Todos os capítulos de THE PRINCESS THE ALPHA REJECTED: Capítulo 61 - Capítulo 70

 Damien's POVThe duel's terms were set for three days from now, formally recorded before the Alpha King himself, witnessed by both delegations in full. I told myself, walking away from that formal declaration, that I felt nothing but readiness. It was a lie I managed to hold onto for exactly as long as it took to reach the privacy of my own quarters.Three days. Three days until I either reclaimed everything Silvercrest's arrogant future had promised me since birth, or lost it publicly, permanently, in front of every pack that mattered.I paced the length of my room, turning the calculation over and over until it wore smooth from repetition. Adrian was skilled. I had watched him fight, watched the discipline he'd built over years of Riverline's exacting standards, and I understood, without needing to flatter myself otherwise, that this would not be an easy match to win.But I had never once in my life accepted an outcome sim

Ariana's POVThe ring had been prepared at the center of the training grounds, a wide circle marked in white stone, every candidate and healer and council member gathered around its edge by the time my father took his place on the raised platform overlooking it. I stood beside my mother, Leah and Ethan close behind us, the entire weight of the gathering pressing down over the circle like something physical.Adrian entered first, calm in the way I'd watched him prepare for all week, his posture settling into the same measured readiness he carried into everything. Damien entered a moment later, and I felt something tighten in my chest at the sight of him. Whatever composure he'd worn through the earlier trials had thinned considerably, replaced by something sharper, more brittle, a coiled tension that read less like readiness and more like a wolf who had already decided the outcome and simply needed his body to catch up to the decision.My father

Damien's POVThe guards flanked me the entire walk back to Silvercrest's quarters, close enough that I clearly understood they expected me to attempt something reckless before morning. I said nothing to them, offered no resistance, though the silence cost me considerably more than any protest might have.Attempted murder. The words followed me the entire walk, repeating themselves with a clarity that refused to soften no matter how many times I turned them over. I told myself, somewhere beneath the shame still burning hot across my chest, that the Alpha King had exaggerated the severity of it, that I had simply lost control at the moment, that whatever I'd intended in that final, desperate strike hadn't fully crystallized into the accusation he'd hurled across the entire assembly.But I had felt it, in the half-second before Adrian twisted away. I had aimed for his throat. Whatever civility I still pretended toward myself, I understood exactly what I had intended at that moment, and t

Ariana's POVThree days into Adrian's recovery, Leah finally declared him well enough to walk beyond the healer's hall without assistance, provided he didn't push himself too hard too quickly. I took that as permission enough to steal him away entirely, leading him toward the orchard on the western fence, the one place within the estate that had quietly become ours over these past weeks."You're limping less today," I said, watching him settle carefully beneath our usual apple tree."Leah's very good at her work," he said. "I suspect I'll be fully healed faster than she originally estimated."He laughed softly at something I said, the sound easing something in my chest that had stayed tight since the moment his shoulder had torn open in that ring. I'd grown so used to bracing for the worst these past few days that hearing him laugh, easy and unguarded, felt like its own small miracle."You've been quiet today," he said, studying me

Ariana's POVLeah found me the morning after the closing ceremony, settling onto the grass beside me with the particular knowing look she'd worn since breakfast, Ethan trailing behind her with an expression that suggested he'd already been informed of whatever she intended to discuss."You smell different," Leah said, without preamble.I felt heat rush immediately to my face. "I don't know what you mean.""You absolutely do," she said, grinning now. "I've spent weeks training under a healer who's taught me more about scent recognition than I ever wanted to know, and I'm telling you, Ariana, you smell completely different than you did three days ago.""She's right," Ethan said, dropping onto the grass across from us, entirely too pleased with himself. "Even I noticed, and I generally have no idea what anyone's scent means beyond whether they've been near the kitchens recently.""I have no idea what either of you are talking a