All Chapters of Rejected By The Beta, Claimed By The Alpha King: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The steady purr of the SUV's engine became a lullaby as we pulled away from Silver Lake, leaving behind ghosts both old and new. My hands wouldn't stop trembling. I'd held it together during the raid – Queen first, former servant second – but now that we were safely moving toward home, the adrenaline that had carried me through the day began to ebb like a retreating tide. In its wake came exhaustion so profound it seemed to seep into my bones, weighing down my limbs and blurring the edges of my vision.Lukas noticed immediately, of course. His arm slipped around my shoulders, drawing me against the solid warmth of his side. His lips pressed against my forehead, lingering there as if he could transfer his strength directly into my body."You're amazing, my Queen," he murmured, his breath stirring my hair. "Amazing."I turned my face into his chest, breathing in his scent – sandalwood and pine and that distin

I stared at the list spread before me, sixteen names representing sixteen lives upended by Silver Lake's cruelty. Sixteen refugees who needed homes, purpose, protection. My pen tapped against the polished surface of my desk as I considered each name, each hastily noted skill, each medical observation Dr. Thornwood had provided. Three decades as Alpha King had taught me that people were never just problems to be solved, but neither could I afford sentimentality when decisions needed making. Where would a former blacksmith fit in the royal city? What about an elderly cook with arthritis? Two children, barely old enough to go to school? The responsibility settled on my shoulders with familiar weight.'They are pack now,' Ares reminded me, his presence a warm certainty at the edges of my consciousness. 'Our responsibility.'"I know," I murmured, circling the name of a middle-aged male with carpentry experience. The palace renovations could use another skilled pair of h

The middle prisoner – Garrett – finally looked up, his eyes meeting mine with a flash of desperate recognition. "You were nothing," he hissed, low enough that only those closest could hear. "A servant. A failure. You can't—“"I can," I cut him off, my voice like ice. "And I will."Dominic and Nico forced all seven prisoners to their knees in a line before the dais. By established protocol, Lukas would begin at the left, I at the right, working our way toward the center. But today, with seven prisoners, I stepped directly to Garrett in the middle – a deliberate choice to take the wolf who had spoken against me.I stood before him, letting him see Athena's gold bleeding into my emerald eyes. "Garrett Reed, you have been found guilty of crimes against your pack, your kind, and the laws of the Moon Goddess," I recited, the formal words falling easily from lips that had spoken them before. "Your life is forfeit."He spat at my feet, defiant to the last

I slipped through the palace corridors, my body still humming from the forest run. Four hours of freedom—of paws pounding earth, of Athena's joyous presence merging with mine as we chased the wind through ancient trees. My muscles carried a pleasant soreness, the kind that whispered of strength used well. Even my thoughts felt clearer, scrubbed clean by exertion and solitude. The bureaucracy of tomorrow's coronation seemed distant now, a human concern that couldn't touch the wolf's simple contentment. When I reached Lukas's office door, I didn't knock—hadn't needed to for weeks now—simply pushed it open to find my mate exactly where I'd left him, surrounded by the paperwork of royal protocol. Lukas looked up immediately, his ice-blue eyes softening at the sight of me. The early afternoon light slanted through the tall windows, catching in his dark hair, highlighting the silver at his temples that spoke of thirty years of kingship. Stacks of parchment still cover

I moved through the silent corridors of the palace, the heavy crown resting familiar against my brow. The ceremonial cloak draped from my shoulders in perfect folds of black velvet, its weight a reminder of three decades of rule. Silver embroidery caught the morning light, ancient symbols of power and protection woven with meticulous care. Servants pressed themselves against the walls as I passed, bowing deeply, their eyes downcast in traditional deference. None would meet my gaze today—none but Amelia, who alone saw me as simply Lukas rather than Alpha King. She would soon walk these same halls to join me, to take her rightful place as crowned Queen rather than just my claimed mate. The thought warmed me, pride and anticipation flowing through my veins. I had left her in our chambers, putting the finishing touches on her preparation with Lily's help. The image of her copper hair catching the morning sunlight, her emerald eyes bright with nervous excitement—it stayed