All Chapters of Bonded to the Bastard: My Rejection, His Obsession: Chapter 221 - Chapter 225

Alanza’s POV"I am not a prize to be hauled off to your mountain, Leyton."The words felt like stones in my mouth. I was sitting in the back of an armored SUV, wrapped in Luciano’s heavy leather jacket. We were moving at high speed toward a neutral stronghold in the jagged mountains. Outside the window, the dark trees of the Northwest were a blur. My skin was still buzzing with the aftershocks of the transformation. Those violet lines on my arms were glowing faintly in the dark of the cabin."You are a target, Alanza," Leyton said from the front seat. He didn't turn around. His voice was a low growl. "Every Alpha from here to the coast felt that scent explosion. The Council is already calling for an emergency session. They want to know if the Sovereign is a myth or a weapon.""She’s neither," Luciano snapped. He was sitting next to me, his hand resting near mine but not touching. He looked like he had been through a

Alanza’s POV"Can you hear me, or is your mind still lost in that purple fog?"  The voice felt like a heavy rock dropped into a still pond. I dragged my eyes open. My vision was a mess of blurry shadows and flickering orange light. I wasn't in the stronghold anymore. The air was damp and smelled like old stone and moss. Every breath I took tasted like iron. "She’s waking up," Luciano’s voice said.  I felt a rough hand on my shoulder. I tried to sit up, but my body felt like it was made of lead. I was lying on a cold stone floor. Above me, the ceiling was low and jagged. We were in the tunnels beneath the mountain. "Don't move too fast," Leyton warned.  He was standing a few feet away, his back to us. He held a flashlight in one hand and a serrated hunting knife in the other. His shirt was torn, and a dark smear of blood ran down his arm.  "What happened?" I managed to rasp out. My throat felt like I had swallowed

Alanza’s POV"I can't tell if you're looking for a horizon or if you're just waiting for the mountain to move again."Luciano’s voice was soft, drifting over the crisp morning air like the steam from the coffee mug in his hand. We were standing on the wide stone balcony of the new High Ridge Lodge. Below us, the valley was a sea of emerald pines and silver mist. It had been three months since the Floor of Kings, and the borders of the Neutral Zone were finally settling into reality."I'm just breathing, Luciano," I said, leaning my elbows on the railing. "It is a habit I am still trying to get used to."He stepped closer, the familiar scent of forest rain and ozone wrapping around me. He didn't try to touch me. He had learned the new rules. I was the Sovereign now, and while the fated bond still hummed between us, it was no longer a chain. It was a choice."The first group of refugees from the East arrived at the gate an hour ago," he said, his gaze fixed on the valley floor. "Sixteen