All Chapters of The Rogue King's Protection: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Dalton's POV I insisted on accompanying Tehila to the interrogation despite her protests. This was my mother we were visiting, the woman who raised me and taught me and manipulated every aspect of my life. She was a stranger to me now but she was still my blood. The Council held her in a reinforced cell deep underground, silver shackles binding her wrists and ankles. The metal burned her skin constantly and left angry red marks that would not heal while she wore them. She looked smaller without her power and schemes protecting her. Diminished somehow, like a shadow of the formidable woman who had controlled so much for so long. But her eyes still gleamed with sharp intelligence when we entered. "Tehila," she greeted warmly, as if they were old friends meeting for tea. "Thank you for coming to see me. I know this must be difficult." "What do you want?" Tehila's voice was pure ice.

Tehila's POV Seeing my grandmother in person, alive and healthy and real, broke something inside me. All the grief I carried for twelve years was wasted. All the nights I cried at her grave were meaningless. Every memory I cherished was built on a lie. Elena approached with tears streaming down her face and her hands reaching for me. "Tehila, my beautiful girl, I cannot believe how much you have grown and how strong you have become." I slapped her. Hard. The crack echoed across the courtyard and several wolves turned to stare. My hand stung from the impact but I did not care. Elena touched her reddening cheek but she did not protest or pull back. "I deserved that," she said quietly. "You deserved worse." My voice shook with rage. "You let me think you were dead! You let us bury an empty casket and grieve for nothing!" "I know what I did."

Tehila's POVI was in a deep dream, threads were all around me. A thousand of them, stretching in every direction like an infinite web spanning the entire world. I saw the bond between Dalton and me, frayed and damaged where he had rejected me but still there and still glowing faintly with stubborn life. I saw the potential bond with Zane, it was thin but growing stronger and more solid every day we spent together. I saw bonds between pack members and families and mates, some bright and healthy with love, others dim and dying from neglect or abuse.I reached out without thinking and touched one thread curiously. It vibrated under my fingers like a guitar string plucked hard and somewhere far away a wolf gasped audibly. I felt them through the connection, felt their emotions and thoughts bleeding through the bond directly into my mind.The power was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. I could see everything, feel everything, potentially manipulate everything if I wanted to.

Tehila's POVI was able to break the bond two days ago. Elena taught me during our final training session and I made the choice alone without telling anyone first.The damaged bond with Dalton had been a constant ache in my life, a reminder of betrayal and rejection that never stopped hurting. Severing it felt like removing barbed wire from my soul, painful in the moment but necessary for healing.But now the silence where the bond used to pulse was deafening. I was completely free from him. Dalton's face changed when he realized what I had done. We were standing near the border between territories when he realized."You cut it." His voice was hollow."I had to." I kept my tone steady."Why?" The pain in his eyes was raw. "I thought you were just shielding it.""Because I could not heal with it still there connecting us." I met his gaze without flinching. "Every time I felt you through the bond, I remembered what you did. I remembered the rejection and the humiliation and watching yo

Tehila's POV The abandoned facility left a hollow feeling in my chest that had nothing to do with disappointment. We had traveled for days chasing a ghost and found only empty rooms and rusted equipment. Evelyn Hayes was smarter than we gave her credit for and that terrified me more than I wanted to admit. The safe house was barely large enough for half our team. A cramped hunting lodge with creaking floorboards and rooms that smelled like pine and old leather. After Blackwood assigned sleeping arrangements for us, I watched Zane's face carefully as he realized what fate or perhaps deliberate planning had arranged. One room. One bed for both of us. "I will take the floor," Zane offered immediately, his voice steady but his eyes searching mine for permission to stay close. I looked at the worn wooden boards, already feeling the cold seeping through my boots. The temperature was dr