Semua Bab The Alpha King's One-Time Rejected Mate: Bab 1 - Bab 5

The clearing was alive with laughter and music, the air was thick with the scent of pine, roasting meat, and freshly crushed herbs. A bonfire crackled in the center, casting golden light across the circle of werewolves gathered for what was supposed to be a celebration of victory and unity. But for Talia, it felt more like a stage set for her personal tragedy, complete with a spotlight and a dramatic score.She stood at the edge of it all, arms crossed over her chest, her heart fluttering unevenly like a moth caught in a windstorm. Dressed in her dark leather patrol gear, warm and durable, perfect for the cool Wyoming nights, sucked for sudden shifts—she felt out of place. Her red curls were pulled back into ceremonial braids threaded with gold, a tradition passed down from her mother. The fiery strands marked her as the daughter of Elias Graves, the former Beta of Black River. Tall at five-ten, with amber eyes and porcelain skin, she was a beautiful woman. Her wolf, Kaela, mirrored h

Talia lay wide awake, glaring at the ceiling like it owed her money.This house—this creaky, memory-soaked, emotionally exhausting house—was not helping. Her childhood bedroom, once filled with laughter, hand-me-down novels, and arguments about who ate the last brownie, now felt like a mausoleum of heartbreak. The walls had heard too many tears. The floor had soaked up too much grief. And the ceiling? Well, the ceiling was currently enduring the full weight of her disappointment.This was the home her mother had wasted away in, slowly taken by a rare cancer that only wolf shifters managed to attract like a curse. The same house where the news of her father’s body washing up on the riverbank had arrived, as cold and cruel as the rocks he’d been found on. The home where Thomas—Alpha Thomas she reminded herself bitterly—had once whispered promises of forever under this very roof. Where he’d claimed her as his chosen mate, as his future Luna.Yeah. It was time to leave this place. Maybe b

King Lucian's POVBoth he and his Beta stood in silence, watching the chaos unfold below. The ridge overlooked the clearing like a throne carved by nature itself—a vantage point meant for rulers, for strategists, for predators assessing territory not with fear, but with cold calculation and years of royal training had taught Lucian the art of detachment, of seeing violence as data, patterns, and consequences rather than personal calls to action. Do not interfere unless necessary. Judge only when the picture is complete. Act only when your move cannot be undone.He lived by those rules. Thrived by them.And yet— He couldn’t deny the flicker of something foreign in his chest as he observed the older she-wolf fight below. A strange tug, as if fate had reached up and curled a claw beneath his ribs, pulling his attention harder, deeper.Her movements were unlike anything he expected.Precise. Controlled. Graceful—like poetry forged in battle, sharpened by experience rather than youth. Sh