Rejected By Him Claimed By Another

Corinna Walker POV:

"Child, I will help you," Elder Miller's old, tired voice echoed gently in my mind through the link. "I have seen how they treat you. You've suffered more than enough. But you need to be prepared. A forced, one-sided ritual without the Alpha's consent causes devastating damage to both souls."

"I don't care about the damage anymore, Elder. I just want out," I replied silently.

I closed the Mind-Link, a sudden wave of extreme weakness washing over me. The agonizing backlash from tearing the bond, combined with the mental exertion of defying my Alpha, made my steps unsteady. But my determination was like steel.

I walked directly toward the main entrance of the grand manor. I couldn't stand to breathe the same air as Jerrod and Geri for another second.

Just as my hand touched the heavy, ornate brass handle of the front door, a powerful, brutal force gripped my upper arm from behind, spinning me around violently.

I stumbled and turned to see Jerrod. He had followed me out of the study. His face was a thunderous, terrifying mask of fury, his eyes burning with the severe insult I had just dealt his massive ego.

"You contacted Miller?" he growled, his voice low and incredibly tight, each word ground out from between his clenched teeth. "Are you completely out of your mind, Corinna?"

I tried to pull away, but his grip was like a vice of solid iron, bruising my skin. "Let go of me, Jerrod! You don't love me, you despise everything about me, but you refuse to let me go. You're sick! You just want a punching bag to make Geri look better!"

"I am your Alpha! You do not get to leave me! You do not get to make decisions for this Pack!" he roared, his patience completely evaporating. He truly, arrogantly believed I was just throwing a massive, jealous temper tantrum over seeing him with Geri. "Corinna, I command you..."

A silent, blaring alarm screamed in my head. The Alpha's Command. A terrifying, ancient power that used superior Alpha genetics to mentally and physically dominate lower-ranking wolves.

My body instinctively wanted to submit. My legs felt like they were turning to jelly, moving on their own to bow before him. My inner wolf howled in my mind, fighting desperately against the crushing, suffocating force trying to force us to our knees.

"...to go back to your room right now, lock the door, and never speak of this ridiculous divorce again!" he finished his command, his eyes blazing with absolute, undeniable authority.

I bit my lower lip, hard. The sharp, piercing pain brought a sliver of clarity through the mental fog. I tasted warm copper on my tongue. I used every single ounce of strength I had left in my exhausted body to fight the power that was trying to grind my free will into dust.

I was not just some weak, useless Omega. I was a veterinarian. I ran a small, severely underfunded sanctuary on the rough edge of the territory, dedicating my life to healing ordinary animals and the 'wolfless', those unfortunate members of our kind who couldn't shift and were treated as worthless outcasts by arrogant pricks like Jerrod. I saved lives every single day. I saw death and fought it. I was strong. I would not let this arrogant, cheating man destroy my life and my dignity anymore.

Cold sweat dripped down my forehead, soaking my hairline, but I stood my ground. My body trembled violently, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane from the sheer, agonizing effort of resisting his bloodline command, but I didn't move a single inch backward.

A flicker of genuine, profound shock crossed Jerrod's dark eyes. He hadn't expected a supposedly weak, submissive Omega to resist his direct command to this degree. It was physically impossible for someone of my rank.

With a final, desperate surge of willpower that felt like tearing my own muscles apart, I ripped my arm from his slightly loosened, stunned grasp.

"Your commands mean absolutely nothing to me anymore," I spat, my breathing ragged and heavy, but my eyes cold as ice. "Keep your fake Luna. You two deserve each other."

I turned and pushed open the heavy double doors, stepping out into the freezing, liberating night air. Each step I took was heavy, painful, but incredibly firm, walking in the complete opposite direction of his tyrannical command.

Jerrod didn't stop me this time. He didn't reach out. He just stood frozen in the doorway, watching me leave, his expression a complex, turbulent mix of anger, deep confusion, and a severely bruised ego. He still thought I would come crawling back when I realized I had nothing.

I didn't go to the empty, cold marital house. I walked aimlessly through the dark, winding streets of the Pack territory, my feet eventually carrying me to my only true safe haven, my small veterinary sanctuary.

Tonight, the narrow, uncomfortable cot in the back office was the only bed I had, but for the first time in five years, I felt like I could finally breathe.