Chapter 38 – Rejected For My Brother

(Luca's perspective)

I stormed out away from them, my chest tight and my mind reeling. The air felt cooler, sharper, but it didn't help. Nothing helped. I could still feel Quinn's rejection like a knife in my gut, twisting deeper with every breath. She chose Ethan. Over me.

My hands clenched into fists, my nails biting into my palms as I walked faster, each step slamming into the ground like I could somehow outrun this. Outrun the bond. The stupid bond. How could she just turn her back on it like that? Did she really think it would be that easy?

I could still feel her. Every part of me was connected to her, like an invisible thread tying us together, even now. And she was with him—holding his hand, choosing him. My jaw clenched tighter. The thought of her standing there with Ethan, after everything, was enough to drive me insane.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The bond was supposed to bring us together, to make her see. But instead, it was tearing me apart. And worse—she wasn't fighting it. She wasn't feeling what I was feeling. Or maybe she was, but she was just better at ignoring it. Either way, it didn't matter. She still picked him. She picked the guy who had been safe, who had made her laugh, who had been there for her family.

What had I done?

I'd tried to push her away. I'd treated her like shit. Humiliated her. Tried to make her hate me. And now, she did.

The worst part? It worked.

I shoved my way through the woods, the branches snapping under my feet, the trees closing in around me. It was like the world was suffocating me, closing in tighter with every step I took. I could feel my wolf prowling under the surface, restless, angry, desperate for a way out.

I wanted to shift. I wanted to run. To lose myself in the wild and forget everything—forget her. But even if I did, the bond wouldn't let me. No matter how far I went, no matter how hard I tried, she was always there. Always in the back of my mind, like a constant ache I couldn't get rid of.

I ran through the woods so fast that everything around me was a blur, my hands balled into fists so tight my knuckles cracked. I needed air. Space. Something to drown out the noise in my head. Quinn's voice, her goddamn face when she said those words, kept replaying like a broken record.

"I choose you, Ethan."

I choose you, Ethan.

It felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it. But this wasn't just pain—it was fury. Pure, unfiltered anger. She didn't even know what she was doing, what rejecting the bond would cost her. What it would cost me.

I suddenly found myself at my family home realising that I ran 20 miles in under five minutes. I couldn't get inside – not yet. I needed the cool air so I walked to the back. The sky was dark, clouds hanging low, and the moon barely shone through them. The air hit my hot face, but it did nothing to calm me down.

I stood by the wall with my hands on the cold brick, attempting to control my breath. My body seemed to be engulfed in flames, with each muscle strained to its limit, on the verge of breaking. I could sense the wolf scratching at the surface, begging to be set free, but I couldn't give in. Not now.

Not after what just happened.

I punched the wall—hard. The pain shot through my fist, grounding me for a split second, but it wasn't enough. Nothing was going to be enough to take the edge off this.

Quinn was mine.

I knew it. She knew it. No matter what she said, no matter how hard she tried to fight it, the bond wasn't something you could just walk away from. It wasn't a choice. And the more she resisted it, the more dangerous things would become.

The bond didn't like being ignored. And neither did I.

I pushed away from the wall and started pacing, my mind racing a million miles an hour. I could feel the energy buzzing in my veins, the bond pulling me back toward her. The worst part was, I knew she felt it too, she might have been standing next to Ethan, pretending everything was fine, but I knew deep down, she couldn't fucking escape it any more than I could. Fuck!

My fingers ran through my hair as I tried to figure out my next move. What the hell was I supposed to do now? She made her choice, but if she thinks I will stand by and watch, she's got another thing coming. Not when this connection between us was tearing me apart from the inside. I could openly reject her in front of the next moon which would sever our connection forever but that makes a wolf weaker and if we are not destined to meet a second mate, which was very rare - I would not be fit to be an Alpha. For the safety of my clan, I would have to give up my title. No. I cant. I won't!

And yet, no matter how much I wanted to march back in there and tear Ethan apart for stealing her away, I couldn't. Because deep down, a part of me knew that this wasn't his fault. It was the bond. This damned bond that tied us together, making everything messy, complicated. Without it, maybe she would've chosen him anyway. Maybe this whole thing would've been simpler.

But that wasn't our reality, was it?

I let out a low growl, unable to hold it back any longer. The wolf in me was getting louder, angrier, and I was running out of time to keep him under control. If I didn't calm down soon, I'd shift right here, right now, and that would make things a hundred times worse.

I slammed my fist against the wall again, feeling the bricks crack under the force. My knuckles were raw, blood starting to drip down my hand, but the pain was nothing compared to the ache in my chest. The bond wouldn't let me move on. It wouldn't let me forget.

I couldn't just let her go.

All of a sudden, I sensed someone or something behind me. I didn't have to look back to recognize the person. The smell was recognizable—it was Marcus. My closest companion, my brother in every way that counted. Certainly, he would find me here, moping like a kicked dog - which wasn't too far from the truth.

"Luca," his voice was low, cautious. "You need to get your head on straight."

I didn't turn to face him. I couldn't. I was barely keeping it together as it was, and the last thing I needed right now was his pity.

"You don't get it," I muttered, my voice strained.

"I do," he said, stepping closer. "You think I don't know what it's like? Watching you fight this, watching you tear yourself apart over her… man, I've seen it before. I know how it ends."

I clenched my jaw. "Don't."

"Luca, you're gonna lose it if you keep pushing like this. You're already unraveling."

He wasn't wrong. I could feel it—the thread of control I had left was dangerously thin. But what the hell was I supposed to do? Sit back and pretend everything was fine? Pretend like I didn't care?

"She's mine," I ground out through clenched teeth, my voice barely recognizable.

Marcus was silent for a moment, and then I felt his hand on my shoulder. "Maybe. But right now, she's chosen someone else. You need to respect that."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, but I knew he was right. Quinn had made her choice, and whether I liked it or not, I couldn't force her to see what I felt, what this bond meant.

But that didn't mean I was giving up.

I shook off Marcus's hand and took a step forward, my fists still clenched. "I'll respect it. For now. But this isn't over."

Marcus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Man, you need to let it go before it destroys you."

"I can't," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I can't let her go."

The bond was too strong. The pull too deep. Even if I wanted to, even if I tried, it wouldn't let me.

Marcus didn't say anything else. He didn't have to. We both knew how this would end. But for now, I had to walk away. For her sake. For his sake. But I wasn't finished. Not by a long shot.

As I stalked off into the night, the only thing I could think was that Quinn had made the wrong choice. And soon, she'd realize it too.