Chapter 128 REJECTION?
SEBASTIAN'S POV
Alpha Ragnar's scent is wrapped around this Alpha Lance in front of me like something freshly worn.
It's not supposed to stick this close to him unless…
Unless–
My chest tightens.
There's only one way something like this can be, what's his relationship with Ragnar?
No.
No.
That doesn’t make sense, it can’t be.
I'm his mate!
I'm Ragnar's mate right?
So why would he do that to me?
My thoughts cut off sharply as Lance pauses just behind me and close enough that I can still feel his presence.
“You should go in,” he says lightly. “He’s waiting for you.”
There’s something in his tone that almost sounds like amusement.
But I don’t respond to this subtle provocation of his.
I don't even know who he is.
I can’t even think of anything to say because my mind is still stuck on that scent he's carrying.
I'm still trying to make sense of something that refuses to make sense to me.
After a moment, he continues walking off with a chuckle leaving me still spiraling.
And just like that, he’s gone.
My gaze lingers on the empty hallway for a second longer before I finally turn toward Ragnar’s office door.
I'm here.
My hand lifts but pauses just inches from the handle after a moment of hesitation because all of a sudden this doesn’t feel as simple as it should.
Or is that Alpha the one Ragnar wants to choose after he rejects me?
The door creaks softly as I push it open and the scent of Ragnar hits me instantly.
It's stronger and heavier here compared to the hallways.
Even with him restraining himself, I could still feel to some extent, the weight of his power and authority.
It fits him too well.
I step inside quietly, closing the door behind me as my eyes adjust to the much dimmer light in the office.
And then I see him.
Ragnar sits behind a wide desk, half-buried under a pile of documents, scrolls, and what looks like a mess of reports stacked carelessly on top of each other.
It looks like he's pretty busy.
His sleeves are rolled slightly at his elbows with his posture rigid and focused.
This is a very different Ragnar.
This is not the Ragnar I’ve seen before or during heated moments.
This is… this is an Alpha.
The realization settles heavily in my chest reminding me of another reason we would not be suited for each other.
He looks up to see me and for the first time since I’ve known him, he looks… surprised.
“What are you doing here?” he asks with confusion.
The question hits me completely wrong.
What did he mean by that?
He's the one that asked me to come here.
I frown with confusion rising instantly in me.
Did I make a mistake?
Or was I hallucinating?
“You called me here,” I say slowly. “You said we needed to talk.”
For a moment, he freezes in shock and disbelief.
His gaze goes distant and blank like something just… slipped.
And then under his breath I eat him murmur something so quick I almost miss it.
“Stupid… Yurik.”
I still as my hearing catches it immediately.
“Yurik.”
That's Ragnar's wolf.
Did Ragnar's wolf somehow manage to bypass him and summon me without Ragnar finding out?
I don’t press it, not now.
I have bigger fish to fry.
Instead, I give a small nod, brushing past it like it’s nothing.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say quietly. “We need to talk anyway.”
Ragnar says nothing to that as his gaze lingers on me for a second longer before he exhales slowly, leaning back slightly in his chair.
“Sit,” he says, pointing to a chair.
“I’ll attend to you in a moment.”
There’s a pause before he adds or more thing.
“This isn’t the right place for that conversation.”
That conversation. My chest tightens slightly in hesitation but I nod anyway.
“Alright.”
I move to the chair across from him and sit down quietly.
If this conversation of ours is dragged for another hour, I feel like I would combust.
My nerves are scrambling for answers to questions I've not even been asked.
And then, I wait.
The silence is stretching into something that's playing tricks in my mind but I sit still not betraying what my mental state looks like.
The room is heavy with tension from me and is filled only by the faint scratch of parchment and the occasional shift of paper as Ragnar returns to whatever he was doing before I walked in.
But I’m not really paying attention to all of that.
My mind is a mess trying to decipher Ragnar's decision from his mood.
This is wrong, everything about this is wrong.
This isn’t how this is supposed to go.
If Ragnar, if he cared–
If there was anything between us that he wanted–
He would be angry and furious.
He would be demanding answers as to what I played along with in the market square
Why did I accept another Alpha’s claim?
Why didn’t I fight it?
Why didn’t I reject it immediately?
That’s what he should be doing. He should be furious and shouting out questions for me.
But he’s not.
Instead he’s calm and silent about it all.
And that silence of his says more than any anger could.
My hands tighten slightly in my lap.
Judging from the earlier scent fiasco in the hall and his surprised expression to seeing me, there’s only one explanation that makes sense.
He’s done with me.
The thought hits hard before cold in my chest.
The reason he's being civil and calm about everything, even wanting us to not have our conversation in public is because he wants to reject me.
Of course he does, I mean why wouldn’t he?
I embarrassed him publicly in front of everyone, I let another Alpha claim me like it meant nothing.
My chest tightens painfully.
It would be an insult to his name if we came out to clarify the confusion later on.
This is it.
This is where it ends.
And somehow, the thought that he'll leave me for another wolf, that hurts more than I expected.