Alle Kapitel von Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Beast: Kapitel 81 – Kapitel 87

The earth did not simply crack at the edge of the clearing. It tore open like a wound that had been forced shut for far too long. Dark roots erupted upward through the soil, twisting violently as though something beneath the ground was clawing its way toward the surface. The silver glow of the covenant flickered across the clearing as the disturbance rippled through the network of living roots beneath the soil. Rowan felt the change immediately through the bond. The forest was no longer breathing with calm renewal. It trembled with fear. The reborn guardian lifted its head sharply toward the forest’s edge, its silver fur bristling as a low growl rolled from its chest. The sound vibrated with ancient warning. Lyra’s heart pounded as the covenant carried the same alarm through her senses. The Rotbound had been cleansed. The corruption that had imprisoned the ancient guardian had been burned away by the covenant’s light. Yet something far more sinister now stirred beneath the forest floo

The forest did not resist when Lyra reached deeper. It opened. The moment her hand pressed firmly against the shrine once more and Rowan’s strength anchored the bond beside her, the covenant shifted from a surface blaze into something far more focused. The silver light that had spread across the clearing dimmed slightly above ground, not from weakness but from purpose, as its true force began to gather beneath the soil. Lyra felt it like a current pulling her consciousness downward through layers of earth and ancient root. The living network that had awakened now turned inward, narrowing its reach as it sought the origin of the corruption buried far below. Rowan felt the change immediately. The energy flowing through him no longer surged outward in waves but compressed into a steady pressure that pushed deeper into the ground. His wolf stilled beneath his skin, instincts sharpening as if preparing for a different kind of battle. Not one fought with claws or teeth, but with will. “It i

The scream did not fade. It changed. What had burst from the shadow tree as a tearing sound of pain twisted into something deeper, a resonance that seemed to vibrate through bone and soil alike, as though the forest itself had become an instrument struck by an unseen force. The ground beneath the clearing shuddered violently, the glowing roots of the covenant flickering as the shockwave from Lyra’s strike rippled outward in every direction. Rowan felt the impact surge through him like a physical blow, yet he did not break contact with the shrine. His hand remained pressed firmly against the ancient stone as his wolf snarled beneath his skin, instincts bracing against a threat that no longer hid in silence. “It is not breaking,” he said, his voice low with grim certainty. Beneath the earth, Lyra felt the same truth unfold with chilling clarity. The strike had pierced the core. It had hurt the thing within. But it had also done something far more dangerous. It had woken it fully. The pr

The moment Lyra voiced the decision, the covenant trembled as if it understood the weight of what she intended to do. Splitting the bond was not a simple adjustment of power. The covenant had always thrived on unity, on the seamless merging of wolves, guardians, and forest into a single force. To divide it meant reshaping its very nature again, forcing it into something it had never been before. Rowan felt the hesitation ripple through the network like a faint echo. Not doubt. Instinct. The covenant resisted the idea of separation because it had been built to unite. He closed his eyes briefly, centering himself within the bond, and then pushed his will forward with steady clarity. “Trust her,” he said, his voice carrying through every connection tied to the shrine. Across the clearing, wolves tightened their focus. Hands pressed more firmly against glowing roots. Breath steadied. The bond did not weaken. It steadied. Beneath the earth, Lyra felt the shift immediately. The covenant res