All Chapters of REBORN INTACT: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

JELENAThe moment I step out of the bathroom, the room erupts into controlled chaos at least ten women are waiting inside.Some stand beside racks of dresses and others arrange jewelry on velvet-covered tables.A few carry trays filled with flowers that glow with faint silver light and the moment they see me, they immediately bow."My Lady."I freeze for half a second.Right.Apparently, I am important here, Andrea quickly moves beside me."Everyone, my Lady is ready."Ready is certainly not the word I would use, maybe a little touvh of onfused, lost but mostly terrified.Those seem far more accurate yet somehow, the women begin working around me with incredible efficiency.One starts brushing my hair and another examines my skin.A third carefully measures my wrist before fastening a bracelet made from white crystals that seem to contain tiny stars, I keep quiet observing and

JELENAIt is finally time for dinner, and we are all ushered into a massive banquet hall unlike anything I have ever seen. Crystal chandeliers hang from the impossibly high ceiling, casting warm golden light across polished marble floors and long tables stretch across the room, covered in luxurious fabrics embroidered with silver and gold threads. Every place setting is flawless, from the sparkling crystal glasses to the gleaming silver cutlery.The entire hall radiates wealth, power, and authority, I am grateful for one thing, I haven't had to run into any more members of my family.Aside from exchanging polite greetings with a few people I assume are powerful Dukes and nobles, the guards have made sure no one approaches our section. They stand like statues around us, silently ensuring that no guest crosses the invisible boundary surrounding the bride and groom.I'm thankful for that, the last thing I need tonight is another confrontation with the people who abandoned me so easily.W

JELENAReality always finds its way back as once Sarah finishes helping me wash up, I step out of the bath.She immediately wraps a thick towel around my body before quietly leading me back into the bedroom.Freshly washed, I feel considerably lighter.Almost human again while I dry myself, Sarah busies herself preparing everything else and by the time I look toward the bed, my movements come to an abrupt halt.A delicate piece of lingerie has been carefully laid across the black sheets and beside it rests a silk robe, my cheeks instantly warm.Of course.Tonight is my wedding night, I almost forget or perhaps...I simply choose not to think about it as neither option makes the reality any less intimidating, Sarah walks toward me with the outfit in her hands."My lady..."I gently shake my head."I can manage from here."She pauses then nods respectfully, I quickly slip into the lingerie before covering myself with the robe, feeling only slightly less exposed than before.Once I am pr

JELENAThe dry heaving finally stops, leaving the raw, bitter taste of bile at the back of my throat, I feel like I have officially exhausted everything in my stomach. Leaning my head back against the cold, tiled wall of the bathroom, I let out a ragged sigh of relief. My chest rises and falls rapidly as I try to steady my breathing, the echo of my loud heaving still bouncing off the porcelain surfaces.What the hell was that, Jelena?My mind replays the scene outside over and over again, a sickening loop that I cannot shut off. What just happened in that room didn’t look like a sudden lapse in judgment or a hidden, forbidden mistake. No, it looked like something that normally happens in this here as neither of them looked ashamed or showed even a flicker of guilt for the act. They carried themselves with the casual arrogance of people who are entirely used to getting away with whatever they want.A heavy, s

JELENAThe heavy oak doors groan in protest as I push them open and the sound echoing through the space is loud. I pause on the threshold, blinking as I take in the sheer scale of the dining hall, it is less a room and more a sprawling, stone-hewn hall designed to swallow whole armies. The ceiling vaults high above, lost in shadows, while the walls are adorned with the faded, ancestral banners of the North Pack.Running down the center of the room are two big tables, polished to a mirror sheen and stretching so far into the distance that the far ends aren't in sight from where I stand and the atmosphere is thick, heavy with the scent of roasted meats, cedar, and the palpable tension of two rival packs held in an uneasy truce.To my left and right, the North and West pack members are seated in rigid, perfectly symmetrical lines. They are arranged like opposing infantry, the North pack’s soldiers in their muted, earth-toned furs and leathers facing off against the West pack’s warriors,