Semua Bab The Alpha’s Rejected Mate: Bab 101 - Bab 110

I heard his name spoken aloud.I froze when it happened.Not because the voice was loud.Not because it was angry.But because I was afraid.“Kieran.”The sound cut through me. It was not prayer. It was not love. It was fear wrapped in a whisper, heavy and desperate. My breath caught in my chest. I knew at once that this was wrong.Very wrong.I pressed my hand against my heart as if that would quiet the panic rising in me. I told myself it was nothing. Just a word. Just a name. But my bond with him tightened, sharp and sudden, and I knew the truth before I wanted to accept it.Someone had spoken his name with belief.Not devotion.Fear.“Kieran,” the voice said again.I swallowed hard. “He hears that,” I whispered, even though no one was there to answer me.The bond shifted. It pulled. It burned.And somewhere beyond me, Kieran reacted.I felt it like a shudder in my bones.He came to me fast. Too fast.I did not hear his steps. I felt his presence inside my head first. Heavy. Crowde

Faith should heal, but this time it burned.I felt it before anyone spoke.The bond twisted. Not violently. Not gently. It shifted like something learning a new shape.“Kieran,” I said, my voice low, careful. “Do you feel that?”He nodded once. “Yes.”His answer came too fast. Too sure.My chest tightened. “What is it?”“Faith,” he said. “But not the kind we want.”The words sat heavy between us.I swallowed. “Faith is faith.”“No,” he replied. “Belief has flavors.”That made my skin crawl.The Goddess was silent, but her presence pressed sharp against my thoughts. She was listening harder now. Watching closer.“This isn’t fear,” I said slowly. “It’s… hunger.”Kieran’s jaw clenched. “They want something taken.”I hugged my arms around myself. “Taken from who?”“From each other,” he said.The bond flared again.A scream echoed through it. Not sound. Feeling. Panic. Rage.I gasped. “Someone’s praying again.”Kieran’s breath hitched. “No.”I stared at him. “What do you mean no?”“They ar

I dream of ruling.The crown is already on my head.That is the first thing I know.It is heavy. Not in weight, but in meaning. It presses down on thoughts I did not choose and power I did not ask for.I breathe, but the breath feels borrowed.Fear surrounds me. Not faces. Not voices. Fear itself. It moves like a tide. It feeds the crown. It feeds me.I reach up, wanting to tear it away.It does not move.“You see it now,” a voice says.I turn, my heart hammering. “This isn’t real.”“It will be,” the voice answers calmly.I know that voice.Too well.“You,” I say. “You’re not allowed here.”The old god smiles. “None of us are. Yet here we stand.”I look down. My hands glow faintly. Power hums under my skin, restless and sharp.“This is not what I want,” I say.The old god tilts his head. “Want rarely matters.”I grit my teeth. “Nova will never let this happen.”His smile widens. “She already is.”The bond flares.Pain snaps through my chest and the dream fracturesI wake with a sharp

“They sold you.”The words leave my mouth before I can soften them.Kieran goes very quiet.“Who?” he asks.“Someone we trusted.”His eyes darken, but his voice stays calm. “Say the name.”“I need you to be steady first.”“Nova.”His tone is sharp now. Warning.“It’s Elias,” I say.The silence that follows feels heavy and sharp at the same time.“No,” Kieran says at once.“Yes.”“He would never.”“He already did.”Kieran turns away from me, pacing once like he is trying to outwalk the truth.“You’re wrong,” he says. “He stood with us when no one else did.”“I know,” I answered. “That’s why this hurts.”He stops moving. “What exactly did he do?”I force myself to speak clearly. “He gave them your name.”“My name is not a secret.”“He gave them more than that.”Kieran slowly looks back at me.“He told them where the bond is strongest,” I continued. “He told them it reacts when I’m near you.”Understanding dawns. Cold. Heavy.“He gave them a way to find you,” Kieran says.“Yes.”His jaw

“I told you not to touch her.”The words tear out of me before I can soften them.Silence answers at first.Then a slow, amused voice presses into my mind.“You finally speak without restraint.”“I warned you,” I say again, each word steady and cold.“You warned me as if we were equals.”My hands tremble.Not from fear.From fury.Through the bond, I feel Nova’s pain like a blade dragged across my ribs. Sharp. Repeated. Measured.“You use mortals as shields,” I say.“You use one mortal as your chain,” he replies.I shut my eyes.I see her kneeling. Not bowing. Enduring.“You think this is control?” I ask him.“I think this is proof,” he answers. “You cannot stay neutral.”“I was never neutral.”“You pretended.”The bond pulses again. Nova’s breath falters.Enough.“I am done pretending,” I say.A tremor rolls through the space inside my mind where gods speak without mouths.“Careful,” he murmurs. “There is a rule.”“I know the rule.”“We do not touch each other directly.”I open my ey