All Chapters of THE CHOSEN ONE: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

AIYANA"Not even you?" I asked, a touch of bitterness in my voice."I knew him. But I don’t know him anymore. Not since he chose to erase every trace of his own identity.""Are you saying my father was… a deserter?" I spat the words like venom."I’m saying he loved you. Your mother. You. And he did what he thought was necessary to keep you alive."Silence fell again. Icarus squeezed my hand tighter.I took a deep breath, trying to find some balance inside myself. But everything spun. The pieces of the puzzle that was my origin became even more jumbled.Max slammed his hand on the table, m

AIYANAThe first thing I felt was warmth.Not the stuffy, uncomfortable kind, but a different warmth.It took a few seconds for my body to fully wake up. The room was dark, Vardam had said it was safer that way, with no windows, and everything felt suspended in time.Icarus was sleeping right next to me, his broad body taking up almost half the bed, one arm draped loosely over my waist. I felt his heat seeping through the thin clothes I wore. His skin was warm, firm… familiar in a strange way.I turned my head slightly, my eyes trying to adjust to the dimness. Even in the dark, the line of his jaw stood out. My fingers moved before my good sense could stop them. I touched his hair,

AIYANAMax raised an eyebrow, his tone icy and dripping with venom."Blackwood?" he said, as if the word itself offended him."It’s your last name, isn’t it?" I replied, steady, though my voice came out rougher than I wanted. My heart was still racing, my lips still damp from Icarus’s kiss.Max let out a humorless laugh. A dry sound, almost like a snap."Since when do you call me by my last name?"He took another step, closing the distance slowly, as if testing the limits of his own control. His gaze flickered between hurt and anger, his jaw working like he was chewing stones."You&rsquo

AIYANA“Why did you reject me?”The question cracked through the air like a whip. Max closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, as if it were the question he feared most, yet knew would come eventually.“Because it felt like the right thing to do.”The answer hit me like a slap disguised as logic, but I tried not to show it.“The right thing?”“I programmed my whole life to become Alpha,” he went on, voice low and slow. “Everything was already mapped out. Isabela was part of the plan. She had been my partner long before I even understood what that meant. It was convenient. Expected. Acceptable. When the Flame revealed that the girl I had been secretly obsessed with… was, in fact, my true mate…” he ran a hand through his hair, as if he still couldn’t accept it “…I panicked.”I stayed silent.He no longer looked at me.“It felt wrong. Like everyone had discovered my dirty little secret. As if the deepest, most hidden part of me had been exposed. And I… I couldn’t handle that. I clung to

AIYANA“Don’t freak out.”“Great start, Icarus. I’m super calm now,” I muttered, straightening as well.He held out his hand, hesitant.“Touch here. But slowly. Just with the tip of your finger.”I arched a brow.“That sounds like a terrible invitation.”“I’m serious, Aiyana.”There was something strange in his gaze. A weight. A new tension, as if he were afraid of me… or worse, of himself.I brushed my fingertip lightly against his palm. For a