Chapter Five: Rejected by Destiny
Faith hadn’t expected the warmth in David’s arms to feel like home.
After what happened at the training grounds — after witnessing the beast within him and taming it with nothing but her presence — everything inside her had shifted. She didn’t know what it meant yet, but her soul did. Her wolf did.
He hadn’t marked her. Not officially.
But in every way that mattered, she was already his.
Now, the morning sun poured through the windows of the estate, golden and soft. She lay beneath the sheets, fully clothed, but her heart still raced with the memory of his kiss. The possessiveness in his touch. The way his voice cracked when he called her mine.
David stood by the window, shirtless, his back to her.
Scarred. Strong. Silent.
She sat up. “David…”
He didn’t turn around.
Instead, he said, “You need to know something.”
Faith’s heart thudded.
“I was promised to Divine before I even turned eighteen,” he said flatly. “It was arranged by my parents and hers. Politics. Power. Two strong bloodlines merging.”
She swallowed. “But you didn’t go through with it.”
He turned now, eyes shadowed. “Because the beast in me never wanted her. Even before I knew you existed, something in me recoiled at the thought of her. But she’s not the kind of woman who accepts rejection.”
Faith looked down, fingers tightening around the bedsheet.
“I understand,” she said quietly.
He nodded once.
Faith’s stomach twisted.
“She knows about me now.”
“Yes, and she knows I’ve claimed you.” David walked over to her, kneeling in front of the bed. “And I want to protect you.”
She met his eyes, soft but steady. “I don’t want protection. I want truth.”
David’s jaw clenched. “Then you should know Divine went to the Council this morning. She’s claiming breach of bond. She’s using her father’s influence to challenge the legitimacy of my claim.”
“What does that mean for us?”
“It means they could nullify my right to choose you.”
Faith froze.
“But you didn’t mate her.”
“I didn’t,” he confirmed. “But under Pack Law, a formal agreement is binding until broken with ceremony or Council approval.”
“So what happens now?”
His hand reached for hers, thumb tracing her knuckles.
“There will be a hearing. A challenge. And Divine will fight to have you removed from my side.”
Faith pulled her hand back slowly, heart twisting. “Because I was never supposed to be yours.”
“No,” he growled, voice rough with emotion, “you were always meant to be mine. Even if fate tried to write a different story.”
A knock slammed against the door.
One of the betas entered without waiting. “Alpha, the Council is summoning you now. Divine’s already there.”
David stood, fury tightening every muscle in his body. “Tell them I’m on my way.”
The beta paused, eyes flicking to Faith with a glimmer of sympathy before leaving.
Faith stood as well, brushing her tangled hair away from her face. “I’ll go with you.”
“No.” David stepped in front of her. “They won’t allow you inside.”
She stared at him. “So I wait in the dark while they decide whether I’m worthy of being your mate?”
His silence was enough answer.
Faith’s voice cracked. “I thought you said you’d fight for me.”
He stepped close, cupping her cheek. “I’ll tear the Council apart if I have to. But I won’t risk them using you as leverage. This isn’t just politics anymore — it’s blood. And if Divine can’t win through words, she’ll use claws.”
Faith nodded, tears burning the edges of her eyes. “Then go and come back to me.”
He kissed her forehead. “Always.”
When he left, the room felt colder.
The council chamber was a towering stone structure nestled deep in Rainfall’s sacred grounds. It smelled of incense, history, and tension.
David entered wearing his Alpha mark, eyes sharp, jaw set. Across the long stone table sat the elders, and beside them was Divine.
She was beautiful as always.
But it was the kind of beauty that could cut.
Golden hair, lips painted deep crimson, and a glint in her eyes that warned she didn’t lose. Not without dragging someone down with her.
“Alpha David,” one elder began, “you stand accused of violating a blood agreement between your house and the family of Divine Orell. How do you respond?”
“I broke no bond,” he said coldly. “I never mated her and I never marked her.”
“But you promised her before witnesses,” Divine cut in, voice smooth like venom. “You even wore the ceremonial cuffs.”
David’s eyes darkened. “The cuffs were burned. The promise voided by rejection.”
One of the elders leaned forward. “Then present Faith, the woman you’ve claimed. Declare her before us, and let fate be tested.”
David hesitated.
“I can’t,” he said lowly.
Divine smiled, victorious. “Because she’s not truly yours. Because this claim is a convenient way to run from your duty.”
David’s beast stirred.
“I claimed someone who made my wolf kneel,” he growled. “She’s real. She’s mine.”
“Then bring her forward,” Divine snapped. “Let the Pack see the omega who stole you from destiny.”
David stood straighter. “I didn’t choose her to spite fate. I chose her because fate made a mistake.”
Murmurs rippled through the council.
“You would deny your destiny?” an elder asked sharply.
David’s voice dropped, deadly calm. “I would reject it.”
Back at the estate, Faith felt the echo of his words through the bond.
Warm. Fierce. Unshakable.
She stood at the window again, hands trembling.
If David lost… she wouldn’t just be cast out.
She’d be hunted.
Rejected by fate. Rejected by law. Rejected by everything.
But her wolf didn’t waver.
Because no matter what the world said, she had already chosen him.
And deep within her, a silent voice rose:
Let them try to tear us apart. I dare them.