All Chapters of CLAIMED BY THE COLD-HEARTED ALPHA: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

ASHEN’S POVThe moment Elder Hamish lifted his staff, the entire grove changed. The air thickened around me, vibrating with tension until my skin prickled. A ring of pale blue light spread across the ground in slow ripples, each wave humming with a force that made the inside of my chest tighten painfully. I sat rigidly on the stone bench, my hands clutching the edges so hard my knuckles whitened. Grayson stood behind me with both palms resting firmly on my shoulders, his grip heavy and grounding.“You must remain still, Eclipsar Ashen,” Hamish said, his voice echoing with an eerie calm. “The seal works only if you allow it entry.”Allow it entry.As if that made the experience any less terrifying.Grayson leaned closer, his breath brushing my ear. “If anything feels wrong, say my name.” His voice was low and commanding. “I’ll break the ritual myself if necessary.”I nodded weakly, though uncertainty clawed its way up my throat. I didn’t know what was worse—interrupting an ancient rit

ASHEN’S POVI woke up long before the sun rose, though I wasn’t sure whether it was the faint rumble in my chest or the chill lingering in the air that pulled me from sleep. The room was quiet, but the quiet felt strange—like a silence meant to hide something rather than calm it. My eyes fluttered open slowly, and for a moment I didn’t move. I lay still, waiting, listening, feeling the weight of the seal inside me.Everything was different.Too quiet.I shifted slightly beneath the blanket, and that tiny movement was enough to get Grayson’s attention. He stood beside the bed, right where he had stayed all night. His arms were crossed over his chest, shoulders tense, eyes fixed on me with a level of attention that made my breath catch for a second.“You’re awake,” he said, voice lower than usual, rough from not sleeping at all.I nodded slowly. “You didn’t move.”“No,” he replied. “I didn’t.”His gaze flicked down my body briefly, checking—again—that I was still alive, then returned to

ASHEN’S POVHamish’s staff struck the ground once, and the circle surrounding me pulsed with a cold vibration that traveled up my legs and into my spine. I stood inside the boundary alone, though Grayson remained so close on the outside that I could feel the heat of his presence through the shimmering barrier. His hand was pressed flat against the invisible wall, palm aligned exactly where my hand would be if I reached out. I didn’t dare move toward him yet. The chamber was too charged, too unstable, too ready to erupt.“Breathe steadily,” Hamish said, his tone darker than before. “You chose the path of confrontation. You must not falter.”Grayson exhaled sharply. “If this harms him—”Hamish raised a hand. “It will harm him. That is unavoidable. Partial release always exacts a cost.”Grayson’s eyes snapped with anger. “Then control the cost.”“I will do what can be done,” Hamish murmured. “But the rest depends on Ashen.”My heart tightened. “Just tell me what to do.”Hamish lifted his

ASHEN’S POVGrayson didn’t let go of me the entire walk back to the mansion. His hand remained steady around my waist, guiding me through the corridors as if he feared that losing physical contact would give Solven another chance to drag me into the visions. The closer we got to my room, the more aware I became of the tension in his grip. He wasn’t calm. He wasn’t composed. He was barely holding himself together.When we entered my chamber, he shut the door behind us with more force than necessary.“You sit,” he said. “Right now.”I sat because arguing with him right now would only irritate him more. The soft bedding sank slightly beneath my weight as I exhaled slowly, letting the quiet wash over me. But the quiet didn’t soothe. It only reminded me of the questions swirling in my mind.Grayson paced in front of me, hands clenched. His hair was slightly disheveled, something I rarely saw, and his eyes carried a sharp shine that betrayed exhaustion mixed with rage.“Grayson,” I said sof

ASHEN’S POVHamish’s words barely registered the first time he spoke them. I sat on the cold floor of the protected room, hands trembling uncontrollably, my breath caught somewhere between panic and disbelief. Grayson was holding me so tightly that his arms felt like iron restraints rather than comfort, though I knew he wasn’t trying to trap me. He was grounding me. Keeping me from slipping into the same place that visions always dragged me.“Breathe,” Grayson whispered.“I’m trying,” I managed, though each inhale felt uneven.The guards were already dragging the wounded man away while the others secured the broken ceiling. The smell of burned magic lingered in the air, something sharp and unnatural that made my pulse race all over again.Hamish walked toward us with the slow, deliberate steps of someone who already expected everything that had just happened. His staff tapped faintly against the stone, leaving glowing marks that flickered like fading embers.Grayson tightened his grip