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017 | History Repeating Itself
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2023-10-31 23:36:53
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The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 018 | Zoe Talks
Auroraโs POVEven after scrubbing my skin raw in a boiling hot shower, I could still feel Ethanโs hands on me. Worst of all? I didnโt hate that feeling as much as I wanted to.I checked on Sammy โ sound asleep, thank goodness โ before texting Zoe.I need to talk to you.Come up to my office, she replied immediately. Another one came through straight after; Zoe texted the way she talked. Everything okay?Iโll explain in person, I sent back.Sure, babe. Just tell me one thing: is this a tea or wine level emergency?I bit my lip, then typed: Wine.Our friendship felt the way it always had. I realised I was smiling to myself, despite everything. โI hope youโre right,โ I muttered to Violet.โI always am. What about in this instance, though?โI pulled a face at her, but my heart was too full after Zoeโs warm familiarity to really tease her. โThat Zoe is still my friend.โMy brain was in a daze as I crossed the grounds to the pack house. I realised how silly Iโd been to sneak over before; n
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-02The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 019 | Liar, Liar
Zoeโs POVI didnโt know why I lied to Aurora. It just came out. She looked so crestfallen over my dallying with Ethan that I had to soothe the ache somehow.So maybe I did know why I lied. It didnโt make doing it any easier.But looking at her now, I knew I could never tell her the truth about us. The real truth.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Auroraโs POVโHe what?โ I gaped at her, sure Iโd heard her wrong. Ethan had left me for Selene. Now he regretted that?Good. He deserved to hurt after everything heโd put me through. Grim satisfaction swept through me. โHe loved Selene, before you. When youโฆ left, and he married her, he realised she was nothing compared to you.โ Zoe seemed to find her stride; now sheโd opened up, it all seemed to spill out of her. โShe wasnโt the woman he remembered her to be. You, though? Youโd never tried to be anything you werenโt.โโSo โ what? Heโs gone off her because she tries to b
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-03The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 20 | Ethan Knows
Auroraโs POV โHello, Aria.โ His smile was dazzling enough to set my heart pounding โ but it didnโt, because I hated him. Before I could say a word, he added, โHave dinner with me?โHe looked well today. Too well. Too well to have been as sick as heโd claimed the night before. Grinding my jaw, I ignored his offer and instead said, โYou seem better.โโIt was just a bout of man flu.โโOh. Right.โโNow โ about that dinner?โI looked everywhere but at him. I looked at the trees swaying softly and the dim light coming from his guest room and the wooden planks of the steps. I looked at the autumnal wreath and counted every maple leaf in it โ only four, darn it โ and then, finally, when he cleared his throat pointedly, I forced myself to meet his eyes.It was a knife to the gut. In the dark his eyes looked black and bottomless, like a clear lake under a coal sky. That was the kind of lake a girl like me could drown in. I had, before.I would keep my head above water this time, though. I refu
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-06The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 021 | Dinner Date
Auroraโs POVWhen I performed surgery, my hands never shook. I could keep my cool in even the most pressurised circumstances. Iโd removed lungs and hearts and replaced them quickly enough to save lives rather than take them.But as I reached for the door handle, my hand shook. I opened the door slowly, giving myself a moment to breathe. This was like surgery, I reasoned. There were risks worth taking and multiple aspects to consider. My words were the slice of a scalpel, and my gestures were a needle and thread. I could do this.Ethan smiled crookedly at me. It wasnโt quite a smirk, but it was lopsided, cheeky. The earlier malice was gone, and my knees went weak at the sight of him here, for me, his dark eyes glinting with something secret, his suit perfectly pressed, and a bunch of sunflowers held out to me.โYou seem like someone whoโd like sunflowers,โ he said.My throat bobbed. I didnโt have a favourite flower, but Iโd always liked ones that fit the season we were in. Snowdrops
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-07The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 022 | Something's Not Right
Ethanโs POVI wished Aria had just agreed to have dinner with me. Forcing her into it with a vague threat had never been my intention, but here we were. Why she wouldnโt want a handsome, powerful Alpha to cook for her was a mystery โ but that was her all over, wasnโt it? She was a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and damn, it was really working for me.My charms seemed lost on her, though. Whatever secret she was keeping had to be a pretty juicy one, because the second Iโd wielded that tactic like the poisoned chalice it was, her sharp expression had crumbled.I had no idea what that secret was, of course. I just wanted her to have dinner with me.As I smoothed down my suit, running not at all sweaty palms over its sleek lapels, I recalled the way sheโd barely managed to choke out a, โWhat?โSheโd not given anything about it away, but sheโd told me enough. There was something I could hold over her, blackmail her with, even, if I wanted to. Not that I did โ yet. It was always wise to make
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-08The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 023 | Not You, Not Again
Auroraโs POVAfter our dinner, I made plans to see Ethan again. The thought of spending even more time with him made my skin crawl โ but there was a tiny part of me that was excited at the prospect.I had loved him once, after all.There was an old familiarity to our conversations that night. Iโd always thought Iโd never need a man again, after what he did to me, but โ though I despised myself for even thinking it โ it had been nice to chat to him, to eat with him, to share smiles and feel the crackle of anticipation in the air between us.I had to bury that part of me deep if I wanted my plan to work. I couldnโt break Ethanโs heart if mine was in any way involved.I threw myself into work. There was something I was missing, and with Remingtonโs condition getting worse every day I saw him, I knew I had to find it โ and fast.Somehow, I got the feeling that Ethan was the missing piece I needed. Whatever was going on at Silver Shade had something to do with whatever was going on with Re
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-09The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 024 | Trust Nobody
Auroraโs POVI wasnโt sure what reaction Iโd expected from Ethan, if any, but it certainly wasnโt the hurt that lashed across his face. Like sudden, heavy rain, his expression darkened.โShe did?โ I nodded. Guilt ate me up inside, but I couldnโt let it show. Iโd dug this hole for myself; it was my responsibility to deal with the consequences. With nothing else to go on, and nowhere to go but down, I picked up my shovel again and carried on digging.โShe told me thatโฆ that your ex-wife died in mysterious circumstances.โHis eyes narrowed. โShe what?โI gulped. Iโd have to make this up to Zoe somehow. โShe just said that things ended badly between the two of you, and then, a few months later, she died. A lot of people think you killed her,โ I blurted out, realising how stupid I was being only after it was too late.โA lot of people think I killed my ex-wife?โ A muscle ticked in his jaw. โA lot of people? And Zoe told you this?โโYes. You were right; we do know each other.โ Better to ad
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-10The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 025 | Out of the Frying Pan...
Auroraโs POVIโd what?It was almost impossible to contain my fury. Iโd never known what had happened to make Ethan turn on me, all those years ago โ but to discover that heโd divorced me because of something that had never even happened? It was bone chilling. It was spine crawling. It was awful.If only heโd allowed me to talk to himโฆBut he hadnโt, and here we were. As much as I wanted to dig deeper, to unearth where that belief had come from, it was just making me want to get revenge even more than I already did. Because if heโd just talked to me โ if heโd just bloody asked โ then we couldโve still been together. He wouldโve learnt the truth. And I wouldnโt have had to fake my own death and bring up our son on my own. So it didnโt matter why he believed it, not to me. It just mattered that he did, and his misplaced belief had ruined everything weโd had.I was going to ruin him for this. Breaking his heart wasnโt enough; I was going to destroy Ethan Savage, body, mind, and soul.
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2023-11-11
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The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 083 | Lines of Communication
Ethanโs POVRage bubbled in my chest.There was no sign of Selene or Serena anywhere in the house. Even though I knew theyโd gone, I expected to find something - a toothbrush, one of Serenaโs drawings, anything - but it was all gone. Our house was always clean, but now it was too clean. Too perfect. Tooโฆ empty. Their absence was everywhere I looked.Selene going didnโt bother me. If anything, it made my life easier. But taking my daughter? My hands curled into fists.It didnโt help that Aurora and Sammy were gone, too. Auroraโs exit had left a ragged, aching hole where my blackened heart was supposed to be.With my pack silent, save for the weak moans coming from the medical centre, I felt more alone than ever.I aided the few wolves still capable of working. I tried to understand the research Aurora had left for the last remaining member of staff in the hospital, but nothing about this illness made sense. Dragging my hands through my hair, I kicked my chair back from the desk and
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 082 | Progression
Auroraโs POV I rushed to my son. I couldnโt hear over the rush of blood in my ears, but I could feel the tearing of my throat as I screamed. โSammy,โ I choked, grabbing him just as he hit the floor. I scrambled to keep him upright, clutching his head to my chest and stroking his clammy forehead. โIs he okay?โ Zoe croaked, trying to sit up to see. โI donโt know.โ My hands flapped uselessly. โI donโt know whatโs happened to him.โ โCalm down,โ said Violet, her voice firm. โYou arenโt helping him by panicking.โ โYouโre right. I can deal with this,โ I said, more to myself than to her. I was exhausted, and my nerves had been frayed to their ends - but dwelling on that wouldnโt help Sammy. โHis heartbeat is strong, but too fast.โ I spoke aloud, both to steady myself and to keep Zoe informed. โHeโs breathing, but each breath is shallow.โ I took a deep breath. โHeโs alive.โ I ran my eyes over him, giving myself one last second to be a caring, terrified mother. He looked so small
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 081 | No Natural Cause
Auroraโs POV I knew it was Zoe - but if I hadnโt been made aware of her condition beforehand, I never would have recognised my dear friend. She sat hunched in the bed, frail shoulders curved in on themselves. Sheโd aged years since Iโd last seen her; wrinkles carved into the skin of her face, like gorges left behind years after the rivers had evaporated. Zoe wore no makeup. Her eyes looked softer without her signature eyeliner, creased and small and sad. Her black bob hung limply about her shoulders, dishevelled and left to grow out longer than Iโd ever seen it. Grey streaked through its lengths.โZoe?โ I breathed, my voice lodging in my throat. This couldnโt be her. It didnโt matter that her father was stood beside her bed, his expression drawn. It didnโt matter that she looked up at me when I said her name.This couldnโt be my friend.โHi, Aria,โ she croaked. โHey, Sammy. You both look well.โI swallowed hard. โI wish I could say the same about you.โAlpha Brutus shot me a men
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 080 | Back to Eternal Bonds
Auroraโs POVSammy slept the whole way to the Eternal Bonds pack. My heart throbbed painfully every time I looked at him. I was terrified for my friend, but I still had no answers about what had happened to my son.At least I finally felt peace about Ethan. He knew who I was and he knew that Sammy was his son. My shoulders were lighter after baring those truths to him.I just wished he could have come with me.Violet perked up like she had something to say. I spoke before she could. โI know why he couldnโt,โ I sighed. โI just wish he was here. Weโve justโฆโโI know,โ she said softly. Sammy woke up just before I pulled into the car park. Iโd told him what was happening and where we were going before weโd left, but he still looked around with a confused furrow to his brow.โAre you okay?โ I murmured, reaching over to smooth his hair back from his forehead.He was too warm. He wasnโt sweating, but I could feel heat pooling in front of his skin. I held a worried hand there a moment longer
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 079 | Telling Selene
Ethanโs POVI stood outside my house, balling my hands into fists. โHow do you want to do this?โ asked Sterling.โNo idea,โ I replied. Iโd never been scared to go inside my own house before. Dawn had broken over the horizon, painting the sky in eerie shades of grey and purple. It swelled like a bruise over the quiet expanse of my pack.My heart felt too full to go and face Selene. Telling her I was leaving her for Aurora - no, I had to make sure I said Aria - was going to be hideous. โDo you have to say Aria?โ said Sterling. โIโm pretty sure Selene knows who she is. She keeps nearly saying Aurora when sheโs meant to say Aria.โI cracked my knuckles. I wasnโt a coward; I wouldnโt hesitate out here a second longer. โLetโs go and find out.โI thought of my Aurora as I went inside. I was doing this for her, and for our son. I wouldnโt make Sammy grow up in a broken home. No more broken than it already had beenโฆA tiny prickle of anger ran down my spine. I let it warm me.I held the ima
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 078 | Emergency Call
Ethanโs POVI couldnโt stop staring at Sammy. Iโd been pummelled by revelations today - Aurora was alive, and here, and she was willing to forgive me - and, perhaps even more incredible than thatโฆI had a son. We had a son.The woman I had pined for was here, her warm body pressed to mine, our son slumped against us, asleep, and I couldnโt believe it. My life had been turned upside down. That didnโt mean I wasnโt angry. Damn it, I was furious. Sheโd kept my boy from me. โYou canโt blame her for that,โ sighed Sterling. โI know. Donโt make me remember,โ I replied, but it was too late. My mind was spinning down the one path I wanted to always avoid.Iโd been swayed by idiocy and left my mate out in the cold. The fact sheโd lost our other baby because of meโฆI wasnโt the same man Iโd been then. I couldnโt believe Iโd treated her like that.But I had.Iโd pushed her to make those crazy choices. Sheโd gone to extremes to keep herself, and our child, safe from me. It made my throat fill
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 077 | I Am Both
Auroraโs POVThe words lingered in the air between us. I couldโve reached out and plucked them with my fingertips. They were a palpable thing - a curse I wished I could recall.Then Ethan let out a single, sharp breath.My chest squeezed as I watched the emotions racing across his handsome, chiselled face. His jaw tensed, then relaxed, then tensed again.I waited on tenterhooks for him to speak.โI knew it,โ he said eventually, the words rough around the edges. โNot for sure, butโฆ I felt a connection to him. And, damn it, Aurora, he looks just like me.โ His brow creased; he refused to meet my eyes. โI wondered why I wanted to be close to him. Separate from wanting to be close to you, I mean. I-โ He cut himself off and dragged a shaking hand through his dark hair. I had so much to say, but I held my tongue. He needed to process this. He finally looked at me. โYou kept my son from me.โ It wasnโt an accusation. It was simply a fact. A cruel, horrible, awful fact.โI had no choice. I wo
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 076 | Fatherhood
Auroraโs POV Ethan spent the night. Not in the way Iโd anticipated or even hoped - and yet it was infinitely better. I longed to share a bed with him, skin on skin, a melding of bodies and minds as we kissed and talked and made loveโฆ But instead he was here, taking care of us. I had a front row seat to watch my sonโs relationship with his father bloom. Before everything had happened, Iโd dreamt about bringing up a child with Ethan. Then Iโd feared him ever finding out the truth. Now, telling him the truth felt like the most natural thing in the world. How he hadnโt seen it for himself I didnโt know. They looked so alike, sat together on the sofa, heads bowed as they spoke. Ethan ruffled Sammyโs hair; my heart squeezed painfully. โItโs only a matter of time until he works it out,โ Violet said. โHe knows who you are now, and he knows how old Sammy is. It wouldnโt take a genius to put two and two together.โ I bit my lip. โI hadnโt thought of that. Iโve had so much else to think
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiressย ย ย 075 | Who Took Him?
Auroraโs POV I glanced back at Ethan. He nodded, his jaw set. He stepped closer to me, a silent promise that he - quite literally - had my back, no matter what I opened the door to reveal. I opened it. Sammy lay crumpled on the floor. I dropped to my knees with a cry. โSammy, sweetheart, look at me,โ I pleaded with him. He mumbled something incoherent. I scooped him into my arms; Ethan held the door open for me so I could bring him inside. His eyelids flickered as I laid him down on the sofa. โSammy?โ I whispered, pushing a lock of dark hair off his forehead. He looked so pale, but I could see the steady rise and fall of his chest and hear the soft intake of his breaths. โShit,โ Ethan cursed, running both hands through his hair. He looked between me and the still-open door. โThey only just knocked. Whoever took him has to still be close, Aur. I can go after them, or I can stay here with you and Sammy.โ I cradled Sammyโs icy cheek. I wanted him to stay, to comfort
