บททั้งหมดของ THE ALPHA’S PUBLIC REJECTION : บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

LILLIAN’S POV Salome’s fingers tightened around mine as she pressed a steaming mug of tea into my hands. “Drink Doc, you are shaking.” The porcelain burned my palms, but I barely felt it. I closed my eyes and muttered, “I did not leak that footage, Salome. I swear it.” “I know.” She sat beside me on the hotel bed, her dark curls framing a face suddenly much older than her years. “But the pack needs someone to blame, and you are the perfect target.” I stared at the amber liquid, watching my shadowy reflection wrap in its surface. “Then I should leave. Tonight.” Salome’s cup slipped from her hand. “And to prove them right? No.” She gripped my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. “If you run now, you will be the traitor’s daughter forever. This is not about a stupid letter anymore—it is about power. And you are the pawn.” A bitter laugh escaped me. “Some pawn. I did not even know my father was innocent until yesterday.” “Speaking of….” Salome lowered her voice, glancing

LILLIAN POVThe first thing I noticed was the scent—antiseptic and pack healer herbs, undercut by something distinctly Drake. Oud and winter frost, a scent that had hunted my dreams for years.My eyelids opened slightly to reveal pure white ceilings, the fluorescent lights too bright against my eyes. A dull pain behind my temples, and my wrists burned under the layers of bandages.“Where am I?” I asked weakly as I attempted to raised my hand to shield my eyes from the bright lights.“Lily!” Josh’s face appeared above me, his pine and cedar scent wrapping around me like a safety blanket. Dark circles bruised his eyes, his usually playful features drawn tight with exhaustion. “Moon Goddess, you scared the hell out of us.”Lydia appeared suddenly beside him, her platinum braids swinging as she thrust a cup of water into my hands. “Drink.” She said concernedly, “you have been out for eighteen hours.”My throat burned as I swallowed gingerly. “What…happened?” I managed to croak.Josh’s fin

CHAPTER 15LILLIAN POVThe scent of white lilies filled my hospital room, their delicate petals, an obvious contrast to the storm brewing inside me.I traced the edge of one of the petals, my fingers still stiff from the rope burns. Drake’s words as he left…pack house. Tonight. That is an order….still hung in the air like a challenge.Andre set the coffee tray down with more force than necessary and asked stiffly, “what did Drake want?”I kept my voice light as I replied, “he was just checking on my recovery.”Lydia snorted from the doorway, her braids swinging as she crossed her arms. “With flowers? Since when does our Alpha play delivery boy?”Andre’s naw tightened, but before he could respond, Josh burst into the room, his usual playful energy shadowed by worry. “Discharge papers are signed. You are officially okay, Doc.” He hesitated, glancing between us. “Everything okay?”“Perfect,” I lied, swinging my legs off the bed. The movement made my head spin…a lingering effect of the se

LILLIAN POVThe pack house kitchen smelled of cinnamon and freshly brewed coffee, the morning sunlight streaming through the bay windows. Salome poured honey into her tea, her sharp eyes missing nothing as I picked at my toast.“You are extremely quiet today,” she said.Josh snorted with his mouth full with pancakes and said, “she has been quiet since someone decided to play Romeo on the balcony last night.”I dropped my fork mistakenly on my plate and it gave a loud clatter. “You saw that?”“Half the pack saw it, sweetheart,” Lydia drawled from where she perched on the counter, with her golden eyes glinting and said, “Drake looming over you like some brooding romance novel hero? Very dramatic.”Heat crept up my neck as I muttered, “we were just talking. Nothing serious.”“With your lips, I am guessing.” Josh wiggled his eyebrows mockingly.Salome set her cup down in a very serious manner and said, “Enough teasing. The real question is….what are you going to do about Andre?”The kitch

LILLIAN POVJosh dropped his phone on the polished mahogany table, to display the screen on his phone with the news alert for all to see and my blood ran cold….“Breaking news: Surveillance devices found in Luxembourg apartment linked to executed rogue scientist.”My mother’s apartment.The teacup slipped from my shaking fingers, it’s fragments scattering all over the room. Lydia froze with her eyes wide in shock and Salome inhaled sharply.“They are watching her,” I whispered.Lucas materialized at the entrance, his usual playful smirk absent. “It’s confirmed.” He announced. “Three listening devices. All Eastern pack tech.”My blood turned cold and my fingers found the hidden dagger at my boot—Lucas’s gift after the abduction—as if the cool metal could steady my shaking hands.“And Andre?” My voice strange to my own ears.“Already moved her to secure location.” Lucas’s amber eyes rested on my white knuckled grip. “Drake doubled the guards.”Salome’a calm voice sliced through the pani