บททั้งหมดของ Rejected by my mate, Claimed by Alpha Ryder: บทที่ 161 - บทที่ 170

Behold, it was Nova—the same fool who helped poison me.We had been searching for her for a while. After Drake’s death, she disappeared with her children, hiding like a ghost.Now she was here.The warriors held her hands firmly as she struggled weakly in their grip. Blood ran down her face, evidence she had tried to fight back, but she had lost.“Did you think you could run forever after what you did?” Alpha Stone said angrily.Nova collapsed to her knees, shaking violently as tears streamed down her face.“Please… please, Alpha,” she cried brokenly. “I swear I never wanted to hurt your Luna. Clara manipulated me.”We stayed quiet and stared at her with disgust and disappointment.“I made a mistake,” Nova sobbed, clutching Alpha Stone’s feet desperately. “Please give me another chance. I’ll do anything. I’ll prove my loyalty again.”“Loyalty?” Ryders asked angrily.Nova froze.Ryder stepped forward slowly, fury burning in his eyes.“You tried to help someone murder my mate,” he said

“I’m confused too… let’s just hope that isn’t Gab’s hand,” Ryder said tightly, though even his voice lacked confidence.I shook my head immediately as tears blurred my vision.“No…” I whispered brokenly. “That hand looked like Gab’s.”The image would not leave my head.“Doris,” Mom said softly as she quickly held my shoulders to steady me. “You don’t need this stress right now because of your condition. Calm down first.”“How can I calm down?” I cried shakily. “Gab is still missing!”“I know,” she whispered sadly. “But we still don’t know if that belongs to him.”The entire living room had fallen into horrible silence.“First, we need stronger guards to protect Luna,” Alpha Stone said firmly. “Right now, her life is at risk, especially with her being pregnant.”Everyone in the room nodded seriously. The mood had completely changed. No one was smiling anymore.“Yes, that’s very important,” Ryder agreed immediately.He turned to Kael. “Kael, you and the other warrior who helped catch No

~ Ryder ~After agreeing to Doris’ request last night, I would be lying if I said I was comfortable with her leaving the house right now.Not when Lucious could be anywhere.Every second, my mind kept imagining different dangers, different possibilities, and none of them ended well. The thought of anything happening to Doris or our unborn pup was enough to make my chest tighten painfully.But saying no to Doris had never truly been an option.I knew her too well.If she didn’t see Blade with her own eyes and calm her heart, she wouldn’t rest. She would keep worrying herself sick, and that was the last thing I wanted for her.So even though fear sat heavily inside me, I made a silent promise to myself.I would protect her with everything I had.Nothing would touch my Luna.Nothing would touch my child.I slowly turned my head and looked at Doris sleeping peacefully beside me.Her hair was spread messily over the pillow, and one of her hands rested protectively over her stomach even in

~ Ryder ~8 MONTHS LATER“Up… down… up… down…” I counted patiently while Doris struggled through another squat in front of me.The doctor had said she needed light exercise before delivery since she was already very close to giving birth.Honestly, just looking at her huge stomach now made me nervous every single day.Doris slowly stood upright again before immediately grabbing my arm dramatically.“I’m tired already, Ryder,” she cried weakly.I stared at her in disbelief.“Baby girl, we literally just started,” I said, trying hard not to laugh. “You’ve only done two squats.”Doris pointed accusingly at me.“Two squats for a pregnant woman is equal to twenty for people that aren’t pregnant,” she argued seriously.That completely destroyed me.I burst into loud laughter while holding my stomach.“You’re so dramatic,” I laughed.“I’m serious!”“No, you’re trying to escape exercise like always,” I teased, leaning down to kiss both her cheeks. “You’ve been avoiding workouts since after yo

“HER WATER JUST BROKE!”For one second, nobody moved.Then suddenly the entire living room exploded into chaos.“Hospital bag!” Dad yelled.Doris gripped my shirt tightly as another pain hit her hard.“Ryder…” she cried shakily.That was when my brain completely stopped working.“THE BABY IS COMING?!” I shouted like someone just announced the end of the world.“Yes, genius!” Mom said. “That’s usually what happens when water breaks!”Doris bent forward slightly with a painful cry, and I immediately held her tighter.“Easy… easy, baby,” I whispered quickly, though my own hands were shaking badly.“Oh Goddess,” Ms. D muttered nervously. “Her contractions are starting already.”“What contractions?!” I asked immediately.Everyone looked at me.Dad blinked slowly.“You seriously don’t know?”“I’M A FIRST-TIME FATHER!” I snapped.Doris suddenly laughed weakly through her pain.“You’re more scared than me right now.” She teased.“Of course I’m scared!” I cried. “A whole human is trying to com