Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rejected for Her Curves, Claimed by the Blood Alpha: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

POV DARLENEThe rain hammered against the high, narrow windows of the infirmary with a relentless, rhythmic fury that seemed to mock the chaos inside my own chest. Each drop was a cold reminder of the world outside the fortress—a world where I was a traitor, a ghost, and a failure. But inside these stone walls, surrounded by the scent of drying sage and crushed iron-root, I was facing a truth far more dangerous than Jackson’s silver-tipped arrows.I sat on the edge of the stone examination table, my fingers tracing the jagged grain of the wood. My hands were trembling, not from the cold that seeped through the granite, but from the realization that had finally crystallized in my mind. As a healer, I had spent years studying the subtle shifts of the body, the way life flickered and took root. I knew the signs. I knew why the scent of lavender was turning into something richer, something primal.I wasn't just Darlene the Exile anymore. I was a vessel.The secret pregnancy—the miracle I

POV JACKSONThe whiskey in my glass was the only thing keeping the roar of my wolf at bay. Ever since Silas returned with that jagged mark on his face—a brand of shame that screamed Darlene’s defiance—the air in Silver Moon felt like it was laced with poison. My warriors moved with a hesitant caution, their eyes darting to me whenever I entered a room. They were waiting. Waiting to see how their Alpha would handle a "healer" who had found sanctuary in the arms of the North’s most dangerous savage.I stood in the war room, the maps spread out before me like a puzzle I couldn't solve. I had moved the wedding up to Saturday. The invitations had been sent to every major pack in the territory. It was supposed to be my triumph, the final seal on Darlene’s erasure."Alpha," Marcus’s voice came from the doorway, tight and urgent. "The informant from the South Pass has arrived. He says he has something that couldn't be sent via mind-link.""Bring him in," I snapped, not lifting my eyes from th

POV DARLENEThe transition from the warmth of Eryx’s chambers to the brutal, biting wind of the Obsidian Pass was a physical shock. We had left the fortress under the cover of a moonless sky, moving like ghosts through the jagged veins of the mountains. Every muscle in my body felt the strain of the climb, but the exhaustion was a secondary thought compared to the rhythmic warmth pulsing in my womb—a warmth that seemed to grow more vibrant every time Eryx’s shadow fell over me.I adjusted the heavy furs around my shoulders, the obsidian dagger a cold, comforting weight against my thigh. We were traveling light, accompanied only by Kael and a handful of elite warriors who moved with the silent lethality of mountain lions. Eryx led the way, his massive frame cutting through the mist like the prow of a ship.“Focus on your breathing, Darlene,” Eryx’s voice drifted back to me, low and steady, cutting through the howl of the wind. “The air up here is thin. If you fight the mountain, it wil

POV DARLENEThe air at the border of Silver Moon didn't smell like home anymore. It smelled of stagnant water, wilting lilies, and the sharp, metallic tang of silver hidden in the shadows. We had reached the "No Man’s Land," a strip of ancient forest that separated the Blood Fortress from the valley I had once called my own.I rode beside Eryx, my hands gripping the reins of my dark mare. Every muscle in my body felt like a coiled spring. The furs I wore were heavy, but they didn't protect me from the internal heat that was radiating from my core. It wasn't just the pregnancy anymore. It was something deeper, something primal that had been dormant for nineteen years, suppressed by Jackson’s constant reminders that I was "too much" and "not enough" all at once."You're silent, Darlene," Eryx said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the mist. He wasn't looking at the path ahead; he was looking at me, his crimson eyes tracing the flush on my cheeks."The forest is quiet," I whi

POV DARLENEThe ride back to the Blood Fortress was a blur of adrenaline and moonlight. The victory at the wedding—the sight of Jackson’s ruin and the breaking of his "perfect" facade—still hummed in my veins like a drug. But as we crossed the iron gates and the heavy portcullis slammed shut behind us, the tactical coldness I had maintained began to melt, replaced by a heat that had nothing to do with the hearths of the hall.Eryx didn't wait for the stable hands. He dismounted and pulled me from my saddle in one fluid, possessive motion. He didn't say a word to Kael or the returning warriors; he simply locked his eyes onto mine—crimson pools of raw, unfiltered hunger—and carried me toward his private wing.The moment the heavy oak doors of his chambers clicked shut, the silence was absolute, broken only by the crackle of the fire and the ragged sound of our breathing."Darlene," he rasped, his voice dropping to a register so low it made my core throb.He didn't let me go. He pressed