All Chapters of REJECTED AND REDEEMED : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 22: THE ELDERS' DEFIANCE The great hall of infinity castle was cold despite the roaring fires. Arden sat in his throne, his silver eyes fixed on the seven elders who stood before him like a wall of wrinkled judgement.Elder bronze spoke first. His voice was like grinding stones. Slow and heavy, meant to wear you down."You sent your mate to the temple without consulting this council.""I don't need your permission whatsoever to protect my pack and people," Arden said. His voice was flat and dangerous, the kind that came before a storm."The temple is a sacred ground, alpha. Only a few people are permitted to enter. And you sent a girl who hasn't even proven herself to us. A stranger from a broken pack, marked by unknown magic, how do we know it's not even dark magic."Arden's jaw moved once."She doesn't need to prove herself to you."Elder Helena stepped forward. Her golden braids swung. Her mouth was a thin line. "We have heard rumours, king Arden. Rumours that this girl ca

Chapter 24: THE RUN IN THE WOODS Three days had passed. Three days of sun that burned and night that froze. Three days of dirt in her nails and magic in her veins. Hazel had mastered fire. She could pull a flame from her palm without thinking now. It came when she was angry, when she was sad, when she laughed too hard, it lived under her skin.She had learned to coax life from dead soil and return it to dust. One breath and a sprout pushed through the stone, another breath and it withered, she could summon the earth into dust,she could command the waters, she felt like the goddess herself.But Akira remained silent.A ghost in the back of her mind. A weight in her chest."You're frustrated," Gaius observed.They sat by the fire outside the hut. The night was soft, crickets sang, and the bread was warm. It should have been peaceful.Hazel poked her food. "How did you know?"Gaius smiled. "There's fire close to your leg."Hazel was shocked. "I'm terrified," she said as she put off

Chapter 26: DARK MAGIC.The rest of the days in the temple were a blur of endless training, determination and freedom. Hazel trained all morning, went for a run in the evening with Gaius and slept tiredly in the night. But that didn't stop the nightmares, they still came anyway. She saw Darian covered in flames, she heard Ethan's laughter, she saw Lucas dying over and over again and she kept hearing multiple screams in her dreams This night wasn't different as she woke up screaming her lungs out.Gaius heard her and hurried towards her with his sword in his hands held up to attack at any time. “Luna, what's wrong?" he asked, looking everywhere for anything unusual.”“I'm fine, it was just a dream,” she replied, panting hard like someone who had run a thousand meter race.“Again?, what kind of dream this time?” He asked, sitting on the floor beside her.“Fire everywhere, I heard people screaming endlessly, I heard some calling my name but everywhere and everything was on fire

Chapter 28: THE TRIP BACK. The next morning, they were all prepared to head back to the palace. Any minutes wasted was a time for Darian to execute his plan, so Arden had to go and watch over his people. Gaius brought out the bags they had brought to the temple, now arranging them in the car as he watched the happy hazel who has been pouncing around like a cat who had found a mouse to play with. “Why are you so happy going back to the palace, do you hate this place that much?” Gaius asked amused.“Of course not, just that I finally get to meet piper and everyone else and also enjoy chef Marco's cookies why reading books with piper In the library. I just miss how it used to be.” She said smiling molar to molar. “Well then, if you say so. You will be seeing them soon,” Gaius replied to her, smiling too as he walked towards Arden. They were all set and ready to depart when Elara came out with a necklace in her hands.“Hazel dear, please come forward,” she called after the happ

Chapter 30: PIPER HAS BEEN CAPTURED. Arden and Gaius had gone out of the car to check and had realized it was a large rock blocking their path and it had been taken out. Arden came back into the car to meet the worried hazel who kept biting her nails trying to calm her raging heart. “What is wrong?Why are you biting your nails? " You don't look good at all.” Arden asked, staring at his worried mate. “I don't know, I just feel something is going wrong, I don't know I'm just so worried.” She said tears were gathering in her eyes. “Okay, relax we are all fine here, nothing happened alright, we will continue our journey home now. Maybe it's the stress from the journey that's telling on you. You need rest.” Hazel nodded her head, putting her head in Arden's shoulder trying to calm her nerves with his scent. But that didn't work, something still gnawed at her that something is wrong and everything is not fine. “Try reaching Caden to know how everyone in the palace is faring,” Haz