Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 89

Lisa's POV

I couldn’t sleep. No matter how many times I turned on the bed, no matter how many times I closed my eyes and forced myself to drift away, my mind wouldn’t quiet. It felt like an itch I couldn’t scratch. The quiet of the night only made it worse—the stillness pressing into me until I thought I would suffocate if I didn’t do something.

So I pulled out my sketch pad. The pencil scratched softly across the paper as I leaned over it, cross-legged on the bed. I wasn’t drawing anything specific at first. Just lines, shapes, shading. But slowly, it began to take form—arches of lanterns I’d seen during the day, the outline of the stage Kael and I had finalized for the celebration. My hand moved with a restlessness that mirrored my thoughts.

I bit my lip, tilting my head, smudging a line with my finger. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to distract me. Enough to calm the pulse of energy running through me. But then—

A shift in the air.

My body stiffened instantly. I didn’t even realize I had stopped drawing until the silence rang louder than before. My wolf stirred, ears perked. There was a scent. Strong, unmistakable. Not Kael’s. Not Ash’s. Not Atlas’. Different. Powerful. It seeped in through the thin crack under my door, swirling into the room, curling through my senses.

Someone was outside.

I placed the sketchpad aside slowly, trying not to make a sound as I slid off the bed. My bare feet padded across the carpet toward the door. Every step was careful, measured, but my heartbeat was pounding so loudly I was sure whoever was out there could hear it.

My fingers brushed against the baseball bat leaning against the nightstand. The same one Kael had tossed at me weeks ago when he’d insisted I “learn how to swing properly.” At the time, I’d thought he was being ridiculous. Now, gripping the smooth wooden handle so tightly my knuckles ached, I was grateful.

The scent grew stronger. Closer. My wolf’s fur bristled, half-warning, half-alert. Whoever it was, they weren’t leaving.

I reached the door. My breath hitched, but I forced it down. Tightening my grip on the bat, I lifted it high, my muscles trembling. One hand twisted the knob, and before my brain could second-guess me, I yanked the door open and swung—

A sharp crack echoed through the hallway.

The bat connected with something solid. Someone.

And then the sight froze me.

Enzo.

His head snapped back slightly from the force of the blow, his hand flying up instinctively. Blood immediately seeped between his fingers, dripping down the side of his face. His eyes widened, not in anger, but in shock.

“Oh my god!” The scream ripped from me before I could stop it. The bat clattered from my hand, rolling uselessly against the floor as I dropped it. “Enzo! Oh my god, I’m so sorry—I didn’t—”

Panic made my voice break as I rushed forward, grabbing him by the arm. He swayed slightly, and guilt stabbed through me so deep I thought I might collapse. His blood. His blood was on my hands.

“Come in—sit, please, sit,” I babbled, tugging him into my room. He didn’t resist, just allowed me to guide him, though his eyes flickered with something unreadable as he sank onto the edge of my bed.

I scrambled for the first aid kit I always kept near my nightstand. My fingers were clumsy, frantic as I opened it, yanking out gauze, antiseptic wipes, and bandages. My chest tightened with every glance at the blood still dripping down his temple.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you, I swear I didn’t know—why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you knock? Why would you just stand outside like that?” My words spilled out uncontrollably as I pressed the antiseptic pad to his wound.

He hissed through his teeth, his jaw tightening, but he didn’t push me away.

“You almost cracked my skull open,” he muttered, his voice low but not angry. More… teasing? Which only made my face burn hotter.

“Don’t joke about that!” I snapped, even as my hands trembled. “You’re bleeding because of me. Because I panicked like some—some lunatic!”

His lips curved slightly despite the wince when I dabbed at the cut again. “At least you’ve got a good swing. Kael’s lessons weren’t wasted.”

I froze for a second, staring at him. Was he seriously trying to make light of this? Blood was literally running down his face.

“You’re insane,” I whispered, shaking my head before forcing my attention back to cleaning the wound. My fingers brushed against his skin as I worked, and the heat of him seeped into me, distracting me more than I wanted to admit.

When I leaned closer to get a better angle, I realized just how near we were. My knees touched his leg where I knelt on the floor. His hand was braced against the mattress beside him, inches from my own. His scent filled my lungs now—heady, overwhelming, intoxicating.

I swallowed hard, trying to tie the bandage around his head, but my fingers slipped against the gauze. He tilted his head slightly, watching me.

“Lisa,” he murmured, my name curling from his lips like a secret.

My breath caught.

I told myself to focus on the bandage, to knot it properly, to make sure it was tight enough but not too tight. But my eyes betrayed me, flicking up, meeting his. They were dark, piercing, searching me in a way that made it impossible to think.

Our faces were close. Too close. A single shift of breath, and—

His lips found mine.

I froze.

Every rational thought screamed at me to pull back, to stop this before it spiraled. This was Enzo. Enzo, the Alpha. Enzo, the man who commanded rooms with a look. Enzo, whose approval mattered more than anything.

But my wolf… my wolf growled low inside me, not in warning, but in hunger. She surged forward, claws scraping against my control, and before I knew it, my lips were moving against his.

It wasn’t gentle. It was raw, desperate, a clash of everything I’d been holding back and everything he’d been hiding. His hand slid up, cupping the back of my neck, pulling me closer. My fingers fisted in his shirt without realizing it, gripping him like I was drowning and he was the only anchor.

I gasped against his mouth, trying to gather air, but he swallowed the sound with another kiss, deeper this time. My heart raced so wildly I thought it might burst.

“No—” The word broke from me as I tried to push back, even though every part of me screamed not to. “We—this—Enzo, we can’t—”

But my wolf didn’t care about rules or reasons. She pushed harder, surging past my hesitation. My hands betrayed me, clinging tighter instead of letting go.

Enzo’s lips moved against mine with a certainty that stole every ounce of thought from my head.

And in that moment, with his blood still faintly staining my fingers and his warmth consuming me, I stopped fighting.

I let my wolf take over.