All Chapters of THE ALPHA’S PUBLIC REJECTION : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ANDRE POVLillian’s mother snored softly on the couch, her silver hair framed across the throw pillow I had tucked behind her. The scent of chocolate tea and old books clung to her, which was so different from Lily’s bergamot and sprinkle of defiance, yet just as comforting.I checked my phone for the hundredth time. No new alerts from the pack. Just Lucas’s last message…. ‘Drake handled the breach. Lillian is safe.’Safe.Not happy. Not yours.My wolf snarled at the distinction.The cabin’s floorboards creaked as I paced past the guarded windows. Three hours ago, I had been ready to present Lily as my mate at the tournament. Now? Now I was babysitting her mother while my best friend tasted the lips I had dreamed about for months.The irony of it all burned like silver.My head snapped up at the sudden knock of the door, to see Lucas slouched against the frame, his usual smirk absent. “You look like shit.”“Feel like it.” I stepped outside silently, careful not to wake her, letting th

CHAPTER 22LILLIAN POVThe scent of chocolate tea and burning cedar logs filled the cozy safe house as I curled into the worn out armchair, my fingers tracing the fresh imprint of Drake’s teeth on my throat. The mark had not broken into my skin…not yet….but the phantom sting made my heart flutter.Lydia glanced up from sharpening her daggers, her amber eyes catching the firelight. “Stop touching it. You will make it worse.”“I can’t help it.” I said dreamily that my skin flushed out of embarrassment.Salome snorted from her perch by the window, her golden hair glinting under the candlelight. “Moon Goddess save us. She has gone into a full lovestruck pup.”A log cracked loudly in the fireplace, sending up a shower of sparks. I stretched my legs toward the warmth. “Where is Josh? He was supposed to bring more firewood.”Lydia paused in shining her blade and looked up. “He went to see Drake.”“Why?” I asked shocked.“Said he needed to deliver a message.” Her gaze rested on my mark. “Thou

LILLIAN POVThe scent of dried lavender and cedar filled my old bedroom as I folded the last of my sweaters. Outside, the first rays of dawn painted the sky in sections of rose and gold, but the beauty was lost on me. My stomach buzzed with a nervousness that had nothing to do with the imminent move to the mountain safe house.Weaponized shifting. The key is on her skin.Drake’s words from last night replayed over and over again in my mind, making my fingers tremble as I traced the tattoo on my hip…a delicate swirl of vines and moons that my father had painted himself when I was twelve. For protection, he had said, his eyes sad. Had he known even then what it would cost us? Cost me?I felt a sudden pull deep in my chest and I gasped in shock. The mate bond…faint but persistent…tugged me toward the door just as a soft, almost hesitant knock sounded from the other side.I knew who it was before I opened it.Andre stood at the corridors, the morning light reflecting the gold in his eyes.

LILLIAN’S POVThe mountain road was narrow and dangerous, but Andre drove with a calm confidence that soothed my disturbed nerves.“Tell me about the tattoo,” he said calmly after we had a gone a mile in silence.I traced the design through my jeans. “My father said it was a family tradition. That the moons would protect me.”“And the vines?”I hesitated. “He said they represented bonds that couldn’t be broken.”Andre’s fist stiffened on the steering wheel. “Do you believe that?”Before I could answer, a deafening explosion rocked the mountainside.Andre swore and swerved the wheel as debris rained down around us. “Eastern Pack. They found us.”Through the dust and smoke, figures emerged suddenly—wolves with eyes glowing like lit logs in a fireplace.Andre held my hands tightly and said, “Whatever happens, know that I meant every word.”Then he shifted, his golden wolf bursting from his clothes with a roar that shook the earth.And as the Eastern Pack closed in, I made my choice.I re

LILLIAN POVThe scent of healing herbs and worry filled the air heavily in my mother’s room. When we entered, her seer’s eyes…those all knowing oracles that had seen both my joy and sorrow locked into our held hands. Drake tightened his grip instinctively, as if he could could cover me from whatever truth or destiny that’s waiting for us.“Andre’s bond,” Mother said without waisting any time, her voice raspy but clear. “You activated it today.”I rushed to her bedside with my heart pounding violently. “It saved his life, Mother.”“And it may have doomed yours.” She said stiffly as her gaze shifted to Drake, not with accusation, but with profound sorrow that made my blood run cold. “The connection between you to it and Andre….it is not just a mating bond. It is a living channel.”Drake stepped closer, his Alpha power filling the room. “What are you saying?”“I am saying that the Moon Goddess did not just give Lillian a mate.” She said slowly as her fingers plucked at the blanket nervou