REJECTED AND REDEEMED

Chapter 2: BRUTALLY REJECTED. Hazel panted hard. She was running through the dense forest, her feet pounding the earth, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She kept running, her heart racing with fear. Every few seconds, she'd turn back, and there they'd be - three black wolves, their eyes fixed on her, their pace relentless. She ran faster, her legs burning, but the wolves kept pace. She burst through the trees, crossing the border of her pack's territory, but she didn't stop. She kept running, the trees blurring together as she sprinted on. But no matter how far she ran, the wolves were always there, their eyes glowing in the darkness. Hazel's fear grew; she knew that if she were caught, that would be the end of her, her breath coming in panicked gasps. She couldn't shake them. Finally, she stumbled into a clearing, and her heart sank. Four bigger wolves stood in front of her, their eyes fixed on her, their bodies tense. Hazel panicked and spun around, trying to dodge, but it wa

Chapter 4: THE NEW. Hazel woke up tired. Not the bone-deep exhaustion of a slave who had worked past breaking, but the sluggish, heavy-limbed drowsiness of someone who had slept too long. The kind of sleep that left you more disoriented than rested. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept without someone pouring a bucket of cold water over her head to yank her back to duty. The absence of that shock was almost unsettling. She sat up slowly, blinking at the room. She still couldn't wrap her head around it. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, her bare feet sinking into a carpet so plush it felt like walking on clouds. The window caught her attention. She crossed the room, her heart beating a little faster with a feeling she barely recognized: anticipation. She pulled the curtains open and…. Oh! It was night. She pressed her palm against the cool glass, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself. This feels like a dream. But the longer she stood there

Chapter 6: THE JOURNAL.The castle corridor stretched endlessly before Caden as he made his way towards the dungeon. Two guards flanked him, their boots echoing against the floor in rhythmic thumps. “Check the eastern border first”, Caden ordered “ the guards who brought in the rogue are stationed there, ask them to bring me the keys to his cell.” One guard nodded and peeled away with a curt “yes,beta” as he vanished through a bend. Caden continued towards the dungeons, but his mind wandered elsewhere, back to the girl with amber eyes and ginger hair. He had seen the way Arden's hands trembled slightly when he returned from her room. His friend could pretend all he wanted, but he knew him too well. That man is struggling . Caden thought with a smirk. She definitely has a strong effect on him, he just doesn't know it yet.………… Hazel sat cross-legged on the massive bed, staring at the ornate ceiling above her, the room was easily thrice the size of her dingy cell she had

Chapter 8: THE DREAM.The west kingdom in silver fire or prophecy, it fell in the dark. Quiet. Choking on its own courtesies.A palace of white. Moonlit waterfalls. Ruled by Luna queens, women who carried fire in their veins but chose control over chaos. Direct descendants of the look Goddess. The purest bloodline left in any territory. And Hazel watched them die. She stood in a corridor she had never seen, but her feet knew the cold stone. Wolves in west kingdom armor turned on each other. No battles cries. Just wet, efficient slaughter. Blood slicked the floors. The air stank of burning hair and iron.Her mother.Liora looked like Hazel would in twenty years, same ginger hair, same amber eyes but carved thinner by exhaustion. Fury held her upright. One hand pressed to her stomach.She had given birth hours ago. "You don't have to do this," a man pleaded. His blade dripped red. "Just walk away. We will tell the kingdom you died in childbirth. No one has to know you ran." Lio

Chapter 10: THE MESSAGE.Hazel ran.She didn't care that she didn't know the castle's layout. Didn't care that she was wearing a thin night gown she didn't care she was walking barefooted. Didn't care about the people who stared at her as she flew past them like a woman possessed , feral , desperate.Lucas . Lucas . Lucas.The name pounded in her head with every heartbeat. He was the only one who had ever shown her kindness . The only one who had slipped blankets to her when hers was seized, who sneaked food to her so she won't starve to death in the dark. She burst through the infirmary doors so hard they slammed against the store walls as it echoed through the corridors. " Where is he?!"Her voice wasn't her own, it was raw, shredded and hoarse from the impact of her burning airways. Caden stood behind a bed in the corner, his face grim. He stepped aside when he saw her, revealing the broken body lying on the blood soaked sheets.Hazel's knees buckled, she caught herself on