Rejected at the River, Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 02

Rejected at the River, Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 02

Soon, the two of them walked out of Mate Registry together.

My phone buzzed.

“See it?”

It was Hazel.

She leaned into Cillian’s arms and smiled at me.

I gripped my phone. I was so calm I didn’t even feel angry.

I guess that’s because we were completely done now.

I texted Cillian that we were over, then turned and went back to the apartment.

The place was full of photos of us.

Looking through the pictures from the first four years, Cillian’s eyes were always on me.

Then, a year ago, he took Hazel in as his beta.

After that, his gaze stopped finding me.

I tore the photos down and started packing.

When I saw the tablet on the bed, I remembered something.

Before Cillian came back to Moonbrook Pack with me, he’d logged into WeChat.

I swiped the screen open. It was his chat interface.

For years, I’d been his only pinned chat.

But now there were two.

Me. And Hazel.

I wasn’t in the habit of snooping.

I glanced at the luggage spread out on the bed and was about to log out.

But my finger slipped and opened his chat with Hazel.

Tears fell instantly.

I’d always known Cillian was cold.

He replied to everyone the same way—with little effort.

Even with me.

But this chat log went on forever, impossible to scroll to the top.

He replied seriously to every single one of Hazel’s messages.

Even the random entertainment videos she sent—he commented on each one.

Then I went back to our chat.

All it said was: Yeah. Okay.

For five years. That was it.

I tried to close the tablet.

But a new message popped up on the screen.

They were literally together right now.

But Hazel still texted him on purpose. [Cillian, we just bonded. Can you send a voice message calling me babe?]

[I’m just curious. No other reason.]

Cillian replied: [Don’t be silly.]

But after a few seconds of silence, he still sent the voice message.

The moment I played it, his deep, low voice filled the quiet bedroom.

I numbly closed the app and looked down at my own phone.

My breakup text was still sitting there in the chat.

No reply.

My chest felt tight and hollow. I opened the window for some air.

But a sudden storm blew in, and I got soaked.

I changed my clothes and went into the bathroom, turning the shower as hot as it would go.

My chest was still freezing.

Ten minutes later, I walked out wrapped in a towel.

Then I stopped in front of the mirror.

My skin was bright red from the scalding heat.

When I touched it, it stung.

But I only glanced at it before sitting on the couch and scrolling through my feed aimlessly.

I didn’t know what I was waiting for.

Soon, I saw Hazel’s new post. [Officially became Alpha Cillian’s mate!]

The picture was of their Mate Bond Certificate.

The comments were all congratulations.

Without thinking, I liked it.

Almost instantly, a message from Cillian popped up. [Hazel was just joking around with the photo. Don’t take it seriously.]

It was the longest message he’d ever sent me in five years.

Suddenly, my chest ached so bad it felt like it might burst.

But I only typed one word. [Okay.]

He didn’t reply after that.

And I didn’t stare at the screen either.

I finished packing, grabbed my suitcase, and headed out.

The moment the elevator doors opened, I ran straight into Cillian coming back.

“Didn’t I say it was fake?”

He took my suitcase from me, his voice a little helpless.

“I bought you chestnuts. Stop being mad, okay? Please?”

So he’d seen my breakup message this whole time.

But while I was waiting for him to reply, he answered Hazel first.

I felt numb and dazed as he pulled me back into the apartment.

Cillian rolled up his sleeves like he always did, washed his hands, and walked into the kitchen.

Before, the first thing he did when he came home was look at the photos on the wall.

But today, he was probably too guilty. His eyes drifted everywhere, totally missing the fact that I’d already thrown away all the photos in the living room.

“Let me make it up to you, okay?”

He didn’t say what exactly.

But I knew he meant what happened with Hazel at Mate Registry.

I stood in the doorway, watching his busy back.

I didn’t move.

Like every other weekend for the past however long.

No matter how busy he was with research, he always made time to cook my favorite Berry Tart.

By the time I snapped out of it, he’d already sat me down at the table.

I opened my mouth and ate the Berry Tart he made.

And there were warm chestnuts in my hand.

The Berry Tart tasted the same as always.

But all I could taste was bitter.

Before, I would’ve eaten while watching a show, savoring our rare time alone together.

But now, the palm that had been scalded by hot water was burning again from the warmth of the chestnuts.

My fingers loosened. The chestnuts scattered everywhere, making a mess on the floor.

Cillian paused, then bent down to clean them up.

But the second he bent over, Hazel called.

“Elowen, I have to go.”