Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Dark King: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

Aria froze.The words the Council has summoned her hung in the air like a blade suspended over her throat, gleaming, cold, inevitable.Erevan didn’t move at first.Not a muscle.Not a breath.Only his shadows reacted—snapping toward the ceiling like a dark flame caught in a sudden wind.The guard swallowed hard. “My King… they demand she present herself. Their message was clear. If she doesn’t come willingly—”“They will do nothing,” Erevan cut in, voice flat, deadly.“But—”“They. Will. Do. Nothing.”The room vibrated with the force of his words.Aria felt the shadows brushing her ankles, shivering up her skin like protective armor responding to his rage.The guard bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the floor. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I am only relaying—”“That is enough,” Erevan snapped.The guard scrambled backward and fled, shutting the door behind him with shaking hands.Silence filled the chamber.Aria’s heart pounded painfully. “They want me? Why?”Erevan finally turned

The room didn’t breathe.Not Aria.Not Erevan.Not even the shadows.Everything stilled at the Watcher’s words:Something else is forcing its way through.Erevan’s power snapped tight around him like a second skin.“What do you mean ‘something else’?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous.The Watcher swallowed. “The rift is shifting. Changing. It— it’s not reacting like it did with the wolf. It feels older. Heavier. Almost… sentient.”Aria felt a cold ripple crawl up her spine.Sentient.Alive.Her wolf whimpered deep inside her.Erevan stepped forward, shadows curling up his arms.“How long before it breaches?”“We don’t know,” the Watcher said. “Minutes. Maybe less.”Aria’s heart hammered painfully. “Is it coming for me?”The Watcher didn’t answer.He didn’t have to.The look in his eyes said everything.Erevan turned sharply toward her. “You’re not going near the rift this time.”Aria’s breath trembled. “But—”“No.” His jaw tightened. “Whatever is pushing through… isn’t from yo

Aria didn’t speak for a long time.She stayed pressed against Erevan’s chest, her breath shaking, her fingers curled into the fabric of his coat like she was afraid the world would disappear if she let go.And maybe it would.The chamber still trembled faintly from the attack. Dust sifted from the ceiling. The scent of scorched magic lingered in the air like a warning.But Erevan’s arms were warm.Anchoring.Steady.His shadows surrounded her in a soft cocoon, shielding her from the remnants of fear that clung to her ribs like ice.Eventually, he pulled back enough to look at her.“Are you hurt?” he murmured.Aria shook her head, but her voice cracked. “No. Just—shaken.”His eyes softened, a crack in the armor he never let anyone see.“Then breathe,” he said gently. “Slowly.”Aria tried.In.Out.In.Out.But her breaths came unevenly, her chest still tight with the echo of whatever had whispered to her through the door.Erevan lifted her chin slightly. “Look at me.”She did.And for

The words didn’t feel like her own.They echoed through the chamber in a voice that was Aria and not Aria, layered and resonant, carrying a force that made the air shudder.Every torch in the Council Chamber blew out.Every shadow recoiled.Every Councilor stiffened behind their metallic masks as the power vibrating out of Aria cracked through the walls like lightning.Erevan stood frozen—not in fear, but in stunned recognition.“Aria…” he murmured.But she couldn’t answer him.Her body felt like it was filled with electricity—cold and ancient, humming under her skin like a thousand whispering wings trying to break free.Her breath came in sharp, uneven bursts as silver light bled through her veins all the way down to her fingertips.The Councilors moved first.Their staffs flared with defensive magic.“Contain her,” one shouted.“Begin the shield,” another barked.“Her power is awakening—stop her before—!”Erevan’s voice cut through their panic like a blade.“TOUCH HER AND I END YOU

The tremor deepened—low, humming, almost rhythmic—more like a heartbeat than an earthquake. Aria pressed a hand to her sternum as the pull intensified, threading through her veins like invisible hooks tugging her toward something she couldn’t see.Erevan felt it too.His shadows snapped violently, encircling her in a wall of darkness as if trying to block whatever force had found her. “Aria, stay with me. Do not answer it.”“I’m not—answering,” she whispered, breath trembling. “It’s… pulling.”“Fight it.”“I’m trying.”But the tug grew stronger. Not painful—just eerie in how natural it felt. Like something familiar was calling to her—something buried deep in her blood.Erevan cupped her face sharply, forcing her to look at him. “Listen to me. Whatever is reaching for you is not part of your lineage. It is not part of you. It wants to use what you awakened.”Aria swallowed. “How do you know?”“Because I know the difference between power and corruption.” His thumbs brushed her cheeks, h