Rejected and Pregnant Claimed By The Dark Alpha Prince novel Chapter 671

Chapter 671: Accept my rejection

At first, Jeniva considered weaving another lie, but the liquor made her tell the truth.

"Yes," she whispered, her gaze dropping to her boots. "I know."

"When did you find out?" Dominick’s voice was a defensive reflex. He didn’t wait for her to answer, waving a gloved hand dismissively. "Never mind. It doesn’t change anything. We’ll go through the formal rejection once you’re sober enough to stand."

"I am sober," Jeniva countered, snapping her head up to meet his eyes. The vulnerability was gone and was replaced by a clarity. "I’ve never encountered a scent like yours. But don’t mistake my recognition for a request. I don’t want you to accept me. The difference between a Prince and someone like me is too vast, and you’ve made it clear you already despise me. I am perfectly ready for the rejection."

Dominick’s fingers curled into his palms, his jaw tightening so hard a muscle pulsed in his cheek. "I am done with the fairy tale of love, Jeniva. I told you I was played for a fool once. Do you think I have the strength to survive another heartbreak? You couldn’t possibly understand the weight of that kind of betrayal."

"You judge me so easily, Prince Dominick," she said, her voice trembling with a hurt. "You think you’re the only one with scars? I was rejected by my first mate the very day I turned eighteen. He was a high-ranking Alpha, the kind of man who thought he owned the world. Because I was poor, because I was ’worthless’ of his status, he rejected me in front of a hundred students. He turned our bond into a public joke."

Dominick went rigid, his breath hitching in the freezing air. "He couldn’t have loved you," he murmured, his voice losing its edge. "If the Moon Goddess chose you as mates..."

"He was my friend," Jeniva cut him off. "I trusted him until the moment he ridiculed me for even dreaming of standing beside an Alpha like him. So, don’t lecture me on heartbreak. I hate the idea of falling in love just as much as you do."

Dominick’s brow furrowed, his expression hardening into a mask of grim determination. "Then there is no reason to delay. We can reject each other now and be done with it."

"Yes. I’m ready," Jeniva said, her voice remarkably steady despite the flush on her cheeks.

’Don’t do that,’ a low, gravelly snarl echoed in the back of Dominick’s mind. It was Black, his wolf. Usually, Black remained a silent observer of Dominick’s cynicism, but now, the wolf was pacing behind his ribs, restless and agitated.

’Why?’ Dominick argued internally. ’There is no meaning in accepting a mate when we both know how this ends. Neither of us has healed. We are both haunted by betrayals. Why would we tether ourselves to more potential pain?’

Black didn’t offer a logical rebuttal; he simply bared his teeth in a warning.

"I, Jeniva, reject you, Prince Dominick, as my mate."

While Dominick was still locked in a silent battle with his wolf, Jeniva had taken the lead.

Dominick stared at her in total bewilderment, his heart hammering against his chest. According to tradition and the rank he held, the Alpha Prince was supposed to initiate the separation. He was the one who had spent the evening brooding over rejection, yet here she was, this woman discarded him before he could even find his voice.

A sharp, searing pain flared in his chest, the bond beginning to fray at her command. Black let out a mournful howl that vibrated in Dominick’s throat.

"You..." Dominick breathed, his eyes wide. "You didn’t even wait for me to speak."

"Why should I have?" Jeniva gritted her teeth. "Accept my rejection, Prince Dominick. End this."

Dominick felt Black retreating into the darkest corners of his mind, the wolf whimpering in a way that made Dominick’s own chest feel hollow. Fighting against every instinct that told him to pull her close and mend the fracture, he forced the words out through a tight throat.

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