Pregnant And Rejected By My Alpha Mate By Caroline Above Chapter 51


    Bastien’s POV


    Arabe is the one who set the fire that was supposed to have killed me.


    A few years ago I would have thought Selene was out of her mind for suggesting such a thing. Before


    the fire, Arabe seemed like the same vapid teenager I’d always known: Vain, self-centered and far


    too used to getting her own way. Dad and I spoiled her after Flynn died, letting her get away with


    murder out of misced guilt and convincing ourselves her antics were harmless.


    In some ways it served us right to be manipted by her – if we were foolish enough to buy the act


    when she batted hershes and yed the delicate flower, well, that’s on us, not her. And though I was


    always aware the innocent act was just that an act I never imagined Arabe was concealing anything


    truly malicious.


    | underestimated her desire for power, as well as her ego and cunning. She’d always been intelligent,


    but I hoped she would put her talents to a more noble use than social climbing. For a time I was even


    hopeful she would live up to my high expectations. When Selene was alive Arabe was always there


    for me when I needed a shoulder to lean on or ear to bend, she always understood my perspective and


    empathized with my struggles.


    I didn’t want anyone’s pity or sympathy after Selene died, and Arabe’s repeated attempts to provide it


    anyway slowly twisted and mutated into something much darker. Rather than affording me the me I


    so clearly deserved for my mate’s demise, she ced the responsibility on Selene – nevering out


    and saying so directly, but always implying, always insinuating. Eventually Arabe began criticizing


    Selene outright, ignoring my outraged rebukes every time.


    When she finally colluded with the Elder Council to engineer a marriage between us, her machinations


    came fully into the light, breaking thest straw on the camel’s back. Over the years our rtionship


    disintegrated further and further, until it became nothing more than a shadow of the friendship I once


    believed we shared. No matter how many times I tried to make headway or repair the damage,


    Arabe jumped at every opportunity she saw to try and insinuate herself into the role of my mate –


    unraveling whatever progress or hope I’d managed to scrape together.


    It has be only too clear that Arabe wants to lead the pack regardless of who she must cross or


    charm, and though I still don’ t want to believe the little girl I grew up with could be capable of such evil,


    I’ve seen too much of the world to think my mate’s usations’ impossible.


    Arabe set the fire? I repeat gruffly.


    Whatever Selene expected, it clearly wasn’t belief. She takes an uncertain step back and for a moment


    I think she’s actually going to answer, but then she pauses, seeming to remember her leverage. I’m not


    answering any more questions until you take me back to L.


    As much as I want to hold onto my own advantage, I can’t put off such important answers. Let’s go. I


    order, setting off at a trot.


    Selene follows closely on my tail, huffing indignantly every time I slow my pace for her sake, and


    comining every time I stop for a seemingly unnecessary break. I’m as impatient as she is to get


    back, but while she might be willing to push herself past her limits to reach her pup, even her answers


    are not sufficient enticement for me to risk my mate’s health.


    Aiden and Donavon are waiting at the safehouse when we return. The secluded space has been


    cleaned since we left, and L is happily ying in the front garden when we reach the edge of the


    wood. It takes a few minutes to help Selene shift back into her human form, but once her whimpers


    have quieted and her lovely skin has been wrapped up in warm clothes once more, there is nothing left


    to stop her reuniting with her pup.


    L seems mildly oblivious to her mother’s heightened emotion as Selene smothers her with hugs and


    kisses, but I feel my mate’s relief and outpouring of love as if it is my own. I want nothing more than to


    join them and offer my own affection, but the moment I take a step forward Selene bares her fangs in


    my direction, shielding L from me with her small body.


    The corner of my mouth twitches, I’ve always loved seeing Selene’s fleeting shes of ferocity. They


    were utter rarities during our marriage, but never failed to remind me of a grumpy kitten. Even now,


    when I know her aggression is real, I can’t help but find it adorable.


    L babbles away, filling in Selene about her night with my Betas, and we move into the house while


    Aiden and Donavon set up a perimeter outside. As impatient as I am for answers, I discover that I don’t


    mind waiting to finish my conversation with Selene, not when watching her interact with her daughter is


    so fascinating.


    She gives L her full attention, intently listening to every word out of the pups mouth and asking eager


    questions, all the while


    keeping me locked in her periphery. When L’s focus shifts to me, her lips stretching in a wide, toothy


    grin and her bright eyes lighting up with excitement, Selene res at me over the child’s head.


    She reluctantly lets L tottle to me, and I scoop up the precious being with gentle hands, “Hello pup.


    Did you have fun with Uncle Aiden and Uncle Donavon?”


    Selene snarls at the sound of the nicknames, but L doesn’t notice. The child nods happily, “We went


    in da car!”


    “She loves the car.” Selene shares, watching us closely. “There’s not much space for them in


    Asphodel.”


    “Well if youe to Elysium you can ride in the car every day.” I divulge conspiratorially


    Color floods Selene’s cheeks even as L squeaks with excitement, but I can’t bring myself to feel


    guilty. I don’t care how dirty! have to y I’m going to get my mate back.


    “How dare you!” Selene plucks L from my grasp, furiously muttering, “We aren’t going anywhere near


    Elysium.”


    “I beg to differ.” I drawl. “You clearly aren’t safe here, and I’ve yet to hear your usations about


    Arabe. So at the moment Elysium seems like the best option.”


    Selene looks angry enough to scream, though she keeps her cool. “First of all, it isn’t your decision


    regardless of where the danger is greatest.” Then, ignoring my foreboding rumble, she adds, “And


    Arabe is guilty of everything I told you and more.”


    “So tell me, Selene.” I encourage firmly, nodding to the child in her arms, “I kept my end of the bargain.”


    Muttering mutinously, Selene sets L on the floor in front of one of her toys, before returning to the


    kitchen and ring at me head on. “The night of the fire, Arabe turned up as soon as Odette left the


    cabin. She’d clearly been watching and she told me her actions were my own fault for not leaving when


    she originally told me to. Then she locked me in the closet and lit the match.”


    prowl forward, sending out enough sinister energy to keep my deceitful little mate on her toes, to keep


    her honest. “When did she originally tell you to leave?”


    “I was always nning on leaving after the rejection ceremony.“ Selene replies guilelessly, “But I


    started to second guess myself after she tried to push me down the stairs at the hospital – the only


    reason she went down was because she lost her footing.”


    The words slice into me like a knife. Could I really have been so oblivious to what was happening under


    my own nose? The memory of Arabe wailing on the hospital gurney appears in my mind’s eye,


    closely followed by the image of Selene cowering in the cabin, eyeing me as if I was her executioner.


    She knew Arabe had med her for the fall, and she assumed I would take the other woman’s side


    over her own.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    “So when we spoke at the jewelry store she made it abundantly clear that she would kill me if I didn’t go


    through with my ns.” Selene continues sulkily. “But Gabriel’s death made that impossible… I couldn’t


    go through with it. So she made me. She proved she was good for her word.”


    “If this is all true,” I begin rigidly, “why in the Goddess’s name didn’t you tell me?!” My temper is a roiling


    tempest in my chest, how could she have kept such things from me.


    “Because you picked her!” Selene cries, “You chose her over me, time and again.”


    “Never.” I insist. “I never once chose her over you!” She opens her mouth to object but I hold up my


    hand, forestalling her words. “I can’t take back what happened in the past, Selene. I’m sorry I made you


    feel like you weren’t my choice because you always, always were.” I vow. “I didn’t have any idea what


    Arabe was up to. I had no idea she was capable of such things or had any intentions for me until long


    after I thought you were dead.” I admit with chagrin.


    “I never wanted to hurt you, and I never imagined she was telling you all those lies.” I catch my mate’s


    hands in my own. “Please believe me, little wolf.” I beg, “Because I believe you – and I will make


    Arabe pay for her crimes.”


    “I don’t believe you.” Selene shakes her head, lowering her voice so that L won’t overhear her harsh


    tone. “You had a thousand chances to make the right decision in the past, and you wasted all of them.”


    She hisses. “You don’t get anymore.” Her two-toned eyes are hard as stone, her silky voice rough and


    callous. “My daughter is staying with her father, and I’m staying with her. Go back to Elysium, and


    forget about us.” Selene orders, “With any luck – We’ll never see each other again.“