บททั้งหมดของ Rejected: The Lycan's King Fated Mate : บทที่ 171 - บทที่ 180

Behind me, the castle doors slammed shut. The war had begun. But Kade had made one fatal mistake. He thought he was fighting for an heir. He didn’t realize he was fighting a Queen who had already won. --- The boom echoed in my bones, down to the marrow where five years of fear lived. Outside, the sky was tearing itself apart with Darius’s roar. A sound no wolf should be able to make. A sound that said _you came for what’s mine_. I held Elias tighter, his small body trembling against the silk of my coronation gown. Gold thread. Stitched with moonflowers. A gown I never thought I’d wear. A title Kade stole from me when he chose Arianna. A crown Darius gave back without asking for anything but _us_. I pressed my back to the wood, as if I could hold the war out with my spine alone. As if my body could be the shield between my son and the male who threw him away. “Mama?” Elias’s voice was tiny. Broken glass and hope. His brown eyes—_my eyes_—were huge, reflecting

The crown is heavy.” Darius’s voice rumbled beside me as Elder Matthias lowered the gold circlet onto my head. The metal was cold against my skin. Cold like the snow that night. “Not as heavy as the last five years,” I whispered. His sharp Lycan gaze flicked past me, to the upper balcony where a small shadow clutched the railing. Dark hair. Wide eyes. My eyes. My shadow. My son. My reason. Elias. The Elder’s chanting faded into a roar in my ears. Five years. Five years since Kade stood on that stone dais and carved the word weak into my soul before the entire pack. Five years since I ran. Five years since I discovered the secret growing in my womb. --- [Five Years Ago - Blood Moon Territory] Blood. That’s all I remember from that night. Blood on the snow, crimson against white. Blood between my thighs. Blood in my mouth from biting my tongue to keep from screaming. “You’re packless now, Elara. Rogue.” Beta Samuel’s voice broke. My father. He wouldn’t meet my eye

The castle gates exploded open with a roar as we returned. Guards dropped to their knees in the courtyard. Servants pressed themselves against walls, heads bowed. And the air — it was thick with it. Recognition. Fear. *Worship*. They could smell it on me. White Lycan. Not wolf. Something older. Something that made their wolves submit on instinct. I was still in Darius’s shirt, his scent wrapped around me, legs shaky from the shift. He carried me through the great hall like I was made of glass and dynasties both. “Summon them,” he told a guard without looking. “Full court. Now.” The throne room was obsidian and silver, vaulted ceiling lost in shadow, a single throne on a dais. Not gold. Not gaudy. Black stone carved with snarling wolves. A King’s throne. Darius didn’t sit. He stood on the dais and set me on the throne. Panic shot through me. “Darius—” “Sit,” he said softly. Not a command. A plea. “Please. Let them see.” So I sat. In his shirt. Bare legs. Hair wild fr

“Get up,” Darius said, tossing me folded black clothes. “We’re going to the caves.” It was dawn. I’d slept maybe two hours, tangled in his sheets that smelled like him, while he stood guard at the balcony like a gargoyle. Every time I woke, his silver eyes were on me. Not creepy. Safe. “The caves?” I caught the clothes. Leather pants. Tactical top. Like his. “My curse is tied to this land.” He was already dressed, knives strapped to his thighs, the white curse marks on his forearms stark against his skin. “If it’s really fading because of you, the Sacred Cave will confirm it. And—” his gaze darkened — “it might wake what’s sleeping in you.” My stomach flipped. “My wolf?” “If you have one.” His mouth curved, not quite a smile. “And I think you do, little weapon. I felt her last night when you told Kade off. She’s pissed.” Thirty minutes later we were deep in the Forbidden Territory forest. The trees here were ancient, black-barked, humming with old magic. No birds. No wind.

His mouth crashed into mine. There was no hesitation, no softness. Darius kissed like he ruled — demanding, scorching, a brand that erased every cold word that Kade had spoken.His hand fisted in my hair, tilting my head exactly where he wanted, and a sound I didn’t recognize tore from my throat. It wasn’t pain, It was relief. For three heartbeats, the world narrowed to heat and silver and the terrifying safety of his arms. His tongue traced my bottom lip, asking, not taking, and Goddess help me, I opened for him. He tasted like winter storms and power. Like coming home to a place I’d never been. The curse. The stories said any woman he kissed would be dead by sunrise. I should have been terrified. Instead, my hands fisted in the black tactical fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer. If I died at dawn, at least I’d die knowing what it felt like to be *wanted*. Darius growled, the sound vibrating from his chest into mine. His other hand spanned my waist, fingers splaying a