บททั้งหมดของ Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By His Rival : บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

My eyes wavered and the rebuttal I was reaching for got stuck somewhere before it could reach my lips. My mind was anything but steady.The Alpha King selection was right around the corner, and if Ethan had secured me as his partner before that moment arrived, the power he would gain through the fated mate bond would be considerable. And the evidence was already there — just days after marking me, he had found the strength to defeat and absorb the Pasquale Pack, a pack he had been at odds with for years.The Ironclad Pack wasn’t the strongest pack on the continent, but our territory was vast. Which made us exactly the kind of target someone with ambition would want next.No. Stop. Why am I suddenly giving Marcus’s words any weight at all?My thoughts were unraveling again. I reached down and pinched my thigh hard — the sharp sting of it cut through the fog and pulled me back, even if only partially.I looked at Marcus with cold, flat eyes. “If that’s the only reason you came over here

I muttered under my breath as I worked through the large drawer built into the side of the desk. Important pack documents were typically stored here — I had learned that much from the time I had already spent going through things in this study.I pulled out a thick stack and started sorting through them, looking for the years I had in mind. As I lifted another pile, a single loose sheet slipped out from somewhere in the middle and floated down to the floor.I set the stack down on the desk and crouched to pick it up. The heading caught my eye the moment it came into focus.Proposal for Acquiring Ironclad Pack Territory.I straightened up slowly and read through it. Every word. My heart sank a little further with each line.Proposing a partnership with Sophia Evergreen as a means of acquiring Ironclad Pack territory… in pursuit of expanding Embermoon Pack’s reach for greater development…And right there at the bottom — Ethan’s signature.The breath went out of me all at once.I had bee

Something fierce and raw surged up from deep inside me — a furious, burning refusal to let this end the same way. The adrenaline hit my blood like a spark to dry kindling and my body moved before my mind had even finished forming the thought. I threw myself sideways and the dagger that had been aimed straight at my heart missed its mark.Lila’s teeth clenched and she swung again immediately.The cold edge of the blade passed close to my arm and I twisted hard to get clear of it, but not quite far enough — the tip caught my skin and opened a thin line across it. Blood welled up and began trailing down my arm in slow, dark rivulets. The sight of it sharpened everything. I had been in this moment before. I knew exactly what was at stake. This wasn’t just my life — if I died here, the mate bond would shatter, and everything Ethan had built and everything he was working toward would come apart with it. I was not going to let that happen.I had been paying attention during our previous enco

Max’s POVBy the time they arrived back at the Pack, Ethan was completely covered in Miss Sophia’s blood. He looked absolutely horrific.The moment he walked through the packhouse doors, every single person still lingering around froze. Nobody dared to say a word — even their breathing went quiet and careful. A few of the maids who had grown close to Miss Sophia were already crying softly in the corners. Ethan’s mother stood at the front of the group, her expression calm and steady, her presence alone managing to keep the panic from completely taking over.Ethan moved fast, carrying Miss Sophia straight to their room where the medical team was already waiting. The Pack had no shortage of doctors and surgeons, and on top of that, Ethan’s mother had somehow managed to pull in additional medical staff from other allied Packs in almost no time at all.He laid Miss Sophia down gently on the large bed, and within seconds the white sheets beneath her were soaked through with crimson.Both Et

I felt sorry for Ethan but couldn’t help laughing along with Violet. My father was someone who followed rules to the letter and took social etiquette very seriously — he genuinely couldn’t stand a person like Ethan.“So how did it get resolved?” I asked. When my father made up his mind about something, there was nothing that could get in his way. And yet here I was, lying safe and sound in Ethan’s room.“Ethan’s mother resolved it, obviously. Ethan has a big mouth.” His mother had shown up right away and rather than standing up for her son, she used my condition as a reason to keep my father at Embermoon Pack.But every single time my father came to check on me while I was in the coma, he would find a way to scold Ethan on the side. My father was never one to hold back when he felt someone wasn’t meeting the standard he expected of them.Violet was happily telling the story when Ethan walked in, freshly groomed, wearing a dark expression on his face. It was obvious he had heard every