All Chapters of Rejected: The Lycan's King Fated Mate : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

*Part 1: The Strike – 6:00 AM, Drayce Supply Road*Dawn broke cold and clear. Kade moved at the head of 20 werewolves, silent on the forest path. Alpha. Behind him, Ryn led 15 human scouts. Captain. No armor, no banners. Just bows, blades, and speed. Ryn held up a fist. The line stopped. “Two outriders,” she whispered. “North ridge. 200 yards.” Kade sniffed the air. “Werewolves. Drayce hired mercs.” Ryn nocked an arrow. “You want them alive?” Kade grinned, fangs showing. “No.” The attack took 30 seconds. Kade and his wolves hit the outriders from the ridge, fast and silent. Werewolf vs Werewolf was messy, but Kade was Alpha. The mercs broke and ran in 10 seconds. Ryn’s scouts cut them down before they made the tree line. “Clear,” Ryn said, checking the bodies. “Supply wagons are 500 yards east. 12 guards, 2 mages.” Kade rolled his shoulders. “Your call.” Ryn studied the terrain. “We split. Wolves hit the mages. Scouts take the guards. No fire. We need the supplies intact.”

*Part 1: Political Fallout – 9:00 AM, Day Three, High Council Chamber*The chamber felt different without House Drayce’s empty seat staring back. Seven of the remaining nine houses had sent representatives. House Thorne sat to Darius’s right, loyal and quiet. House Kael sat to his left, watching everything. The others kept their eyes on the table. Elara stood at the center with Aria 12. Elias 17 stood behind them, arms crossed. Darius stood behind Elara. King. The message was clear: Queen, Moonblood, Alpha. One line. Lady Veyra struck her staff. “The Council recognizes House Valerius’s handling of the Drayce rebellion. The matter is closed. However, the redistribution of Drayce’s eastern territories requires discussion.” House Thorne’s lord spoke first. “House Thorne supports the Crown retaining control of the border garrisons. The rest can be reassigned to houses with proven loyalty.” House Kael’s lord leaned forward. “And how is loyalty proven, Lord Thorne?” “By not trying to

Aria woke up to the smell of bread. Which was weird, because she hadn’t been dreaming about food. She’d been dreaming about ward lines and gold light and the sound of stone cracking. She opened her eyes to find Elias 17 sitting on the edge of her bed, tearing pieces off a roll and eating them like it was a full meal. “Morning,” he said around a mouthful. “You missed kitchen night.” Aria 12 sat up, hair a mess, ward marks faint under her skin. “Kitchen night?” Elias grinned. “Yeah. Kade and Ryn had a thing.” Aria frowned. “A thing?” “Mhm.” Elias popped another piece of bread in his mouth. “They bet on who’d get to the kitchens first. Kade won. Ryn made him wash pans. They talked. For two hours. About nothing and everything.” Aria blinked. “You’ve been talking to Kade?” Elias shrugged. “He told me. At dawn. Said I should know since I’m ‘technically second-in-command when Dad’s busy.’” He paused. “He was weird about it. Kept smiling like an idiot.” Aria sat up fully. “Kade and

*Part 1: Palace – 11:00 PM, Inner Sanctum*The sanctum was silent at night. No ward hum. No footsteps. Just the faint sound of Aria’s breathing and the scratch of Elias’s pencil against paper. Aria sat cross-legged in the center of the ward circle, eyes closed. The Moonblood anchor had settled into a steady rhythm under her skin. It didn’t flare, didn’t burn. It just _was_. Elias sat on the edge of the circle, sketching the ward lines from memory. He wasn’t a mage. He couldn’t feel them. But he could see the patterns, and he’d learned to read the subtle shifts in Aria’s posture when something was off. “You’re doing it again,” he said without looking up. Aria opened one eye. “Doing what?” “Checking.” Elias tapped his pencil against his knee. “Third time tonight. The wards are fine, Aria.” Aria sighed and dropped her hands. “I know. But after Drayce…” “After Drayce, you saved us,” Elias said simply. He set the pencil down and looked at her. “You don’t have to prove it every nig

*Part 1: The Palace – 10:00 AM, Two Days Later*Lord Kael arrived alone. No guard, no banners. Just a tall man in dark grey, silver thread at the collar, face like stone. He walked into the war room like he owned it. Elara didn’t rise. Darius stood at her shoulder. Aria and Elias flanked the door. Kael stopped three paces from the table and bowed. Shallow. Calculated. “Luna Valerius. Alpha Darius. I received your message.” Elara’s voice was flat. “Then you know why you’re here.” Kael’s eyes flicked to the cloth on the table. The scrap from Garrison 8. “That is not my sigil,” he said. “That is my second son’s recklessness.” Darius stepped forward. “Your second son acts without your knowledge? Convenient.” Kael met his gaze. “My second son acts against my orders. He has been for months. Drayce promised him land, title, power. He believed the Crown was weak.” Elara leaned forward. “And now?” Kael’s mouth tightened. “Now I know better. I did not authorize the attack on Garrison