บททั้งหมดของ Rejected Billionaire Alpha: บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

The air inside the penthouse changed the moment the wards were sealed. Nyra had drawn runes on every surface—covering the windows, tracing the walls, and even marking the floors beneath the furniture. The silvery ink glowed faintly under the dim light, vibrating with a quiet, charged energy. The moon eclipse was now just twenty-four hours away. The countdown had officially begun. Rachel stood barefoot at the center of the main room, encircled by salt lines and symbols written in an ancient tongue. Her heart was pounding—not because she was afraid, but because anticipation had taken hold of her. Her time was running out, and so was her ability to maintain control. Stacy stood off to the side, arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching every move as if she were prepared to act the second something went wrong. Dylan moved silently behind Nyra, assisting her as she drew the final ward across the ceiling. “How long will this link last?” Rachel asked, her eyes flicking between the glow

The air was still. Heavy. The kind of silence that pressed against your eardrums, stretching time itself. Rachel sat at the edge of the ritual circle, the same one that had nearly torn her apart hours earlier. Her legs were folded, spine straight, palms resting against her knees. Her breathing was steady now. No silver light. No flickers of power. No whispers from Elira. Just silence. For the first time in weeks, she felt... alone in her own mind. And yet, not. ere You’re different,” Stacy said, standing in the doorway. “Even your posture. It’s like you’re still you, but... more.” Rachel opened her eyes slowly. “Because I am.” Stacy walked in, barefoot, cautious. “You said you chose both. What does that mean?” Rachel looked up, meeting her gaze. “It means I didn’t destroy Elira. I accepted her.” “You *what*?” “She’s not whispering in my head anymore. She’s part of me. Not separate.” Stacy sat down across from her. “That sounds... dangerous.” “It is,” Rachel admitted. “But d

Rachel didn’t sleep that night. Again.The Council’s eyes had followed her out of the stone chamber with suspicion half-tamed and fear barely concealed. Though they hadn’t imprisoned her—or worse—they hadn’t accepted her, either. She wasn’t a threat, not yet, but she wasn’t an ally, and she could feel it in the silence they left behind. A silence that made the back of her neck itch.Now, hours later, she sat by the window of Dylan’s bedroom, curled up in a chair with her legs pulled to her chest, watching the first blush of morning bleed across the skyline. Another sleepless night. Another weight she couldn’t name pressing into her chest.“You ever going to tell me what they really said in there?”Dylan’s voice came from the bed. He hadn’t turned the light on. He didn’t need to.Rachel didn’t turn around. “You already know.”“They think you’re a coin toss.”She nodded. “And they want to know which side I’ll land on when things break.”Dylan stood and crossed the room. He knelt in fron

The storm rolled in without warning.By morning, the Bunga skyline was hidden behind sheets of rain and fog. Clouds hung low and thick, choking the sun into a dull gray smear. Rachel stood at the center of Nyra’s ritual chamber, dressed in black training gear, bare feet planted on cool stone. Her eyes remained closed, her breathing calm, but the storm outside mirrored the chaos pressing against the edges of her mind.The First Flame’s final words echoed louder each day.*“Elira was the second.”*There had been another.A predecessor. A first.And Rachel knew one thing: if that woman’s existence had been buried, it wasn’t by accident.Nyra lit the final rune candle, her lips moving in a low chant. Stacy stood at the door, arms folded, not interrupting but not relaxing either. Dylan leaned against the wall, bruised and silent. Since Ashvale, his mood had shifted—protective, but distant, as if he was bracing for something they couldn’t name yet.Rachel opened her eyes.“I’m ready.”Nyra

Dylan stood at the far end of the infirmary, watching Rachel sleep.Not with tenderness.With fear.Not for her—but for what she’d done. For what she now carried.She had survived absorbing the First Flame.She had done what no one else in the magical world dared attempt—she didn’t defeat power. She claimed it. She swallowed it whole.And now she lay there, peaceful… but different.Something about her energy had shifted. Quieter, more compressed. Not gone. Not dormant. Just… waiting.Dylan’s arms were crossed, muscles tense beneath the sleeves of his shirt. He hadn’t shifted in two days. Hadn’t slept more than an hour at a time.Grayson stepped in behind him, his boots soft on the infirmary tile. “Still watching her breathe?”Dylan didn’t glance back. “I’m waiting to see who wakes up.”Grayson leaned against the wall, arms folded, voice gentler than usual. “You’re afraid she’s not Rachel anymore.”“I know she’s Rachel.” Dylan’s voice was steady, but thin. “But I don’t know how much of