All Chapters of The Alpha Rejected His Bride For Me: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

(Theo POV)The spoon clicked against the edge of the empty pan as Pete set it down on the cold iron of the stove. He didn't turn around to face the table, but his shoulders rose and fell with a long, slow breath that he let out through his nose. Jake slid his book further down his thighs, his fingers digging into the corners of the cover until the cardboard backing groaned under the pressure."She wants something," Jake said. He didn't look at me, keeping his eyes on the wall map where the red pins marked the border. "She doesn't just walk down that road in the middle of a downpour to have tea with Mira. Not after the ridge. Not after what happened at the northern sector."Curtis took his hands off the table and leaned back in his chair, the wood giving a sharp creak that seemed to linger in the corners of the room. He reached into his vest pocket, pulled out a small piece of twine, and began tying a knot into the center of it, his thumbs working the coarse hemp over and over."People

(Mira POV)"Kai won't tell him," Lena said. She shifted her weight, the worn floorboards groaning under her boots. "He knows what his father is. He knows the Council is looking for any reason to push him out. He’s keeping it between us.""Between you," I repeated. I picked up the iron pot and started scrubbing the bottom with a handful of coarse salt. The scratching was loud in the small kitchen, a rhythmic, abrasive sound that seemed to fill the gaps between our breaths. I didn't look at her. I pushed the salt into the metal with the ball of my thumb until my fingers felt raw and the skin stung from the grit. "There is no 'between you' in that house, Lena. The walls have ears. The guards watch who goes in and out of those rooms. The servants whisper before the sheets are even dry. You’re playing with people who have been cheating since they were in the cradle."I walked to the sink and rinsed the pot. The water turned a murky, leade

(Kai POV)I pulled the heavy oak door shut, the latch clicking into place with a sound that felt like a bone snapping. I didn't lock it. There was no point in locking a room that felt like a cage anyway. I turned toward the corridor, my boots thudding against the stone floor, the sound echoing up into the vaulted ceiling where the shadows gathered in thick, velvet clumps. The air in the hallway was colder than the room I’d just left, smelling of damp masonry and the sharp, metallic tang of the rain still bleeding through the window slits. I walked fast, my hand brushing the cold stone wall, the rough texture catching against the skin of my palm.I rounded the corner of the gallery, my mind still looping back to the smudge of mud on the table. It was fresh. She hadn't been gone long. I reached the junction where the west wing met the main spire, my pace quickening, when a flash of blue silk moved in the periphery of my vision."Kai."

(Mira POV)"You should go back," I said.I didn't turn around. I kept my eyes on the plate, watching the way the light reflected off its curved edge. Lena’s hand stopped moving on the table."I just got here, Mira," she said. Her voice was low, skipping slightly at the end. She reached for the edge of the table and gripped it, her knuckles standing out white against her skin. "I can't go back up there yet. Not tonight.""He’s going to come looking for you," I said. I set the plate down in the rack and picked up another, the water dripping from my fingers onto the floorboards. I turned then, leaning my lower back against the lip of the sink. I looked at the door, then back at her. "He’s probably already at the gatehouse asking which way you went. If he finds you here, in the dark, in this lane... it makes everything worse. It makes it look like you're running. And you can't be running, Lena. Not with what you told me."

(Lena POV)The mud pulled at the soles of my boots with every step, making a wet, sucking sound that filled the silence of the lane. I kept my head down, the hood of my cloak pulled forward until the world was just a small circle of gray cobbles and flickering orange light from the distant streetlamps. My breath came out in short, ragged puffs that vanished into the mist. I reached into my pocket and touched the empty space where the gold had been, my fingers brushing against a loose thread in the lining instead. I kept walking, turning the corner past the closed bakery, the smell of damp yeast and cold soot sticking to my skin.Mira’s kitchen had been warm, but the air out here felt like ice. I pulled my arms tight against my chest, gripping the wool of my sweater through the heavy fabric of the cloak.I stopped for a second near a stack of empty crates, leaning my shoulder against the brick wall of a warehouse. My legs felt heavy, as if