All Chapters of CLAIMED BY THE COLD-HEARTED ALPHA: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

ASHEN’S POVHamish dimmed the lamps with a wave of his hand, leaving only the faint glow of the runes beneath our feet. Golden light pulsed gently from the circle carved into the floor, and for the first time since this awakening began, I didn’t feel an immediate rush of fear. I felt anticipation instead. Unsteady. Uncertain. But real. Grayson stood behind me as always, close enough for me to feel the heat of his presence, but far enough that Hamish had room to observe the shifts in my aura.“Do not force anything,” Hamish instructed softly, his tone different from usual. “Let the bond guide you, not your fear.”I nodded, although my throat was too tight to speak.Grayson stepped forward, placing his hands on my shoulders with steady pressure. His touch warmed instantly through the thin fabric of my shirt. His voice lowered behind me in a way that settled something deep beneath my ribs.“I’m right here,” he murmured. “Whatever you feel, whatever tries to surface, you follow my voice f

ASHEN’S POVThe room tilted the moment the words left my mouth.Not because the library spun.Not because Hamish gasped sharply or because Grayson lunged closer to the circle with instinct sharper than any blade. The world tilted because the truth inside me shifted like a stone being lifted from the deepest part of a riverbed. Heavy. Slow. Inevitable.Grayson’s voice cut through the tension first, low and dangerous.“Ashen. What did it mean?”His tone grounded me immediately, drawing my attention back to him. His eyes were dark, sharp, locked on me like he was afraid I might vanish if he looked away. I swallowed hard, lifting my trembling hands slightly as the warmth from the balance presence pulsed again through my sternum.“It said I’m not approaching it,” I whispered. “It said I’m… returning.”Hamish straightened, his staff glowing faintly. “Returning to what?”I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, letting the warmth move through me again. “To myself. To what my bloodline lost. It s

ASHEN’S POVThe moment the balance presence whispered Begin, the air around me changed completely. It wasn’t violent. It wasn’t overwhelming. It was purposeful—like a breath drawn by something ancient that had waited far too long to exhale. The runes beneath my feet brightened until the golden glow seeped upward, lighting the room from the floor instead of the lamps.Grayson’s silhouette stood at the barrier’s edge, rigid with focus, his hand splayed firmly against the invisible wall between us. His eyes were locked on me, sharp and unwavering. I clung to that gaze because it reminded me who I was beneath all of this awakening.“Ashen,” Grayson said, voice low and commanding, “keep your eyes open. Stay with me.”I nodded slowly. “I’m with you.”Hamish circled the perimeter with his staff raised, eyes narrowed as he monitored every shift in my aura. “Remember—do not force integration. Let the balance presence guide you. You are the center, not the sum of the fragments.”I inhaled and r

GRAYSON’S POVAshen trembled in my arms, his forehead pressed against my shoulder, breath stuttering against the collar of my coat. His body felt overheated, overwhelmed, stretched to the edge of what any vessel—any person—should be able to handle. And yet he wasn’t collapsing into unconsciousness. He wasn’t fading. He wasn’t slipping away. He was holding on, fighting for breath, grounding himself back into his own skin with desperate, stubborn determination.I tightened my grip on him. “I’ve got you,” I murmured. “Slow breaths. Match mine.”He inhaled shakily, exhaled unevenly. I repeated the rhythm again and again until his breathing found a pattern that wasn’t shaking apart at the seams. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes weren’t gold anymore. They were his—storm-dark, terrified, alive.“Grayson…” he whispered. “Something is still moving inside me.”I cupped his jaw immediately. “Is it Solven? Ateron?”He shook his head, swallowing hard. “No. It’s… the merging. It’s not fini

GRAYSON’S POVAshen stood near the window, arms wrapped around himself, the faint early light cutting across his shoulders. His posture was tense but not collapsing, anxious but not breaking. Last night’s dream still lingered on him; I could feel the echo of it through the bond like a soft thrum against my ribcage.Identity anchoring.Solven first.I hated it.Every part of it.But Ashen didn’t run.He didn’t hide.He didn’t ask to delay it.When he turned his head and looked at me, something steadier lit his expression—fear wrapped in resolve.“Grayson,” he said quietly, “I’m ready.”I crossed the room and placed my hands on both sides of his face. “You’re allowed to say you’re terrified.”He met my gaze without flinching. “I am terrified. But I’m still ready.”The honesty hit me harder than any burst of power ever could.Hamish knocked once and entered, robes stiff, expression grave. “The chamber is prepared. The runes have been recalibrated. Today is the anchoring of identity.”As