Semua Bab THE SUBSTITUTE MATE FOR THE ALPHA KING: Bab 51 - Bab 60

Renejay’s words were a death sentence, colder and more final than any judge’s decree. The blue file felt like a block of ice against my chest, a cursed treasure that had led me straight back into the lion’s den. And I had delivered Elisse to him. Again.I backed away until my hips hit the cold stone of the ancient chest, with nowhere left to go. Elisse’s small body trembled against mine, her silent tears soaking into my tunic.“It’s over, Sze,” Renejay said, taking another step into the room, his presence filling the small space. His warriors fanned out behind him, blocking any hope of escape. “Your little rebellion ends now. You belong to me. The child belongs to me. The file belongs to me.”The hopelessness was a physical weight, crushing the air from my lungs. I had fought so hard, risked everything, and I had only succeeded in making everything worse. I was a fool. A reckless, sentimental fool.My arms tightened around Elisse. I would not let them take her without a fight. I would

The sight of the real Princess Bianca standing in the doorway of our hidden refuge was so surreal, so utterly disconnected from any reality I had been living, that I could only stare, my mind refusing to process it. Elisse whimpered against my leg, and I tightened my grip on her, my body coiled like a spring.“You,” I breathed, the word laced with a confusion that bordered on hostility. “How did you find us?”She kept her hands raised, her posture non-threatening. “Beta Kelra,” she repeated, her voice steady. “He… he trusts me. After everything was revealed, he knew I had no loyalty left to Gideon or the lies. He told me where to find you. He said it wasn’t safe for him to come himself anymore.”Kelra had sent her. The thought was both a relief and a fresh wave of anxiety. Why her? Why now?“Know what?” I asked, my voice sharp. “What truth?”Bianca’s eyes, a clearer, kinder version of the impostor’s, held mine. “The file you stole. Kelra has been studying it. It’s more than just a rec

The word “daughter” hung in the air, a perversion of everything it should mean. It wasn’t a term of endearment, but of ownership. A claim. Elisse buried her face in my neck, her tiny hands clutching my tunic, a silent whimper escaping her.Renejay let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “Oh, this is rich. Now she’s your daughter? An hour ago, she was a ‘stain on a vow.’ Your sentimentality is as convenient as it is pathetic, Gideon.”Gideon’s jaw tightened, a faint tic the only sign her words had struck a nerve. His outstretched hand did not waver. “This does not concern you, Renejay. This is pack business. My pack business.”“Everything that secures your throne is my business,” she shot back, her eyes glinting with a predatory light. “Or have you forgotten our arrangement? The pup is a liability. The existence of a hybrid heir, especially one you now seem inclined to acknowledge, complicates my position. It complicates everything.”I stood frozen, my mind racing, trapped between the raging f

The locket swung, a hypnotic silver arc in the moonlight. Renejay’s words, “It’s just us girls now,” slithered into the silence, wrapping around my throat like a silk cord. Elisse’s trembling had subsided into a terrified stillness; she sensed the finality in the air.“There is no discussion,” I said, my voice raw but steady. I rose from behind the log, placing my own body between Renejay and my daughter. “You will not touch her.”Renejay’s smile was a predator’s grimace. “Such bravery. So futile.” She took another step, the locket still swinging. “Gideon believes the pup can be a symbol. A tool. He is a fool, clinging to the old ways. I see something else. I see a key. A key to unlocking a power he is too blind to understand. The power of a unified bloodline, yes, but purified. Not diluted by… common sentiment.”Her meaning was clear. She didn’t want to use Elisse as a political pawn. She wanted to mold her, to twist her into a weapon, to strip away everything that made her my daught

The river was a relentless, unforgiving god. It snatched our little skiff and hurtled us downstream, the world a dizzying blur of dark water, jagged rocks, and overhanging branches. I fought with the single oar, not to steer—that was impossible—but to keep us from being spun broadside and swamped. Every muscle screamed in protest. Elisse clung to my legs, her face buried, her small body shaking with silent sobs that were lost in the river’s roar.I don’t know how long we careened through the darkness. Time lost all meaning. It was a nightmare of survival measured in heartbeats and near-misses with black boulders that rose like teeth from the water. My arms were leaden, my hands raw and bleeding from gripping the oar.Finally, the river began to widen, its fury subsiding into a swift, powerful flow. The current carried us into a broader channel, the banks now sloping and muddy instead of rocky cliffs. The first grey light of dawn was staining the sky, casting a pale, sickly glow over th