Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 44

Lisa's POV

I don't know what possessed me to volunteer myself as the official bearer of peace tea.

Maybe it was guilt.

Or maybe it was the image of Beta Ash standing there in the kitchen, soaked and blinking like he’d just been baptized by accident. Either way, I couldn’t shake the mortification from my head all afternoon, and Calla wasn’t helping with her constant snickers and subtle splashes of water near me every now and then.

So when I found out where Ash’s room was—no thanks to Calla announcing it with a devilish smirk—I decided it was time for damage control.

The hallway leading to his quarters was quiet. Too quiet. I paused for a moment in front of his door, tray in hand, debating whether I should knock or just leave the tea like a silent offering and run away. I even rehearsed my line: “Hey, sorry for trying to drown you. Here’s tea. Please don’t exile me.”

Pathetic.

But I wasn’t exactly queen of confidence these days.

I gave the door a soft knock.

Nothing.

No response.

Maybe he was out. Maybe I could just leave it on his desk and vanish before my embarrassment decided to grow a second head.

The door creaked open when I nudged it gently. “Hello?” I called out, peeking inside. No answer. “I—I brought tea… as a peace treaty.”

Still silence.

Okay. He wasn’t here. Perfect. I stepped inside carefully, trying not to act like I was sneaking into someone’s sacred space.

The room was… not what I expected.

Masculine, yes. But clean. Warm, almost. The bed was made, not too strictly, but neatly. The walls were painted a muted grey with a few dark-toned paintings—abstract strokes that somehow screamed control and chaos at once. Books lined the shelves near the window. Training manuals. Pack records. One is titled Anatomy of War Strategies. Of course.

A faint scent of pinewood and something sharper—his scent—lingered in the air. I took a careful breath, and something fluttered in my stomach.

No. Stop that.

I walked toward the desk and placed the tray gently on the surface, trying to make as little noise as possible. There. Mission accomplished. I should leave now.

But my feet didn’t move.

Instead, my eyes wandered to the tiny objects on the shelf. A carved wooden wolf. A worn-out dagger encased in glass. A photograph of four boys arm-in-arm—Ash, Kael, Atlas, and Enzo. They looked younger, wilder, and freer.

I stepped closer before I could stop myself. My fingers itched to touch the frame, but I clenched them into fists.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped so hard I almost screamed.

The voice came from behind me—deep, amused, and far too close.

I turned around in a frenzy, and there he was.

Ash.

Fresh from the shower, hair dripping wet, a towel slung around his neck, shirtless with water gliding down the hard lines of his chest and disappearing beneath his low-hanging sweatpants.

Sweet goddess.

He stared at me, a brow cocked, arms crossed over his still-damp torso. Water clung to his skin like it belonged there.

I suddenly forgot what language was.

“I—I came to—tea—I mean, I brought tea,” I stammered like someone who had never spoken a sentence in her life.

He looked over my shoulder toward the tray. “Right. The truce tea.”

I tried to smile. It came out as a nervous twitch.

“I figured… since I nearly drowned you… it was the least I could do.”

Ash took a step forward, and I instinctively stepped back, bumping into the desk behind me.

He didn’t move aggressively. Nothing in his posture was threatening. But he was big. And close. And shirtless.

“That was a first,” he said casually. “No one’s ever welcomed me with an accidental waterboarding before.”

I winced. “I really am sorry.”

He shrugged, walking past me to grab the towel from his neck and rub it through his hair. “I’ve had worse. You should see what Kael did when he was learning to cook.”

That made me smile.

Relieved by his light tone, I turned slightly to fully face him—only to realize he was still drying off and now facing me completely.

Eyes met. And held.

There was something strange about that moment. I couldn’t explain it, but something shifted in the air. Maybe it was the soft pat of water droplets hitting the wooden floor. Or the fact that he wasn’t moving, and neither was I.

I should’ve said something. Anything. A joke. A thank you. A sarcastic quip. But all I could think about was how dangerously close he was… and how hypnotic the curve of his jaw looked from this angle.

Stop it, Lisa.

But my body didn’t listen.

One step. Then another.

I was closing the distance before I even registered it.

He was watching me, no longer smiling. His gaze was calm and curious. He didn’t stop me. Not with words.

My heart pounded so loudly I was afraid he’d hear it. I reached up, fingers trembling slightly, and rested a hand lightly on his chest.

Warm.

Firm.

Alive.

Still, he didn’t move.

My eyes flicked up to his—searching for something, anything, a sign I should stop.

But he didn’t pull back.

So I leaned in.

And kissed him.

It was soft at first. Barely more than a breath. My lips grazed his, unsure, testing. The kiss deepened without warning, and I didn’t even know when my other hand found his shoulder, anchoring me like I was afraid I’d float away if I let go.

His hands didn’t touch me.

But his lips… for a fleeting moment, they responded. Gently. Questioningly. As if neither of us knew what the hell we were doing.

Then, just as quickly, he pulled back.

His hands came to rest on my arms, not roughly, but firmly enough to stop me.

“Lisa,” he said softly. “No.”

That one word brought everything crashing back.

My brain rebooted.

Oh my goddess.

What did I just do?

I stumbled backward, knocking over the edge of the tray. The cup of tea clattered onto the floor.

My hands shot up to cover my mouth. “I—I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to—”

Ash took a step forward. “It’s alright—”

“No! I mean—I’m—this was stupid.”

I was rambling now, heart thudding, cheeks burning like fire.

And then I did the only thing my survival instinct could think of.

I screamed.

High-pitched. Awkward. Panicked.

And I ran.

Like my entire life depended on getting out of that room.

I sprinted down the hallway, ignoring the curious stares from passing maids, ignoring Calla calling my name from down the corridor.

I didn't stop running until I was back in my room, door slammed shut behind me, heart still racing like I’d been chased by a wild bear.

I pressed my back to the door and slid down to the floor, covering my face.

“I kissed Beta Ash,” I whispered into my palms.

Then louder, to no one in particular: “I kissed Beta freaking Ash.”

And he said no.

Not rudely.

Not angrily.

Just… no.

I groaned, grabbing a pillow and smashing it into my face.

I was never drinking tea again.