All Chapters of The Rejected Lycan Heiress: He rejected her, she claimed his: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Alder's POV For a moment I simply stood there staring at James because the tone of his voice had not been what I expected to hear when I walked into the office. The words he had spoken still echoed in my head and my mind had already begun racing through possibilities that I did not want to face. My chest felt tight and my heartbeat had grown slightly uneven because the last thing I needed at that moment was another person confronting me with questions that I was not prepared to answer.“How could you?”Those were the words he had used, and the way he had said them carried something sharp enough to make my thoughts stumble over each other while I tried to determine whether he had somehow discovered the truth that Lilian had used to corner me only minutes earlier in the hallway.I took a slow breath and stepped closer to him, studying his face carefully because James had always been easy to read whenever something truly bothered him, and yet at that moment his expression held something

Adella’s POV I had been staring at the same section of the ceiling for what felt like forever while lying across the wide bed in my room, my fingers loosely twisting a strand of my hair as my mind drifted through thoughts that refused to settle into anything useful. The palace was far too quiet during moments like that, and the silence often left me alone with memories that I was not sure how to handle anymore. A month had passed since I arrived in the Lycan pack, yet some days still felt unreal as if I might wake up in the small room I used to occupy back in the pack that raised me, hearing familiar voices outside the door and smelling food drifting through the corridor.I sighed softly and turned onto my side, staring at the window across the room while sunlight filtered through the curtains in thin streaks that stretched across the floor. Training earlier that day had left my muscles sore, and my arms still carried the dull ache that came from blocking attacks badly and landing on

Alder's POV I was in the middle of reviewing a document that I had already gone through more times than necessary when the door to my office opened without any form of announcement, and even before I lifted my gaze from the papers in front of me I already knew exactly who had walked in because there was a certain careless confidence in the way the door was pushed open that only one person ever carried into my space.“Should I begin to assume that you have completely forgotten how to knock, or are you simply choosing to ignore basic manners today?” I asked while keeping my eyes on the document, allowing my tone to carry a quiet hint of irritation that I did not bother to hide.A familiar chuckle followed, and the sound of steady footsteps moved further into the room as he made himself comfortable without waiting for any form of permission.“If I decided to knock, there is a very high chance that you would pretend not to be inside just so you could avoid whatever conversation I came he

Adella’s POVI did not remember how I managed to walk out of the field without collapsing right there in front of everyone because the moment I turned my back on them it felt like something inside my chest had cracked open, and the sound of my own heartbeat became louder than the murmurs that followed behind me as I kept moving forward without daring to look back.My steps were uneven, though I forced them to remain steady as I walked through the palace grounds, my hands clenched at my sides while my vision blurred slightly from the tears that had begun to gather in my eyes. I tried to blink them away at first, hoping that I could hold myself together until I reached my room, but the more I tried to stop them the heavier they felt until one finally slipped down my cheek.I wiped it away quickly.Then another followed.And another.Before I realized it, I was no longer trying to hide it.The tears kept falling.I walked past several guards positioned along the corridor leading back int

Adella's POVI did not know how long I stayed on that cold floor with my tears soaking into nothing and my chest aching like something had been torn open inside me, but at some point the sound of footsteps approached, soft at first, then closer, and I barely reacted when a familiar voice called out to me gently.“My lady?”I did not answer.I did not even lift my head.Another voice joined, quieter but filled with concern.“She has been here for a while.”I felt hands on my shoulders then, careful and hesitant, as though they were unsure how I would react if they touched me too suddenly.“My lady, please… you should not stay here like this.”I finally moved.Slowly, I lifted my head, my vision blurred again from the tears that had not fully stopped, and I recognized my personal maid kneeling in front of me, her brows drawn together with worry as she looked at my face.“I am fine,” I said, though my voice came out weaker than I intended.She shook her head gently.“You are not,” she re