Page 46 of Pregnant, Rejected and Exiled By the Lycan King (Forbidden Alpha Kings #45)

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Damon

I woke to find Rhea’s side of the bed cold, her scent fading. Initially, I assumed she was in the bathroom. The twins made her restless at night, sending her padding to the bathroom multiple times. But something felt wrong. The air carried a sweet undertone that didn’t belong, chemical and cloying.

I sat up fully, wolf senses screaming danger.

Her clothes from yesterday still lay folded on the chair.

Her shoes by the door. No signs of dressing, no note, nothing.

Just absence where she should be. I checked the bathroom, empty.

The sitting area, abandoned. My heartbeat accelerated as I scented the air more carefully.

Beneath her fading presence and that strange sweetness, there was something else.

Fear pheromones. Hers. She was afraid before she disappeared.

The realization hit like ice water. She didn’t leave. She was taken.

“Carlton! CARLTON!” The shout tore from my throat as I burst into the hallway.

“Sir? What’s wrong?” A guard appeared, alarmed by my half-dressed state and wild expression.

“Rhea is missing. Lock down everything. NOW.”

“But sir, we didn’t see...” He stammered, confusion evident.

“I don’t care what you didn’t see. Find her!”

The command sent him running, and within minutes alarms echoed through the compound. But even as security mobilized, a cold certainty settled in my gut. This wasn’t a simple abduction. The sweet scent, the undisturbed room, the perfectly timed disappearance. Someone had planned this meticulously.

I pulled on clothes with shaking hands, my wolf clawing at the surface.

Every instinct screamed to hunt, to track, to find my mate before something irreversible happened.

The twins. God, she was carrying our twins.

Twenty-four weeks along and vulnerable, taken from our bed while I slept beside her like a useless guardian.

Carlton appeared as I stormed back into the bedroom, his expression grim. He took in the scene with professional assessment, noting the same details I had. No struggle, no defensive wounds on the furniture, nothing broken. Just that sweet chemical scent that made my nose burn.

“Sedative,” he confirmed what I already suspected. “Medical grade. Strong enough to ensure compliance.”

“From our own supplies?” The question tasted bitter.

“Most likely, sir. This was planned by someone with inside knowledge.”

Inside knowledge. Inside access. The implications made my blood run cold. Someone in my own pack, someone trusted enough to know our routines, our security, our vulnerabilities. They’d waited until I was exhausted from council meetings, until the chaos of my confession provided perfect cover.

“I want every guard questioned. Every servant, every person who had access to this wing.” The orders came fast, automatic. “Check the gates, the borders, every possible exit.”

“Already in motion, sir.” Carlton’s efficiency remained the one stable point in this nightmare. “But there’s something else you should know. The night guards, several were reassigned at the last minute. Orders came from high up.”

“How high?”

But I already knew. The pattern was too perfect, the timing too precise. Only someone with administrative access could have orchestrated this level of betrayal.

The compound exploded into controlled chaos.

Guards searched every room, every closet, every possible hiding place.

Teams swept the grounds with military precision while others reviewed security footage from the past twenty-four hours.

Carlton coordinated with terrifying efficiency, but I could see the concern in his eyes.

Each passing minute meant Rhea could be farther away, meant our twins were in greater danger.

The evidence mounted quickly, each piece adding to a picture I didn’t want to see.

The chemical scent in our room matched a specific sedative from our own medical supplies.

Inventory showed it had been requisitioned yesterday under special authority.

The guard rotations hadn’t just been changed, they’d been specifically altered to create blind spots around our private wing.

Cameras showed nothing because they’d been disabled with administrative codes.

Only someone with the highest clearance could have orchestrated this.

I was tearing apart my office, looking for any clue, when Carlton brought the evidence that changed everything. He entered without knocking, face grave, carrying documents that made my hands shake.

“Sir, these authorizations... they’re from your mother.” His voice held the same disbelief I felt.

“That’s impossible. Check again.” The words came out strained, desperate.

“I’ve checked three times. She used her codes.

” He spread the papers across my desk. Financial records showing large withdrawals from discretionary funds.

Guard assignments bearing her elegant signature.

A rental agreement for a warehouse at the territory’s edge, signed yesterday with her personal seal.

“Where is she? Where is my mother?” But even as I asked, the pieces clicked into place. The hatred in her eyes since my confession. The way she’d called Rhea a whore, blamed her for Laziel’s death. The systematic changes Rhea had noticed while I was too distracted to investigate.

“Her rooms are empty. The staff says she left before dawn.” Carlton’s report was precise, professional, but I could see his own shock. “Sir, if she’s involved...”

“She doesn’t just want to hurt Rhea.” The realization came with crushing clarity. “She wants to destroy her. Make her disappear.”

“The warehouse?”

“Get everyone. Full tactical team. If my mother has lost her mind enough to do this, there’s no telling what else she’s planned.

” I was already moving, grabbing weapons, letting my wolf closer to the surface.

“And Carlton? Tell them we’re going in hard.

Anyone who stands between me and my mate dies. ”

“Yes, sir.”

The drive to mobilize a full response felt like hours but took minutes. Every second counted now. Rhea had been gone for at least two hours, possibly more. Long enough to be moved, to be hurt, to be... No. I couldn’t think about that. Couldn’t let the possibilities paralyze me.

My phone rang as we prepared to leave. Unknown number, but I answered anyway.

“Missing something, son?” My mother’s voice, cold and mocking.

“Where is she?”

“Gone. Where omega whores belong. You should thank me. I’m saving you from making your father’s mistakes.”

“If you hurt her, if you touch one hair on her head...”

“What? You’ll kill me like you killed your brother?” Her laugh was bitter, unhinged. “You already destroyed everything I loved. Now I’m returning the favor.”

The line went dead. But we had what we needed. The warehouse, the confirmation of her involvement, the knowledge that this was personal vengeance disguised as protection. I’d deal with the betrayal later. Right now, only Rhea mattered.

We raced through the territory in a convoy of security vehicles.

I was half shifted, claws extended, wolf barely contained beneath human skin.

The warehouse district loomed ahead, abandoned buildings like broken teeth against the morning sky.

Decay and rust filled the air, but underneath it, growing stronger with each moment, was Rhea’s scent mixed with fear and pain that made my wolf howl.

But it was what my mother was screaming that froze everyone in place.

“You think carrying his pups means something? That it makes you important? You’re nothing,” she hissed. “Even with those pups, you’re nothing. Because he isn’t even a true heir. Legally, he’s a bastard. So what does that make your little parasites?”

“He’s not even my son! He’s the bastard child of that omega whore my mate couldn’t resist!” Spittle flew from her lips, decades of hidden hatred finally erupting.

“What are you talking about?” My voice sounded strange, distant, even as I calculated angles and distances.

That is when she noticed us. She turned toward me slowly and for the first time I saw the hatred in her eyes so palpable.

“Serena! Her name was Serena! She died birthing you and I had to raise you!” The knife shook in her grip, rage making her careless. “Forced to pretend to love my husband’s bastard while my real son watched!”

“Mother...” But the word felt wrong now, hollow.

“You killed my only real child over this omega bitch, just like your father betrayed me!” She was sobbing now, tears streaming down her face. “First his whore, then her spawn, now another omega to continue the pattern!”

Carlton and his team spread out behind me, weapons drawn but waiting for my signal. Rhea’s eyes found mine across the space, and even chained, even threatened, she was trying to protect me from this truth.

“Serena was your mother,” Lucinda spat. “A healer who spread her legs for a married alpha. She died bleeding out while birthing you, and I had to take you in. Had to raise you as mine while knowing you were the proof of his betrayal.”

The world tilted, everything I thought I knew shifting. But I couldn’t process it now. Not with Rhea in danger, not with our twins’ lives hanging in the balance.

“Mother, put the knife down. Please.” I took a step forward, hands raised, trying to look non-threatening despite my partial shift.

“Don’t call me that!” She pressed the knife closer to Rhea’s throat. “I’m not your mother! I never was! You’re nothing but the bastard of a dead whore!”

“Then put the knife down for Laziel.” Desperation colored my voice. “He wouldn’t want this. You know he wouldn’t.”

“Don’t you dare speak his name!” The knife trembled against Rhea’s skin. “You took him from me! My beautiful boy, my only real child!”

“I loved him too. He was my brother.”

“No! He was MY son! Mine alone!” She was lost completely to madness now, years of resentment and fresh grief creating a perfect storm. “You want to know the truth? I helped her die. Your precious birth mother. When she hemorrhaged, I made sure help came too late.”

Horror washed through me, but I couldn’t stop to process it. Rhea made a small sound, the knife pressing hard enough to dimple skin. My wolf surged forward, ready to attack, but human logic held me back. One wrong move and she could slit Rhea’s throat before I reached them.

“That’s why you always hated me.” The pieces fell into place even as I spoke. “Why you favored Laziel. Why you could never quite look at me with love.”

“Love? You want to talk about love?” She laughed, high and broken. “I loved my son. My real son. And you killed him over another omega whore. History repeating itself.”

“Let Rhea go. This is between us.”

“No. She dies, just like your mother should have died before spreading her legs.” The knife lifted slightly, preparing for a killing stroke. “If I can’t have my son back, you won’t have your whore.”