Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 51

Irene's POV

The room was a whirlwind of silk, lace, and frustration. Dresses of every color lay sprawled across my bed, shoes scattered like forgotten treasures, and the maids scurried around me like nervous ants. I sat cross-legged on the floor, meticulously unpacking one of my new shopping bags, examining a gold-threaded gown I had bought just that morning.

“Are you deaf?!” I snapped at the maid fumbling near the wardrobe. “That’s not how you handle silk! Do you want me to look like a crumpled rag on my date? Oh, wait—you’ve never seen anything finer than your peasant rags, have you?!”

The girl flinched, mumbling a soft “sorry, miss,” but it only irritated me further. I stood and snatched the dress from her trembling hands. “Pathetic. Do you know how much this costs? More than your entire miserable life! If you ruin one stitch, I’ll make sure you’re thrown out of this house without a coin.”

Another maid who had been arranging my shoes accidentally dropped a pair of crystal-heeled sandals. The sound of them clattering to the floor was like nails on my nerves. “Are all of you cursed with clumsy fingers?!” I hissed, storming over. “Pick it up! No—give it to me!”

When she hesitated, I slapped her cheek, not hard enough to break skin, but enough to remind her where she stood. Her eyes watered as she bent to pick up the shoes and hand them back. “Hopeless,” I muttered, turning back to my shopping bags.

I was halfway through sorting my jewelry when the door opened. I didn’t even bother looking up, assuming it was another incompetent maid, until the room went silent—eerily silent. A heavy presence filled the air, making the girls shrink. Then I heard the deep voice that made even my stubborn spine stiffen.

“Enough,” Father said, his tone sharp but controlled.

I froze for a moment before lifting my head. Alpha Rowland stood there, his tall figure filling the doorway, his expression carved from stone. His sharp eyes swept across the room, landing on the maids. “Out,” he ordered.

The girls scattered like frightened birds, clutching their hands nervously as they slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind them.

I turned my back to him and busied myself with arranging my gowns, refusing to meet his gaze. “What do you want, Father?” I asked, my voice dripping with annoyance. “I’m busy preparing for my life, as you’ve always told me to do.”

“I want you to stop acting like a spoiled child and talk to me,” he replied calmly, stepping further into the room. I could feel his eyes on me, like cold steel, but I kept my focus on the sequined dress in front of me.

“I don’t feel like talking,” I said, my voice flat, my hands smoothing the fabric as if the gown mattered more than whatever lecture he was about to deliver.

His footsteps echoed as he walked closer. “You’ll want to hear this.”

I sighed dramatically and turned to face him, crossing my arms. “What is it now? Another boring meeting with some dusty old Alphas? Another list of expectations for me to follow?”

He didn’t flinch. “Your wedding is in one week.”

The words hit me like a slap across the face. I blinked, once, twice, before the fury surged up, hot and wild. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” he said, his tone calm but unyielding. “The date is set. In one week, you’ll be Bryan’s wife. It’s time you stop playing games and start acting like the future Luna you’re supposed to be.”

My laugh came out sharp, almost bitter. “Bryan? You’re really going to marry me off to that— that pathetic excuse for an Alpha? He can’t even stay on a horse, Father. He’s a joke, and you know it!”

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze cool. “Bryan’s pack is powerful. Our alliance with Alpha Baron strengthens us. This isn’t about your petty opinions or his horse skills. It’s about survival and power.”

“Survival?” I shot back, stepping closer. “Since when did we start surviving like beggars? We don’t need them! We’re strong enough without them. Why are you throwing me into this mess like some bargaining chip?!”

“Because you are my daughter,” he said simply, his voice dropping low. “And sometimes daughters must do what’s required of them for the good of their family. For the good of their pack.”

I stared at him, my chest heaving with rage. “So I’m just a tool, is that it? A pawn in your endless power games? Do I get any say in my own life?!”

He stepped closer, his imposing figure towering over mine. “No,” he said, his voice like ice. “You don’t.”

The words stung, more than I wanted to admit. My nails dug into my palms as I glared at him. “You can’t just force me into this. You can’t control everything, Father. What if I refuse? What if I—”

“Enough,” he said sharply, cutting me off. He didn’t shout. He didn’t need to. His authority pressed down on me like a mountain, suffocating. “If you don’t want to spend the next week locked in this room until your wedding day, you’ll behave. You’ll smile. You’ll wear whatever I tell you to wear. And you’ll marry Bryan without another word of complaint. Do I make myself clear?”

My lips trembled, but I clenched my jaw to stop them. I wanted to scream, to throw something, to tear down every dress in the room just to make him see how much I hated this. But his eyes—those cold, calculating eyes—reminded me of the Alpha he was. My father didn’t bluff.

“Fine,” I muttered, my voice tight. “You’ve made yourself very clear.”

“Good,” he said, stepping back. “Then we won’t have a problem.”

He turned to leave, but I couldn’t stop myself. “What if I ruin it?” I asked, my voice sharp. He paused at the door. “What if I make him hate me so much he won’t marry me?”

He glanced back over his shoulder, a smirk playing at his lips. “Try it, Irene. Just try. And you’ll learn very quickly that I have ways of making people cooperate—especially my own daughter.”

The door closed behind him with a soft click, but his words lingered in the room like smoke, choking me.

I sank onto the bed, my hands clutching the skirts of my gown. The maids peeked back into the room, their eyes wide, clearly sensing the storm raging inside me.

“What are you looking at?!” I snapped, and they scrambled back to their tasks.

I wanted to cry, but I refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing me weak. No, I’d find a way out of this. If Bryan thought he could just waltz into my life and marry me because our fathers decided so, he was in for a rude awakening.

One way or another, I’d turn this wedding into a game I could win.