Semua Bab Rejected By The Alpha, Crowned The Rogue Queen : Bab 21 - Bab 30

SIERRA'S POV The Summit woke the next morning with a strange heaviness in the air. Not the usual political tension or the low thrum of wary alliances but something else. Something aimed at me. I felt it the moment I stepped out of my quarters, the way warriors paused mid-stride when I passed, the way their eyes tracked me a second too long. The way whispers followed like shadows. Yesterdays had already shaken the fragile peace, and seeing a rogue nation combat with such tactical formation was keeping an already wary people on edge, but I didn't want to think too much of it. But then, the moment I stepped into the corridor and found three Moonbane sentries posted much closer than yesterday, I knew that Isaak Moonbane was no longer merely curious. He was suspicious. I made my way through the east corridor, Nyx’s small hand in mine, Zephyr walking close on my other side. I felt exposed, as if everyone could see through my mask, through every facade I had put up. “Mama,” Zephyr wh

SIERRA'S POV The night air outside the feast hall was colder than it had any right to be. It stung my skin, reminding me that I was still alive, that my heart was still beating too fast in my chest.My mind remembered when the incense wanted into the air, the scent. The moment the bond snapped awake like a beast roused from a ten-year sleep.I could feel it still, like invisible claws dragging across the inside of my ribcage, and underneath it all, muffled but unmistakable, the echo of Isaak’s scent. I hated how easily it wrapped around me, even now.I pushed deeper into the night, hoping the cool air would steady me. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, but I told myself it was only adrenaline. Only the shock and the dread crawling up my spine.Not him.Never him.I made it halfway down the temple steps before I heard the doors slam open behind me.“Sierra.”His voice was low, but I heard it. Still, I didn’t turn. I couldn’t. If I looked at him right now, the bond would pull at me again

SIERRA'S POV The hurt in Isaak’s eyes nearly undid me, but I held firm because this wasn’t about us. It was about two small children who deserved better than the mess we had created.“We are going to talk,” he said, steel in his voice. “Soon. And you are not leaving this territory until we do.”A chill slid down my spine.“Isaak—”“I mean it.” He stared at me, expression darkening with something deeper and far more dangerous than anger, before he turned to walk away.“We will be leaving tonight, Isaak.” I whispered. “Whether you like it or not.”He turned back, watching me for a moment before he stepped in, close enough that his breath fanned over my skin and the heat of his body seeped into me like sunlight through frost. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again.“You think I didn’t look for you?” he said, finally. “You think I didn’t regret it the moment the words left my mouth? I wanted so desperately to take it back. To drop to my knees if I had to. But you

SIERRA'S POVEven after the screams quieted and the fires died down, Moonbane’s courtyard felt charged with leftover violence. The broken stones were stained with rogue blood, the air thick with smoke and the scent of fear barely drowned out by healing herbs. Warriors limped past carrying the wounded. Isaak’s voice echoed somewhere in the distance, low and commanding, steadying his pack after the siege.I stood at the center of the chaos, my palms still trembling from the power I had unleashed. My wolf prowled beneath my skin, restless, ready to sink her teeth into anything that moved. The battle had dragged something out of me that I had buried for years. Something I had hoped would never surface again, but it had and everyone saw it.Moonbane warriors watched me with a mix of awe and unease. A woman with my past should not have stood shoulder to shoulder with Isaak against an army large enough to topple a small kingdom.Xenox approached me with a grim expression. His dark hair was s

SIERRA'S POVThe air of Ithacus territory was different from anywhere else I had ever walked. It was alive with energy. As our carriage rolled through the gates, the twins nestled against me, Nyx’s pale head on my lap and Zephyr’s dark hair brushing my arm, I felt both exhaustion and anticipation coil together in my chest. Moonbane was behind us, Isaak still escorting us as promised, and though the distance was small, every mile felt like a lifetime. The scent of the forest outside, was sharper here, mingled with the faint hum of wards and protective enchantments. Ithacus had a pulse of its own, and I could feel it threading into my blood as we passed through its borders.I had spent seven years building Ithacus into a place of safety and loyalty, a sanctuary where the rogue clans could breathe freely, yet my return now felt different. It was no longer merely a refuge. Something ancient had stirred, something that felt heavier than the years of planning, the treaties signed, the enem