack would feel the full wrath of an alpha who had already lost too much, and who would not hesitate to reclaim what was his.

This was no longer negotiation. This was no longer a warning.

This was war.