Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 272

Ryan groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, the pounding in his head making him wince.

His entire body felt heavy, and the inside of his mouth was dry like sandpaper. He blinked a few times, trying to focus his vision, but everything was blurry.

When his eyes finally adjusted, he frowned.

The room was unfamiliar—dark curtains covered the windows, and the walls were painted a dull gray.

This wasn’t his house.

“What the hell?” he muttered, rubbing his temples. He pushed himself up to sit, feeling his head throb with every movement.

Just then, the door opened, and Ethan walked in, carrying a tray with a bowl of steaming soup, a pill, and a glass of water.

He smirked when he saw Ryan’s confused expression.

“Well, well, look who’s finally awake,” Ethan said, setting the tray down on the bedside table.

Ryan squinted at him. “Where am I?”

“My place,” Ethan replied casually, leaning against the dresser.

“You drank yourself into oblivion last night, and I had to drag your sorry self out of the club before you made a bigger fool of yourself.”

Ryan groaned again and ran a hand through his messy hair. “Great. Just great.”

Ethan chuckled. “I told you not to drink so much, but do you ever listen? Nope.” He tapped the tray.

“Here. Soup, a pill, and water. It’ll help with the hangover. Unless you wanna feel like your head’s gonna explode all day.”

Ryan eyed the soup suspiciously. “What’s in it?”

Ethan rolled his eyes.

“It’s just soup, man. My housekeeper made it. Stop acting like I’m trying to poison you.”

Ryan sighed and reached for the glass of water first.

He gulped it down in one go and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Thanks, Ethan. For everything.”

Ethan smirked. “You can thank me by not getting wasted next time.”

Ryan picked up the spoon and took a small sip of the soup, letting out a low hum.

“Not bad.” He took another sip and glanced at Ethan. “What happened last night anyway? My head’s all fuzzy.”

Ethan crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

“Oh, you mean besides you, embarrassing yourself and almost passing out in the middle of the club?”

Ryan scowled. “I meant after that.”

Ethan’s expression darkened slightly. “A couple of guys jumped us outside.”

Ryan froze, the spoon halfway to his mouth.

“What?”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah. Three of them. I think they were waiting for us.”

Ryan clenched his jaw, fury flashing in his eyes.

“They should thank their stars that I passed out. I would’ve strangled one of them to death. Motherfuckers!”

Ethan let out a chuckle. “And land yourself in jail? Yeah, great plan, Ryan.” Ethan says, clapping his hands in sarcasm.

Ryan frowned, setting the spoon down. “I’m not going to jail. That’s never happening. Not with my family connections!”

Ethan shook his head with a smirk. “Yeah, well, let’s try not to give anyone a reason to put you there.”

Ryan finished the soup in silence, his mind racing.

“Did you recognize them?” he finally asked.

Ethan shrugged.

“No idea. But they weren’t just some random drunk guys looking for a fight. They were serious.”

Ryan sighed. “Just what I need—more problems.”

Once he was done eating, Ryan pushed the tray aside and stood up, stretching.

“I need to go home, shower, and change. Can’t show up at the office looking like I spent the night in a dumpster.”

Ethan chuckled. “You kinda do, though.”

Ryan shot him a glare before grabbing his car keys from the nightstand.

He walked outside to find his car parked in Ethan’s driveway.

When he opened the door, he found his phone sitting on the passenger seat, vibrating with notifications.

Ryan picked it up and saw numerous missed calls from Kate and his mother.

“Great. They must be worried sick,” he muttered as he started the car and drove off.

As he drove home, he finally called his mother. She picked up on the first ring.

“Ryan! Where have you been? I’ve been calling you all night!” her worried voice rang through the phone.

Ryan sighed. “Mom, I’m fine. I just… crashed at Ethan’s place.”

“You didn’t go home! I was worried something happened to you!”

“Mom, I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself.”

She huffed.

“Being a grown man doesn’t mean you can disappear without telling anyone! What if something happened to you?”

Ryan felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Are you drinking again?” she asked, her tone sharp.

Ryan hesitated. “I just had a rough night.”

“Ryan, you need to stop running away from your problems. Drinking won’t solve anything.”

Ryan exhaled. “I know, Mom. I’ll do better, okay?”

“You better,” she said sternly. “Kate called me, asking if I’d heard from you. She said she was worried.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Kate always worries too much.”

“She cares about you, Ryan. Maybe you should appreciate that.”

Ryan didn’t respond, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “I’ll talk to her later, okay?”

“Fine,” his mother sighed. “Just take care of yourself, please.”

“I will.”

When he got home, he took a long, cold shower to clear his head and got dressed in a sharp gray suit.

Once he was ready, he grabbed his briefcase and headed to the office.

As soon as he stepped into the lobby, he heard a voice behind him.

“Well, well. Mr. Winters, nice to see you this morning.”

Ryan turned to see a man standing near the entrance, wearing an expensive suit with a smug grin on his face.

The man had dark hair slicked back neatly and a confident air about him.

Ryan frowned. “Do I know you?” Ryan asked, feigning like he doesn’t know who he was.

The man extended his hand. “Carter Hayes. The new shareholder. Why act like you don’t know me?” The man asked, staring at Ryan with a small smile.

Ryan reluctantly shook his hand. “Right. Carter. I’ve got many things on my mind to remember just about everyone.”

Carter smirked, acting like he didn’t get the sarcasm in Ryan’s words. “You look… tired. Late night?”

Ryan narrowed his eyes. “The last time I checked, That’s none of your business. What do you want, Carter? I’ve got other better things to do this morning.”

Carter shrugged.

“Just being friendly. After all, we’re going to be working together, and I like to know who I’m dealing with.”

Ryan scoffed. “Yeah? Well, I’m not interested in small talk.”

Carter chuckled. “Oh, I think we’re going to get along just fine, Mr Winters.”

Ryan didn’t bother responding.

He adjusted his cufflinks and strode past him, walking straight to the elevator.

As the doors closed, Carter stood there, smirking with his hands tucked into his pockets, watching Ryan with an unreadable expression.

“Even if you’re irritated by my presence, we’ve got to be seeing each other more often!” He grinned and walked away towards the elevator.