Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 9

Lisa's pov

I didn’t know how long I’d been lying there. Time didn’t exist in the cell. There was no light, no sound. Just me, the stone-cold floor, and the throb of pain that pulsed through every bone in my body.

Alivia stirred weakly inside me, her voice barely audible in the hollow darkness of my mind.

“I’m trying, Lisa… I just need more time.”

My lips cracked as I tried to mumble a reply, but my throat was dry—so dry it felt like sandpaper scraped every word back into silence.

My body was broken.

My soul wasn’t too far behind.

Then I heard it.

The metallic clank of the cell door unlocking.

I blinked sluggishly but didn’t move. Couldn’t move.

Two guards stepped inside, their scent hitting me like a slap—sweat, aggression, and apathy.

“Up,” one barked.

I didn’t ask why. I didn’t try to resist. I didn’t even flinch.

Like a well-trained pet, I rose slowly to my feet. Every movement ached. Every joint protested. But I followed, dragging my feet behind them like a shadow that didn’t belong in this world anymore.

We moved through long hallways I couldn’t focus on, past guards and servants who didn’t even glance my way. Why would they?

I was just the stray Omega.

We reached the main hall, and as the doors opened, I blinked rapidly, blinded by the sudden light and opulence.

The scent of perfume. Food. The buzzing of high-ranking wolves. I wanted to crawl into the shadows again.

And there—lined up—were others like me.

The Omegas.

Tired. Hungry. Forgotten.

I didn’t understand what was happening. Why were we here? But I had no strength left to ask.

The guards guided me to the back of the line, as though even among the forgotten, I was the lowest.

I stood there, head bowed, the room spinning slightly.

Until I heard the sound that pierced through my hazy consciousness like a blade.

Bryan’s voice.

“Take her back!”

The words cut the air sharp and sudden. The hall fell quiet.

What the actual hell?

My head turned slowly to him, one brow rising despite how dead I felt.

Was he... screaming about me?

I squinted at him. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost—or swallowed a cactus.

The guard holding my arm hesitated.

“I said take her back now!” Bryan barked again, his voice even louder.

I stared blankly at him. My lips cracked into a dry smirk despite the ache in my face.

“What—did you get bitten by a mad dog or something?” I muttered lowly, my voice raspy but clear enough. “Why the hell are you yelling like that?” I asked in my head even though I wanted to scream out to them, but my mouth failed me.

Some people gasped quietly, looking around as to why Bryan yelled out like that.

The guards tightened their grip on me, like I’d just broken protocol.

I didn’t care. What were they going to do—beat me again? I was already walking in pain.

Alpha Baron, who had been chatting with some guests, turned around with narrowed eyes. His jaw clenched as he glared at his son.

“Bryan… what is going on here?”

Bryan straightened, clearing his throat like he needed to clean up his outburst.

“She… she’s in poor condition, Father,” he said, his tone suddenly polished. “She’ll taint the line. It’s better she’s returned to the quarters.”

The excuse was so bad I nearly laughed. And judging by the look on Baron’s face, he wasn’t buying it either.

But just when the tension in the room reached boiling point—

The guest stepped forward.

Alpha Enzo.

Eyes dark. Expression unreadable.

He walked along the line of Omegas like he was examining weapons, not people.

Everyone watched.

The room held its breath.

And then—he stopped.

In front of me.

I felt it before I saw it.

The quiet finality of a decision made.

“This one,” Enzo said clearly. “I’ll take her.”

The hall fell into silence again.

I didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

Even Bryan—who looked like he just swallowed his own tongue—didn’t speak for once.

I stared up at Enzo, too weak to stand tall but too damn stubborn to bow.

Just my luck.

Out of all the broken souls lined up, I was the one who got picked.

I didn’t react at first.

Maybe because my brain was too fried to process anything that wasn’t directly tied to pain or humiliation.

But when Alpha Enzo stopped in front of me—his tall frame still, eyes heavy with purpose—and said, “This one. I’ll take her,” my head finally snapped up.

Was this a joke?

Me?

Take me?

Out of every girl lined up in this hall, some prettier, stronger, and definitely less bruised than me, he picked the one that looked like she had risen straight out of a dumpster fire.

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Still not a dream.

And just like that, everything around me shattered.

“You can’t be fucking serious!” Bryan’s voice exploded across the hall like a thunderclap. “You want her?!”

Enzo didn’t even flinch.

Bryan was already halfway across the room, his fists clenched so hard I swore his knuckles turned bone-white.

“She’s nothing!” he growled, storming closer, veins bulging in his neck. “She talked back at me in front of everyone! She insulted me! She disrespected this entire pack—” He swung a livid glare at his father. “And you’re just going to stand there and let this happen?”

Baron raised a brow, a little too calm for someone whose son was practically foaming at the mouth.

“Control yourself, Bryan,” he said evenly, sipping his wine like this was just another formal dinner. “The man won fair and square. He’s entitled to his reward.”

“Reward?” Bryan scoffed, pointing a shaky finger at me like I was some cursed object.

“That is not a reward. That’s trash. A broken stray that should’ve been left to rot in the dungeons. You’re letting him walk away with that?” he yelled while i rolled my eyes.

I would've felt insulted.

Maybe I cried, or even worse, maybe I screamed my lungs out.

But I didn’t have the energy anymore. I just stared at him, not blinking, not flinching. He could hurl every insult he had—I was already numb.

Enzo’s voice came again, low and sharp. “You seem… threatened, Alpha Prince.”

Bryan snapped his head around to him. “I’m not threatened by a damn thing. I’m—”

“Angry,” Enzo interrupted calmly. “Which tells me I picked well.”

The crowd murmured behind him, gasping, some chuckling under their breath. Irene stood frozen where she was, trying too hard to keep her perfect-Luna expression intact while her not-so-perfect Alpha mate unravelled.

Bryan turned his fury back to Baron. “You’re letting him take her?! She belongs to—”

“Belongs to what, Bryan?” Baron asked, his tone suddenly icy. “You left her to die, remember? Or have you forgotten how this whole mess started?”

Bryan’s face twisted. His chest rose and fell like a ticking bomb.

He looked at me again. Like it was my fault. Like just existing in this moment was enough to set him off.

“You’re pathetic,” he spat at me, eyes burning. “You think being chosen makes you special? You’ll always be what you are—an unworthy, low-born stain on this pack’s name.”

“Funny,” I rasped, managing the tiniest smirk through my chapped lips. “Still got picked before your mashed potato.” I muttered slowly but loud enough for Bryan and Irene to hear.

Irene gasped sharply.

Bryan lost it.

He let out a furious growl and kicked over the table beside him, sending drinks crashing, goblets scattering, and chairs tumbling. A servant yelped and stumbled away, terrified to be in the same room with him.

“You’ll regret this!” he roared at his father before storming out, the doors slamming so hard behind him that the chandeliers above actually trembled.

The silence that followed was… delicious.

Awkward, but delicious.

Baron exhaled slowly and turned back to Enzo.

“Forgive the boy. He’s… passionate.”

Enzo didn’t answer right away. Just turned to look at me again.

“How much would buy that Omega?” Alpha Enzo suddenly asked.