Rejected by My Alpha Mate; Nyra's Awakening

Dorian wakes with a sharp gasp, and for several seconds, he has no idea where he is.

His head feels heavy, his limbs strangely weak, and a dull ache spreads through his body. He tries to move his arms.

Metal restraints stop him from moving.

What the--

He looks around frantically. The room is dark, illuminated only by a single bulb hanging above him.

Then he hears footsteps, slow and measured, coming closer. He’s not surprised to see that man from last night; he knew something was off the moment he saw him.

Who he’s surprised to see next to him, however, is his father.

"Dad...?" Dorian stares at him, disbelief mixing with anger.

Caius looks almost amused, grinning from ear to ear like having his own son hanging from the wall is funny.

"You know, I really thought you were smart. I invested so much in you, gave you everything you needed, so you can realize that you’re just as good as your cousin. And now I’m giving you a chance and you just blow it all away?"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Dorian pulls against the restraints. "You said the hunters were coming with or without us!"

"I lied."

The words hit harder than Dorian expects.

"I needed you to believe me. I knew you were sneaking around behind my back. And I was right. The moment I said that...you went running to the special wolf!"

Dorian’s jaw tightens. How could he have been so stupid?! "So you followed me."

"Of course."

Caius comes to stand in front of him. "I knew you were hiding something. And I was right, you bastard."

His father’s fingers close around Dorian’s chin, forcing him to look up.

"Tell me who the person you went to see is!"

Dorian’s eyes harden. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just cooling out with my friends."

Caius smiles. "Still lying."

He slams his fist into Dorian’s ribs with so much force. The impact drives the air from his lungs, making him gasp out loud, blood splattering from his mouth.

Another blow follows, then another, every one landing where it will hurt most. Pain spreads through Dorian’s body. His vision blurs, his knees buckle.

Caius doesn’t stop. "Tell me the name," he snarls, striking Dorian’s face hard enough to snap his head sideways. "Or I keep going until nothing’s left."

Dorian’s knees buckle against the restraints. He thinks back to the way Adrian had shut him out. The way no one seemed to care or listen to him.

Why should he fight for them when they don’t even care?

He closes his eyes tight, making a decision. "Okay, I’ll tell you."

---

Behind closed doors, Adrian’s act falls almost immediately. He rushes to his phone, hands shaking slightly.

"Dad?" He says into the speaker after his father picks up. "Dad, we have a big problem!"

"What happened? And have you heard from Caius or Dorian? I’ve been trying to reach them for a while."

"That’s exactly the problem." Adrian tells his father everything Dorian told him.

"We’ll have you sent to our private condo in another pack. You both can stay out there until the issue is resolved."

"Tonight?"

"Not tonight." His father says. "Just hold on. Tomorrow morning someone will come pick you up."

Fuck! Adrian runs a hand through his hair. But they have no choice but to wait.

"Okay, okay." He mutters, dropping the call.

He rushes to the room. Nyra is still fast asleep between the sheets, extremely soft.

Adrian taps her a few times, but she doesn’t wake up. He taps her again; this time, she sits up, but her eyes are red with black rings around them.

"Nyx, where’d Nyra?"

"You wore her out, you bastard!" Nyra snarls playfully. "I took over her subconscious since she’s passed out."

Adrian sighs and tells her everything. Including Dorian’s warning.

"You remember when you told me you could feel something bad was coming? I think this was it."

Nyx nods. "It does. I can’t believe it was happening right under our noses too!"

"Anyways, tomorrow my dad will send us to a safe condo. For now, we should--"

"You know how I said I felt when something was wrong then?" Nyx cuts in. "It’s happening now."

CRASH!

The window explodes inward, shattering glass inside. Adrian instantly turns, pulling Nyra toward his chest.

They’re already here, Aiden whispers, and suddenly the lights go off in the entire building complex.

They can’t see their way out.

Aiden turns on their wolf vision, and Nyx also seems able to see in the darkness.

Just then, from behind them, a massive explosion rocks the condo. The floor shakes beneath their feet, the walls trembling violently as the remaining glass windows shatter inward.

Adrian grabs her instinctively, pulling her against his chest as the building shakes again.

Then footsteps from the hallways, several of them coming closer.

Adrian’s claws extend. "Stay behind me. I’ll protect you."

Nyx gives him an irritated look. "You know I’m stronger than you, right?"

"I know."

"Then stop acting like I’m some helpless Omega." The Alpha Queen snaps. "I can paralyze them with my bite. I should be in front."

"Look!" Adrian grabs her shoulder, his voice dropping to deep and hoarse. "I don’t care what your rank is, you’re my mate. And it’s my job to protect you, so you stay behind me and let me distract them so you can slip away from here."

For a second, Nyx says nothing, staring at him with red, unreadable eyes. But the moment quickly fades when a large man charges through the door.

Adrian doesn’t hesitate to attack. His fist connects with the man’s jaw, sending him crashing into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.

Another figure appears behind him.

Nyx moves this time, grabbing the hunter by the throat and throwing him across the room. He crashes through the bookshelf.

"That’s two," Nyx mutters.

Adrian listens in. He can hear many more footsteps. "There’s more. We need to leave right now."

Just then, three more men burst inside. They aren’t wolves; Adrian can smell it immediately.

They’re humans. But their natural scent has been completely masked.

Nyx notices it too. "They came prepared."

One of the hunters raises his hand, and they catch sight of a silver needle between his fingers.

Poison.

Adrian glares at the man while whispering to her. "Don’t let them touch you."

Nyx bares her teeth stubbornly. "They should be worried about touching me."

She charges before Adrian can say another word. But before she can reach them, she falls to the ground with a pained whimper.

On the side of her neck is the poisoned needle.

"I told you to stay behind me!" Adrian grumbles as he catches her. "Why didn’t you listen!?"

In that moment, they both knew they were fucked. Because if they had poison powerful enough to stop an Alpha Queen, then these people knew exactly what they were doing.

Just then, a man steps through the doorway. Unlike the others, he isn’t wearing tactical gear.

He looks completely ordinary.

He looks at the chaos inside the condo first, before his eyes settle on Nyra, panting heavily on Adrian’s lap. He sees her eyes and grins.

"There she is. We’ve been looking for you for a very long time."

Adrian hugs her closer to his chest. "Who the fuck are you?"

The man doesn’t answer. Instead, he signals for his men to take her from Adrian’s hands.

Adrian growls, baring his teeth. "You’re not touching her. I’ll kill you. You don’t know what I am--"

"Enigma." The man says calmly.

Adrian blinks. "So you knew..."

"I didn’t." The man shrugs. "We found out just a few minutes ago. But unfortunately, you’re not why we’re here today." His voice is laced with amusement.

He raises two fingers again, and the hunters move. It all happens at once.

Adrian attacks the nearest man, but there are so many to fight, while Nyra is weak like this.

While he’s pouncing on one of the men, one of the hunters grabs Nyra from the ground and throws her over his shoulder.

While he’s trying to reach for her, one of the hunters also stabs a syringe into his neck. The liquid is scorching hot as it slides through his body, making him weak.

His vision grows blurry, and there’s blood dripping from his mouth. He falls to his knees. He can’t fucking move.

Just then, Nyra’s eyes flutter open again. For one brief second, their eyes meet. This time, Nyra has taken over. She looks confused and scared at the same time, but she can’t move her limbs.

She sees the fear on Adrian’s face as they completely carry her out of the condo.

Adrian’s hand slams against the floor as they walk away. He tries to crawl after them, but his body refuses to cooperate.

Outside, the sound of an engine echoes all the way upstairs. Adrian lies there helplessly, hearing the car speed away into the darkness.

He can’t fucking breathe.

They took her. His mate. His Nyra.