Page 25 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Lycan King

What is wrong with me?

“Trouble in paradise already, my king?”

I snarled in her direction before pulling the laptop closer to me. The need to destroy the evidence of what I was searching for came to mind. I didn’t need anyone rooting through my records and discovering how weak Kylie really was.

“Not at all, Nova. Anything else bothering you?”

She had her hands on the arms of the chair, her chest puffed out to draw my attention. Instead, I stared past her and trained my face to look bored. Maybe if it didn’t look like I cared, she would get the point. It was bad enough that I had doubts. I didn’t need her knowing that I did.

“It’s bothering me to see my queen getting so tired. Tell me, my king, is our queen in need of something?”

I let loose a deep growl as a warning. If Nova could see something was wrong with Kylie, could the rest of the pack see it, too? What did everyone else think of her?

“I need to get back to my mate—that’s all. Before I can do that, I need to tend to the kingdom first.”

Nova reached into her chest to hold on to her necklace, running the crystal moon along the chain. She baited me to look by doing this, but I knew better than to give in to that urge. Nova had been playing this game for a long time. My lycan didn’t trust her, and right now, he was snarling inside me.

“The kingdom that’s falling apart without you having a strong mate by your side?”

That wasn’t true. The data from the reports didn’t lie. Since Kylie became part of the pack, there hadn’t been much of a difference in the reports. A few more rogue sightings occurred, and a pack neighboring the rogue lands was attacked. That was it. Did Nova know something more than I did?

“Nothing in the reports reflects that, Nova. Nice try.”

“Hmm,” she moaned as she twirled her necklace around some more. “The pack isn’t too happy about your choice to accept Kylie as your mate. As someone that many pack members like to confide in, I can tell you that none of us is happy with it.”

That was a lie, plain and simple. Eli had always been the one the pack turned to in my absence, a role he stepped into naturally. My father had trained me to be the same, shaping me into a leader who understood the pulse of the kingdom. Pack membersconstantly filtered in and out of my office, voicing their concerns or sharing what they appreciated about our way of life.

Not once had anyone come forward to complain about Kylie as luna. If anything, the omegas welcomed her presence. They spoke highly of her approach to organizing the chore rotations. There was no fear or resentment. They only expressed approval. I wouldn’t entertain fabricated whispers of dissatisfaction.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, and neither do you. You are trying to make me doubt my mate. Maybe I need to find a different pack for you to reside with instead of continuing to allow you to stir the pot.”

She leaned forward, a smile playing on her lips like she knew something I didn’t. “Sure, believe that. We both know you’re doubting how you feel about her. We can all feel it in the bonds. Just as we can feel the weak link within the pack. If we can feel that, so can the rest of the packs.”

Fuck. That was true. The power of the pack bonds meant being able to sense the needs of everyone in the pack. The alpha could feel it better than anyone else, but it wasn’t just them who could sense things through the bonds. It also informed everyone if someone died within the pack or was injured.

She leaned in again, the smile dropping from her lips. “I told you mating her would be a mistake. Now, the whole pack can sense how weak she is. They’ll blame you if something goes wrong. Remember that, my king. This is the only warning you’ll get from anyone.”

“Is that a threat?” I snarled through clenched teeth.

“No. It’s not.”

Nova stood from her seat and swayed her hips as she walked out the door. The coconut scent lingered and soured my stomach. If Nova was correct, it meant the pack was shielding me from their true feelings about my mate. If they didn’t believe I was strong enough to lead the pack and kingdom, someone would challenge me for the throne. This throne has been in my family since the beginning of time. I couldn’t disappoint my entire lineage over anyone or anything.

Rejecting Kylie might be my only hope of keeping the pack safe.

13

Kylie

“You weren’t there, Amara. His face looked like he resented me.” My throat was dry as I struggled to get the words out. “Everything was fine before he left the suite. It’s like we were in a happy bubble until it burst last night, and now, he hates me.”

Amara slid over on the couch and pulled me into a hug. “I’m sure he doesn’t hate you. There’s a lot going on in the kingdom, and he is probably just overwhelmed. Eli can’t even tell me everything because he said there are things that need to remain between him and Maximus.”

Maximus seldom spoke of the burdens that came with ruling. Keeping things from me would be an unspoken weight that I needed to learn to carry. My journey from a lowly omega to queen had been a slow evolution. Every day, I was becoming someone who understood the delicate pulse of leadership.

I had taken on the responsibility of organizing the omegas’ schedules, prioritizing a careful balance between tasks they dreaded and those that brought them fulfillment. I shaped the system to their preferences to create something that wouldn’t crush them with obligations. A proper balance ensured that they would thrive with a sense of harmony. I wanted the structure I built to be one of understanding rather than mere necessity.

I knew what she meant; there were whispers echoing through the halls about movement in the rogue territory bordering ours. We were attacked by a small group of rogues, which would undoubtedly weigh on Maximus. If they had targeted one pack, there was a real possibility more would follow. Rogues normally kept their distance from the kingdom’s packs, but something had changed. In their territory, something must have been stirring.

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