All Chapters of Marked for Ruin: The Alphas’ Rejected Mate: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ELLALyla and I had spoken during lunch. Her trip to the principal’s office had been a simple misunderstanding—at least, that’s what she said.But as she narrated the ordeal, I felt like her teammates were trying to sabotage her and get her out of the cheerleading squad for reasons best known to them.She asked if I had seen the pictures of her making the rounds in the school gossip vine, and I told her I was out of touch with anything that wasn’t related to schoolwork and going straight home once the day was over.She chuckled at the response, and that was the first time I had seen her genuinely smile all day.It was great to see the stress lines on her face lessen a little, and I asked her to tell me all about it.She explained that someone had made a fake picture of her in a compromising position with an older man and sent it to the whole school.As she spoke, I remembered coming to school a few days ago and noticing how everyone was glued to their phones or chattering excitedly wi

ELLAI continued training until after sunset and was breathless by the time I decided my body had reached its limit for the day. Despite the ache in my joints, I felt lighter and much stronger.I had also practiced the moves I saw Lyla perform and was certain I had mastered them, but I would only confirm that when we returned here to practice tomorrow.I closed my eyes for a moment, exhaled, and inhaled until I had steadied my breathing. I resisted the urge to open my eyes and decided to listen to the sound of the waterfall to help me stay calm.As the minutes rolled by, I realized that the feeling I had been ignoring for so long—the sensation of impending doom that seemed to envelop me throughout the day—was still there, and this time, it seemed to have heightened with the emotions I was feeling.This was yet another problem I had to solve. My troubles seemed to be exacerbated at every turn, and it irked me greatly. I needed to find solutions to everything plaguing my mind, and I did

KADE“If you hate it so much, then why are you here?” she retorted, and I scoffed.“You really just hear what you want to hear, don’t you?” I asked, trying to mask my irritation.She was trying to process what I was saying, and I understood it. I wasn’t sure why I had decided to do this, but after Lucian told me he had seen her in this part of the woods, I needed to see for myself if what he was saying was true. It was.I didn’t admit that to him, though, and instead, I suggested it was better for all three of us to move on since we had already rejected her.But I understood it; she was on a loop in my mind, and I needed to do something about it.I wasn’t sure if this was the right way to go about it, but I needed to cover my bases.If the pack considered having a mate essential to taking over the leadership role, perhaps I could make things feel less abrasive with Ella.She still wasn’t a great pick for the role, but I needed a backup plan on that front—and a bird in the hand is defi

ELLAWe watched in silence as he walked away. I was still feeling befuddled by what had transpired and was starting to think I was in a silly dream I needed to wake up from.“Pinch me,” I muttered and looked around. The wind had picked up, and the leaves rustled as it blew through the woods.That was enough proof that I wasn’t imagining the entire scenario.“What was he doing here?” Lyla asked. She seemed upset, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me. Perhaps dinner didn’t go well, or she was just as surprised as I was to see Kade. “Are you hurt?”“No… I… just a little disoriented, but I’m fine,” I replied, and she let out a relieved sigh, then repeated the first question.I was still in shock and explained the exchange as briefly as I could. She clicked her tongue and moved toward me.“Don’t let him bother you. This is probably some silly ploy he and his brother have come up with. Don’t let them get to you,” she said.I stood rooted to a spot for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoug

ELLAI decided to spend the night at Lyla’s house. She was ecstatic about the change of plans, but what I hadn’t envisioned was spending the entire weekend.When her mom called to say she had arrived at her destination, I knew Lyla would be alone in the house and felt bad for wanting to leave her by herself in the enormous place without any company.Either that, or I had given in to the feeling of comfort I felt while being here. Whatever it was, I decided to enjoy it while it lasted.The event she had spoken about was the next day, and she wanted me to be well rested so I could have all the energy I required for the tournament.The next day, we picked out outfits, and I started to feel like it wasn’t going to be worth the time and wanted to back out.But Lyla reminded me that I needed the competition to help boost my skills and that it was a friendly game, so I didn’t need to overthink it. I was still doubtful about going but decided to go anyway.When we arrived at the venue, I wasn