Bound To The Alpha I Rejected のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 49

SERAPHINA'S POVI sat in the middle of my bed, my knuckles clenched so tightly they ached, bone-white against the dark silk of the covers. The room, usually a place of uneasy refuge, felt like a tomb. Heavy curtains blocked the afternoon sun, leaving the space in a perpetual, gloomy twilight. For two days, I had been the only one inside. My orders to the guards had been final: No one. Not Tara, with her familiar chatter. Not Ivanna, with her quiet, watchful eyes. Their muffled voices had pleaded through the wood, soft and worried, but I’d buried my head in the pillows. I couldn’t face them. I couldn’t paste a smile on my face and pretend everything was fine when the ground beneath my life had just cracked open.Because it was all a lie.Every word Kaelan had ever spoken about his past, about our past, was a lie.All the guilt I had carried for years, the crushing shame that had made me lock away Vesper and shrink from my own reflection; it was a punishment for a crime that had never

SERAPHINA'S POV My world paused at that instant, as I struggled to process what I’d just heard. Did I hear wrong, perhaps? “What did you just say?” I asked, my voice slightly lower than before. He made a show of turning to leave, but I stood in front of him, blocking his path—a futile gesture, I knew. I felt small in front of him, like a sapling trying to hold back an oak. He could’ve pushed me aside with one hand, but I held my ground. “You aren’t leaving here until you explain yourself, Kaelan,” I gritted out. “There’s nothing to explain, Seraphina. What else do you want me to say?” “You just admitted you know more about what’s going on with me than I do myself. Explain that. What’s happening to me? Why are these things happening? And why are you aware of them? I need answers.” He sighed, the sound weary and heavy. He didn’t look at me, instead focusing on a point over my shoulder as if weighing his words. “Remember that night we made a bet?” he began, and I furrowed

KAELAN'S POVMy jaw tightened as I watched the Grand Empress smile, a slow, deliberate curl of her lips that didn’t reach her cold, observant eyes. How did she know to come here? The question coiled in my gut like a serpent. No one outside my most trusted circle was aware of Seraphina’s condition—or our location."Forgive my abruptness, Your Majesty," she began, her voice dripping with faux concern. "But when whispers reached my ears that the Luna of the pack was in peril, I could not simply stand by. I took the liberty of bringing the seer myself to diagnose her affliction. And it seems I arrived precisely when my assistance was most needed." Her lips twitched, a barely contained smirk. "A marvelous coincidence, I must say."Her gaze drifted past me, landing on the bed where Seraphina lay. It lingered on her hair—those now unmistakable strands of silver gleaming against the pillows. The Grand Empress’s eyebrows shot upward."Silver hair?" she breathed, her tone shifting from polite t

SERAPHINA'S POV My eyes snapped open. Danger wasn’t just around me; it was in the air I breathed, in the trembling stone beneath my feet. I had no plan, no memory of this place, only the raw need to move."This way, Your Highness!" the lady shouted. I followed her voice, just as I caught the sharp command of another voice somewhere in the smoke and noise: "Follow the princess!"That voice.As we ran through the dark, winding passage, my mind kept catching on that sound. I know that voice. I know it. But there was no space to hold the memory, no time to do anything but run.After what felt like a lifetime of stumbling in the dark, we stopped in a small, damp alcove. My lungs burned. The woman braced herself against the wall, breathing hard."Stay here for a while, Your Highness. I need to go check on others."She was already turning to leave when panic squeezed my throat."Em—" Oh no. I didn’t know her name.She turned back, her face tight with fear and hurry."What's your name again?