All Chapters of Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Beast : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The air in the forest was stagnant, as if the world itself was holding its breath. I stood over the vibrating wolf-headed staff, the voice of the Tailor still echoing in my skull. *She has your father’s eyes.*The words were a poison, seeping into the cracks of my heart. I had spent my entire life believing I was a solitary freak of nature, a girl born with a curse that made her a target. Now, the possibility of a sister—another soul forged from the same blood—felt less like a gift and more like a final, cruel joke from the Council."Rowan," I said, my voice barely a thread. "If she’s there... if they’ve had her this whole time... what have they turned her into?"Rowan didn't answer immediately. He was busy binding his wounds with strips of his own cloak, his jaw set in a hard, grim line. He looked up, his silver hair matted with blood and dirt, but his eyes were sharp. "They’ve turned her into a weapon, Kaima. Just like they tried to do to you. But she isn't you. She hasn't lived in

The silence of the Capital was more terrifying than the screams. Thousands of wolves—survivors of the Council’s madness—stood in the wreckage of the marble streets, their eyes fixed on me. They weren't looking for a monster to fear or a goddess to worship; they were looking for a reason to breathe.My legs felt like they were made of glass. Every step I took toward the edge of the palace terrace felt like I was walking on the edge of a blade. Rowan was a constant shadow at my side, his presence the only thing keeping the world from spinning out of control."They're waiting for you to speak," Rowan whispered."I don't have anything to say," I replied, my voice cracking. "I destroyed their world. Look at this place, Rowan. It’s a graveyard.""You didn't destroy it," Selene said, coming to stand on my other side. She looked at the crowd, her violet eyes reflecting the ruins. "You pulled the rot out of the foundation. Now, it just needs a foundation that isn't built on blood."I looked do

The obsidian blade in Rowan’s hand didn't tremble, but I felt the confusion radiating off him like heat from a dying fire. We had fought gods, weavers of fate, and monsters made of ink, but we had never faced a man who looked like he belonged in a boardroom.Mr. Vane didn't flinch at the blade. He simply adjusted his silk tie and tucked his silver pocket watch into his waistcoat. Behind him, the ruins of the Palace terrace looked like a jagged tooth against the darkening sky."A contract?" I asked, my voice flat. My body felt hollow, the absence of the "Manifestation"—the daughter I would never have—leaving a cold ache in my center. "The Capital has belonged to the wolves since the first moon rose. You can't own a lease on a graveyard.""On the contrary, Miss Kaima," Mr. Vane said, his voice smooth and devoid of any magical distortion. "The High Council was a very expensive organization to run. They didn't just harvest souls; they borrowed gold. Massive amounts of it. From us. When th

The air in the ruined royal bedchamber didn't just feel cold anymore; it felt sterile. It was the kind of cold that didn't come from the wind or the absence of the sun, but from the absence of life itself. I sat on the edge of a bed that had once belonged to queens who ruled with fire, but now, I was a queen who ruled only over a declining balance.Rowan stood by the shattered window, his silhouette a jagged line against the violet-tinted sky. He hadn't moved for nearly twenty minutes. His hand was gripped so tightly around the hilt of his obsidian blade that his knuckles were white, the skin stretched thin over his bones. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the silent war he was fighting within himself. He wanted to kill the world to save me, but the world was now literally plugged into my heart."Rowan," I whispered. The sound felt brittle, like dried leaves skittering across a stone floor.He didn't turn around. "I can hear the machines, Kaima. Even from here. Above the sound

The wind in the Dust-Well didn't howl; it hissed. It was a dry, synthetic sound, like white noise played through a broken speaker. I stood in the center of the camp, my boots hovering a fraction of an inch above the red sand. I could see the grains of dust through the palm of my hand. I was a watercolor painting left out in the rain, my edges blurring, my colors bleeding into the gray nothingness of the horizon."Kaima, don't move. Just... stay still," Rowan pleaded.He reached out again, his fingers trembling. This time, as his hand met my cheek, there was a faint spark of static electricity—a sharp, stinging pop that made him flinch. His hand didn't pass through me entirely, but it felt like he was touching a swarm of angry bees. He couldn't feel the warmth of my skin, only the vibration of the error."I'm right here, Rowan," I said, but even my voice sounded wrong. There was a delay, a slight echo that made it seem like I was speaking from the bottom of a deep, metallic well. "I ca