บททั้งหมดของ On Your Kneels, Alpha Chase : บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Elena*****Silverfang Territory — War Hall, Nightfall*****The silence after Lucian’s declaration didn’t fade.It followed us.It clung to the corridors as warriors parted for us, eyes lowered, steps careful. No one spoke. No one dared. The kneeling in the courtyard had ended, but the damage hadn’t. Power like that didn’t disappear just because the moment was over.It rewrote things.I could feel it in the way the walls hummed faintly beneath my skin. In the way my heartbeat no longer felt like just my own.I hated it.The war hall doors shut behind us with a heavy thud. Torches flared along the stone walls, casting long shadows across the council table. Lucian leaned against one of the pillars like he owned the place, which, judging by the looks on the elders’ faces, he basically did.Chase stood a few steps behind me.Not beside me.That difference mattered.“You should sit,” one of the elders said carefully.I didn’t.“I want everyone out,” I said.The words came out steady. Firmer

Elena*****Silverfang — High Wing, Late Night*****I hated the quiet.It pressed in on me, thick and heavy, settling into my chest like it belonged there. The kind of quiet that didn’t soothe, didn’t heal, only reminded. Every crack of the stone walls, every soft hiss of the ward flames, every distant footstep below carried one truth I couldn’t escape.Chase was still here.I knew it the same way I knew when my children slept or when danger crept too close to the borders. I didn’t need to see him. I felt him. Like a constant presence at the edge of my awareness, restrained but unyielding.Patient.That was the worst part.I paced the length of the room, bare feet cold against the marble floor, arms wrapped tightly around myself as if I could hold my heart still. The twins were asleep at last, their breaths soft and even behind the warded door. I had checked on them twice already, lingering longer than necessary, just to delay being alone with my thoughts.I had rejected him.The words

Elena*****Silverfang — The Same Night*****The hall never fully recovered after the kiss.Music resumed, but it was wrong, too loud, too fast, desperate to bury what everyone had witnessed. Wolves laughed too hard, their voices sharp instead of warm. Glasses were refilled again and again, hands shaking as liquid sloshed over the rims. Conversations lowered into whispers that cut like knives.They were afraid.Not of scandal.Of consequences.I stood frozen where Lucian had left me, heart pounding so violently I thought it might tear free from my chest. My skin burned where Chase’s mouth had been moments ago, like a brand that refused to fade.That had been a mistake.A selfish one.One I would pay for.Chase hadn’t followed me. I could feel him somewhere behind me, close enough that the bond hummed faintly, distant enough to respect the wall I’d rebuilt in seconds.Coward.Or maybe stronger than me.Strong hands gripped my arms from behind.“Breathe,” Lucian said flatly, his voice lo

Elena*****Ruins of a Fallen Kingdom*****The fire should have felt like victory.It didn’t.Ash drifted through the air like black snow, settling on broken stone and lifeless bodies. The screams were gone now. Too quiet. Too final. Finn was pressed against my side, shaking but alive. Fia clung to my neck, her small fingers digging into my skin as if she was afraid I might disappear.I didn’t blame her.I felt hollow.Behind us, the kingdom continued to burn, towers collapsing in slow, distant thunder. The bond with my children pulsed steadily again, no longer screaming in pain, but something else was wrong.Very wrong.Lucian stood a few steps away, surveying the destruction like he’d expected nothing less. Blood streaked his arms and armor. Not his blood. Never his.Chase lingered farther back, silent, watching Lucian with a tension that made my skin prickle.Then the air shifted.I felt it before I heard it, a sharp pressure, heavy and violent, like a storm forming too fast.Lucian

Elena*****Later That Night — Beyond the Ruins*****The truth hung between us long after the fire burned lower.Chase didn’t move closer.Didn’t reach for me.Didn’t ask for anything.That somehow made it worse.I sat beside him, close enough to feel the heat of his body, far enough that nothing could be misunderstood. The twins slept a few steps away, guarded by two warriors and a silence that felt too fragile to breathe in.“I should check on them,” I murmured, needing an excuse to move.“They’re safe,” Chase said gently. “I can hear their heartbeats.”Of course he could.I nodded anyway and stayed where I was.The night wind carried the smell of ash and iron. Somewhere in the dark, a wolf howled, distant, warning, restless. My chest tightened. Peace never lasted. It teased. Then it cut.“I meant what I said,” Chase added quietly. “About not needing you to choose.”I looked at him then.Really looked.He wasn’t the Alpha who once towered over me with certainty and command. He wasn’t