All Chapters of Alpha’s Rejected Healer: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“He rejected me. Now he stands still, waiting like I’m the one who left something behind.”The last time I stood this close to Kael Blackthorn, the bond between us had just ignited — and he'd torn it apart with a sentence.Now I stood at the base of his estate, cloaked in mist and guarded silence, and he looked at me like I was the one who held the knife.The early morning fog clung to the grounds of Crescent Hall, wrapping around ancient oaks and stone pillars like ghostly fingers. I could taste the dampness in the air, feel it settling on my skin, mingling with the nervous sweat I refused to acknowledge. Behind me, the Keepers' boots crunched on gravel, a sound that seemed to echo in the weighted silence between Kael and me.He didn't move.Not when the Keepers behind me retreated, their silver-tipped staffs gleaming dully in the pale light. Not when the car door shut with a hollow thud that reverberated through my chest. Not when I pulled back my hood and let him see my face fully,

“He was breaking. I could feel it. But so was I — in ways I didn’t want to admit.”He stood behind that desk like it was the only thing anchoring him in place, hands clenched behind his back, jaw taut, shoulders tense beneath the dark folds of his cloak. The evening shadows stretched across the room, darkening the corners and stealing the warmth from the air. Outside, the territories he ruled sprawled vast and wild, but in here—in this moment—his domain had shrunk to the space between us.The air in the room had thickened. Subtly at first. Then steadily — with every breath, every silence, every second he didn't look away from me. The candles along the wall flickered as if disturbed by an unseen current, their flames dancing in response to the tension crackling between us.And I didn't give him the courtesy of softening either.I remained seated in the chair opposite his desk, my spine rigid, fingers curled around the armrests. The wood was smooth beneath my touch, worn from years of s

The question hung between us, charged with implication. Why now, after all this time? What crisis had finally driven the proud Alpha to summon the one person he'd sworn never to need again?He didn't answer.Instead, he stepped back — slowly — his hand leaving my arm like it physically hurt to let go. Like breaking contact was its own form of pain.The absence of contact was almost worse than the hold.Cold air rushed into the space between us, making me shiver. Making me aware of how warm he'd been. How solid. How real after so many nights of dreaming him, of waking with the phantom weight of his touch still on my skin.I could still feel the imprint of his fingers on my arm. Still smell the warmth of him.Still sense his restraint hanging in the air like smoke.He moved back to his desk, putting that solid barrier between us once more. A physical manifestation of everything that separated us now. His movements were stiff, controlled, as if he didn't trust himself to be fluid anymore

My hands trembled slightly as I moved further into the space. Every object felt like a weapon — not aimed to hurt, but to remind. This wasn't the room of a prisoner or an unwelcome guest. This was the room of someone expected to stay.The guards and the girl remained at the doorway, watching my reaction with wary curiosity. I schooled my expression, unwilling to let them see how deeply the sight of this room—this carefully constructed memorial to what had been—affected me."Will there be anything else you require?" The girl asked, her voice soft.I shook my head, not trusting my voice to remain steady if I spoke. She nodded and slipped away, the guards following after a moment's hesitation. The door closed behind them with a soft click that sounded far too final in the quiet room.I stood in the center of the space long after they had left.Why had he brought me here?To control me?To protect me?To remind himself what he'd rejected?Or maybe…Because even now, his wolf didn't want m

“It wasn’t chains that trapped me here. It was something much worse. Something I still wanted.”_____The door clicked shut behind the Elders, the sound hollow and final like a slammed tomb. The ancient oak panel settled into its frame with a weight that seemed to seal my fate.For a moment, the silence that followed wasn't silence at all — it was alive.It pulsed between Kael and me, thick and heavy, stretching across the space like a taut, invisible thread. The bond trembled, still raw, still dangerous, still burning somewhere low in my stomach. It coiled there, a living thing with teeth and claws that neither of us had asked for, yet neither could deny.I didn't move. My feet felt rooted to the polished stone floor, my muscles locked in a silent battle between flight and surrender.Neither did he. His massive frame was silhouetted against the dying light streaming through the stained-glass windows, casting fragments of colored shadow across his face. Even in stillness, power emanat