Chapter twenty: The Scent of Trouble

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• Six-Times Rejected Freak: Claimed By The Alpha Prince   Chapter eighty eight:Tangled in the Storm

  AlinaI tried to breathe, but it felt like every inhale was dragging over broken glass. My lungs ached with the effort, and my skin felt too tight for my bones. I pressed a hand against my chest, but it did nothing to ease the storm raging inside me. I moved across the room in restless loops, my bare feet brushing against the cold floor, and I counted every step like it might anchor me somehow.Had I done the right thing?I didn’t know. Maybe I never would.Telling Damian about what happened with Rylan had seemed right in the moment. Necessary, even. I couldn’t keep that kind of danger to myself. But now, I felt like I had lit a match and tossed it into a dry forest. Everything was too quiet, too tense—as though the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for the next blow.I didn’t want to be the weakness that pulled him under. I didn’t want to be the reason he lost control. But what choice did I have? Rylan had crossed every line, and I was tired of pretending I wasn’t afraid.

• Six-Times Rejected Freak: Claimed By The Alpha Prince   Chapter eighty seven: The Smile of a Snake

  DamienThe Alpha’s expression was still stunned when I left. His mouth hung slightly open, like he hadn’t fully processed what I’d just said. Good. Let it sink in. Let it burn. He needed to understand that I wasn’t playing around anymore. Not with Rylan. Not with anyone.I barely made it past the last stair when I caught movement in the corner of my eye.Darius.He was perched on the stone wall just outside the corridor like some kind of damn gargoyle, one leg swinging, munching lazily on an apple like he didn’t have a care in the world. His presence alone made my muscles tighten.I hadn’t seen him since the night Alina was nearly attacked.And that… that left a bitter taste crawling down my throat.He was too calm. Too distant. Too quiet. And if there was one thing Darius never did, it was stay out of the way when chaos struck.He looked up, meeting my gaze.We stared at each other.Not a word. Just silence stretching between us like a drawn blade.He was the first to break it.“You

• Six-Times Rejected Freak: Claimed By The Alpha Prince   Chapter eighty six: Mine to Protect

  DamianI heard the sound before I saw her.It was sharp—either a slap or a stumble—and it tore through the quiet like thunder cracking through silence. My body moved before my mind did, my hand already on the doorknob of the office as I stepped out into the hallway.Rylan.His figure was retreating fast, his coat whipping around his legs as he disappeared around the corner like the damn coward he was.My gaze shifted immediately.Alina.She was standing in the middle of the hall, pale and shaking, her arms wrapped tightly around herself like she was trying to hold herself together.“Alina,” I said, my voice dropping to something soft, something I hadn’t even planned. I moved toward her slowly, trying not to startle her.She didn’t look at me. Didn’t blink. Didn’t speak.Her eyes were wide, distant—like she wasn’t fully here. Her breath came in shallow bursts, and I could see the effort it took for her to stay upright. My gut twisted.Something had happened. Something bad.“Talk to me,

• Six-Times Rejected Freak: Claimed By The Alpha Prince   Chapter eighty five: Heat and Thorns

  AlinaI carried the tray of food carefully, my fingers tense around the polished handles, the soft clinking of cutlery oddly loud in the corridor. The rich scent of herbs and roasted meat followed me like a trail. My steps slowed as I neared the room. The bedroom was empty. I blinked, my lips parting slightly as I stepped inside and found only silence waiting.Damian wasn’t there.The bed was untouched, the sheets smooth and undisturbed. I placed the tray down on the side table and looked around, then sighed.Should I wait?No.I didn’t feel like waiting today.Not after everything. Not after the Luna's words still echoed through my head, coiling through me like poisonous vines. I grabbed the tray again, then glanced back toward the hallway."Nira," I called, and the maid who’d been folding linen down the hall quickly approached."Yes, my lady?""Come with me. We’re taking this to Damian’s office."She nodded without hesitation, taking the tray from me with a slight bow of her head. W

• Six-Times Rejected Freak: Claimed By The Alpha Prince   Chapter eighty four: Thorns Beneath Petals

  AlinaIt had been a week since everything fell apart, then stitched itself clumsily back together. The silence in the air, the steady rhythm of waking and sleeping in Damian’s room, the shadow that trailed behind me wherever I went—it all gave the illusion of peace. Normalcy. Safety. But I could still feel the bruises, even if they no longer bloomed purple on my skin. Some wounds ran deeper than the flesh. Some aches were quieter but louder at the same time. Lingering.I felt foolish now.Foolish that I’d nearly thrown it all away because I was jealous—of Blair, of the way she lingered at the edges, always poised, always perfect. Foolish that I let my insecurities plant such dark seeds and water them with silence and suspicion. I should have known better. Damian was many things—infuriating, impulsive, impossible to read—but he had chosen me. Me, with all my flaws. And I needed to trust that.But it wasn’t the same.He hadn’t said anything, not directly. But the change in him was obvio

• Six-Times Rejected Freak: Claimed By The Alpha Prince   Chapter eighty three: Unmasking the Fire

  DamienShe blinked up at me, her eyes wide with something that looked far too much like confusion for my liking. Or maybe disbelief. Either way, it didn’t sit right with me."What the hell is this, Damien?" she asked, her voice more breath than sound.I didn’t budge. My hands stayed on the wall behind her, locking her in. My wolf snarled inside me, begging to be heard. For once, I didn’t fight it."Answer the damn question, Alina. Are you ready to hear the real me or not?"She looked away for a second, like she was trying to gather her thoughts, or maybe hold them back. Then, so quietly I almost missed it, she whispered, "I’m ready. Even though I know you're a deceptive man."I huffed out something between a chuckle and a scoff. "You're not wrong," I said as I stepped back slowly, giving her just enough space to breathe again. "Sit."She hesitated."I said, sit."She finally moved to the chair near the wall, curling into it with her hands clasped in her lap. I walked over to the door,