All Chapters of The Rejected Mate Returns: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

**Lyra**I was folding my last blanket when I heard footsteps outside the tent. I stopped, holding my breath.I didn’t need to look. I knew it was him.“Lyra.”His voice was brief, almost a whisper. Just enough to announce his presence.He didn’t wait for a reply before stepping inside. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, standing in the doorway, his gaze fixed on the small bag where I kept my things.There weren’t many—as few as the times I’d ever felt truly at peace.He took a few steps closer. The air grew thick.“Are you packing?”I swallowed. I couldn’t hold his gaze for long.His eyes… something in them had changed. Cold, yes. But also tense. As if a contained storm were raging inside him.I straightened up, still clutching the blanket in my hands.“Are you going to stop me?”The question came out shakier than I’d intended. But I couldn’t help it.His presence stirred everything inside me.I saw him hesitate. Just for a moment. But long enough for my chest to tighten.“No,” h

**Tharion**I arrived just in time.When I saw her on the ground, curled up, her hands shielding her belly and her face contorted with pain, I felt my heart stop.I had imagined the moment I would see her again many times… but not like this. Not trembling, not wounded.Not with the threat of death so close.I wrapped her in my arms without thinking, feeling her cling to me as if I were the only thing standing firm in the midst of a crumbling world.My chest swelled with relief. She was alive. They were alive.I wanted so badly to kiss her, to hold her tight, to promise her that nothing bad would ever touch her again. To tell her she wasn’t alone, that she never would be again.But I held back.Then, her voice… so soft, so fragile… pierced me like a warm breeze.“Thank you for being here,” she whispered, as if saying it any louder might shatter the moment.I gave a barely perceptible smile. But inside… inside, I felt like I could breathe again.I nodded to my men. I wasn’t going to let

**Lyra**I hadn’t expected that response from Tharion.I had just stood there staring at him, unsure if I’d heard correctly.Was he really not going to stop me? Wasn’t he going to tell me it was crazy to talk to Mikail and Rowan in the middle of a war?Because it was. Totally crazy.I was pregnant, with a rounded, sensitive belly. I couldn’t put myself in the middle of a conflict where two Alphas might be willing to do anything to win.And even though I didn’t say it out loud, I didn’t want them to know about the babies. Not yet.She knew them too well… they’d surely want to hold her back, use her as leverage, argue over who the father was.But Tharion…Conflict was etched on his face, his eyes dark with what he didn’t say, and yet… he’d told her he wouldn’t leave her alone. That he’d be there, even if he didn’t agree.Was King Lycan some kind of god?He was protective, benevolent, generous. Warm. Everything Mikail and Rowan hadn’t quite been, even if they wanted to pretend to be.Tha

**Mikail**I was in bed, my ribs bandaged and my body aching, but nothing hurt more than the damn wait.I’d been holding my cell phone for almost an hour, staring at the screen as if it were about to explode at any moment.I just needed Krimson to answer. To tell me yes, that she was finally going to talk to me.Getting my ex-beta’s number wasn’t easy. I paid a spy a fortune to get it for me, and even then I wasn’t sure it would work.But it was worth it. It was all worth it if I could hear her voice again.I had faith—or maybe just hope—that Lyra would want to hear from me. Especially with the war looming, and the tragic consequences it had brought.With any luck, she might even come see me. I could dream, couldn’t I?Though something didn’t add up. The Sienna thing. Why would she—of all people—go looking for Lyra after all this time? What the hell was she up to?I couldn’t help but feel a mix of curiosity and unease, but I shook my head. I wouldn’t think about that now. All I cared

**Lyra**I froze when I heard him.“Do you still have feelings for Mikail Drakov?” Tharion repeated, his eyes meeting mine with a mixture of pain and restrained hope.My chest tightened. My lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.What did I feel for Mikail?I couldn’t bear to see him standing before me right then without screaming at him everything he’d done to me, everything he’d promised me… and then thrown away.But love? Still?I lowered my gaze, feeling the knot in my stomach grow, clinging like thorns. The wound was still somewhat fresh, oozing disappointment.“No,” I murmured at first, and then lifted my face to meet his gaze. “What I feel for Mikail isn’t love.”Tharion said nothing, but his silence pressed even harder against my chest. He seemed to be bracing for the worst, as if he feared I might contradict myself at any moment.“I’m angry,” I continued. “I feel sadness and rage… over all the promises he made to me and never kept. He led me on as if my feelings were a g