All Chapters of Sara and the Conqueror : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

SARA I finally reached my breaking point. After almost three hours of kneeling, the agony in my joints became unbearable, and I forced myself to stand up. My knees hurt like mad, sending sharp, shooting pains up my thighs with every micro-movement. I still didn’t understand what Tristan meant by "my first cleaning." I had operating under the naive assumption that I was only going to concern myself with his personal affairs and the specific tasks that directly involved his needs.I stood there in the center of the room, contemplating my next move. I was paralyzed by indecision, unsure if I should even leave the room since he had already accused me of being disrespectful for not asking permission before. I had to weigh my options: which was the greater sin in his eyes? Would he punish me for going to clean without his explicit leave, or would he rather have me wait for him like a loyal dog until he saw fit to return?Unable to decide and driven by a restless, anxious energy, I finally

ALPHA RUNEI waited. I gathered. I watched the shadows lengthen across my territory, letting the silence of the pack house fuel my resolve. One thing I was certain of—certain down to the marrow of my bones—was that Tristan was hiding something. It wasn’t enough for me to conclude with absolute certainty that Sara was still alive, but it was enough to rouse my dormant suspicions and force me to look closer at the narrative I had been fed.The truth was, even though I carried on with the desperate, bone-deep belief that Sara was alive, the tangible evidence did not support it. During my agonizing wait for answers, I had gone to see Yara, the wise healer of our pack. She was a woman who had seen centuries of wolf-blood spilled and mended, and she shared a frustratingly pragmatic viewpoint."But he himself said that only Sara Lockwood could heal him," I argued, my voice echoing off the stone walls of her infirmary. "If he is well and healthy now, it presupposes that Sara somehow returned

SARA I’ve always known that Yvonne was hopelessly in love with Tristan; it was written in every lingering glance and every over-eager shadow she cast by his side. It truly is a marvel how Alpha Tristan, a man trained to scent fear and track enemies from miles away, has not been able to figure this out in all the years they have known each other."Men! They can be blind to even the most obvious, glaring truths when it doesn't suit their narrative," I muttered to myself, watching the door click shut after a visibly disappointed and shaken Yvonne finally retreated.But in Tristan's defense, how was he truly supposed to know if Yvonne never gathered the courage to say a single word? And yet, how could she have said anything? During those years, she was supposed to be Claudia’s loyal friend, and Tristan was publicly, devotedly dating Claudia. I felt a sharp, familiar pang as I flashed back to my own devastating reaction when Tristan rejected me—discarding our history like trash—and named

ALPHA TRISTANI was still struggling to come to terms with the magnitude of Yvonne’s lies when Paige entered the room and dropped a metaphorical bomb. I pretended I hadn't heard her at first, desperate for a few more seconds to adequately process Yvonne’s betrayal and her manipulative claims of "debasing herself" for the good of the pack. It was a calculated move on her part; she had more or less succeeded in making me feel guilty for even nursing a single romantic thought for Sara.The room grew so silent that the sound of a pin dropping would have echoed like a gunshot against the marble floor. "Khalid, are you telling me that whatever happened between you and Yvonne was consensual?" I repeated, my voice low and dangerous, as if I hadn't quite grasped his words the first time."Yes!" he stressed, his eyes darting around the room, trying to gauge the reactions of everyone present. "Did she say otherwise? Is that why you hit me?" He turned his gaze toward Yvonne, his voice dropping in

SARA"Please, come this way. Quickly." Paige motioned frantically the moment we exited Tristan's study. She didn't wait for a response, leading me and Khalid through a labyrinthine series of service hallways and narrow stairways that descended deep beneath the industrial-sized kitchen.The air in the tunnels smelled of damp earth, stagnant water, and ancient, cold grease. It was thick and claustrophobic. Khalid was a complete mess beside me; his breath came in shallow, ragged hitches that echoed off the low stone ceiling like the gasps of a dying animal. He was vibrating with a terror so potent I could almost taste it in the air."I'm sorry... Sara, I'm so sorry," Khalid stammered when we finally found ourselves momentarily alone in a shadowed alcove. "The Alpha Conqueror has been searching for you with a madness I’ve never seen. It's truly unfortunate that I helped fake your death. I feel as though all of this—the danger, the lies—is entirely my fault.""Well, I don't know what you e