The Alpha’s Rejected Mate의 모든 챕터: 챕터 41 - 챕터 50

The song was wrong.I felt it before anyone spoke. A wrongness that pressed under my ribs. Quiet. Insistent.“They want proof,” someone said behind me. “They want tradition.”I did not turn. “They want control.”Kieran’s voice came low. “What are you hearing?”“The gap,” I said. “Between what we sing and what we remember.”An elder cleared his throat. “Songs are memories.”“No,” I replied. “Songs are edited.”Murmurs followed. Uneasy. Defensive.“You accuse us of lies?” a councilwoman asked.“I accuse you of comfort,” I said. “Comfort over truth.”Kieran shifted closer. “Show us.”I nodded once. “Bring the old verses. The ones you don’t teach.”Silence stretched. Then the white-haired elder spoke. “There are verses that were sealed.”“Unseal them,” I said.A younger elder protested. “They are forbidden.”“For a reason,” I said. “Bring them.”Reluctantly, words began to pass. Soft. Broken. Half-remembered. The melody stayed the same. The meaning did not.A woman sang the first line. He

They summoned me like I was already guilty.“Witness only,” the message said.Not ruler. Not mother. Witness.I walked in holding my silence tight.The first voice cut sharp. “You were not called to speak.”I lifted my chin. “Then don’t ask questions.”Murmurs followed. Controlled. Cold.An elder leaned forward. “This council stands because laws were broken.”“Which laws?” I asked.“The old ones,” another replied. “The ones that kept us alive.”I breathed slow. “Those laws killed children.”A hiss spread.“You accuse tradition,” a woman snapped.“I accuse fear,” I said.Someone laughed. “You sound like her already.”“Her?” I asked.“The one before you,” an elder said. “The child-bearer who thought blood could rewrite fate.”My chest tightened. “You murdered her.”Silence cracked.“You don’t know that,” the elder replied.“I know what fear does,” I said. “It hides truth behind songs.”A gavel struck. “Enough.”The head elder spoke. “Nova of no crown, you are here as witness to a breach

Another voice broke in. “Elijah wants to speak.”My chest tightened. “Bring him.”He came fast. Too fast. His eyes were wrong. Focused. Flat.“You shouldn’t be here,” I said.“I know,” he replied. “I came anyway.”“Why?”He swallowed. “Because you need to hear this.”I waited.“They moved Kieran,” he said. “Not to the holding cells.”My fingers curled. “Where?”“A private chamber,” he answered. “For the vote’s aftermath.”“Execution?”“Interrogation first,” he said quickly. “They want leverage.”“On me,” I said.Elijah nodded. “On the child.”Silence stretched.I said, “Who guards him?”He hesitated. Too long.“Elijah,” I warned softly.“The inner circle,” he said. “And a healer.”A healer. My heart jumped. “Why a healer?”He met my eyes. “Because they plan to keep him alive.”“For how long?” I asked.His voice dropped. “As long as it takes.”I turned away. Strategy over force.“Send word,” I said. “Quietly. To the packs that bent but did not break.”Elijah asked, “What do I tell them

I closed my eyes. I reached. Like I always had. Like breathing.Nothing answered.No warmth. No pressure. No voice.“She’s gone,” I whispered.Kieran’s jaw tightened. “Or she stepped back.”“No,” I said. “She’s silent.”Fear crept into his eyes. “What does that mean?”“It means,” I said slowly, “I paid a price I didn’t agree to.”Our child stirred. Not fussing. Just moving. His fingers curled around mine.A sudden clarity hit me.“He took it,” I said.Kieran froze. “Took what?”“The last tether,” I said. “The part of me that reached her.”Kieran shook his head. “He wouldn’t.”“He didn’t choose,” I said. “The world did.”The door burst open.A guard rushed in, breathless. “Luna”“Stop,” I said.He swallowed hard. “They’ve arrived.”“Who?”“The Western Alpha,” he said. “And three others.”Kieran stood. “They weren’t summoned.”“They came anyway,” the guard said. “They’re calling a challenge.”I rose slowly. My legs trembled, but I stood.“A challenge to whom?” I asked.The guard’s voice

The silence between us stretched. Heavy. Crushing.Then something else brushed against the bond.Small. Soft.The child.Not a cry. Not a word.A feeling.Warm. Curious.Kieran stiffened through the bond.What is that?he asked.I pressed my hand to my stomach. Tears welled. “It’s him.”He shouldn’t be able to“I know.”The connection sharpened.The child reached. Not with fear. With need.Father,something whispered. Not in words. In meaning.Kieran gasped.His pain faltered.Confusion replaced it.Nova…His voice broke. He knows me.“Yes,” I whispered. “He does.”Silence followed.Then resolve.They won’t keep me,Kieran said.Fear surged through me. “Don’t do anything reckless.”I already have,he replied.The bond flared.Then snapped.I cried out.The alarm bells rang before dawn.Elijah burst in. “He’s gone.”My heart raced. “How?”“No signs of forced escape,” Elijah said. “The guards are unconscious. Not dead.”Relief flashed through me. Then fear.“He did it alone,” I said.Elijah