All Chapters of Rejected By My Mate, Claimed By The Lycan king : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ZARIA'S POVThe palace was completely loud. Even all the way up in my bedroom, tucked away in the residential wing of the estate, I could feel the low, steady thrum of the music vibrating through the heavy stone floorboards. The air outside my windows was thick with the rich, mouth-watering smells of roasted meat, heavy winter spices, and burning pine wood drifting up from the massive kitchen hearths in the courtyards below. The grand banquet for the Eastern Alliance was finally here, and the entire palace had spent the last twenty-four hours turning into a chaotic mess of frantic preparation.Inside my room, Camilla was practically running in circles around me. She had been twisting, pinning, and re-pinning my hair for the last forty-five minutes, her brow furrowed in absolute concentration. She was completely determined to make it look perfect, wanting it to match the magnificent midnight-blue silk dress Cassian had given me."Seriously, stop moving your head," Camilla mumbled aroun

ZARIA'S POVThe entire banquet hall went dead silent in a fraction of a second. The booming laughter, the clinking of heavy silver glasses, and the loud music from the musicians all vanished in an instant, replaced by a heavy, suffocating quiet that made my ears ring.Cassian’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. He didn't even look at the shattered crystal on the table, the sharp fragments scattered over the food, or the water soaking quickly into the polished wood—his sharp gaze tracked my eyes straight down to the terrified servant’s hands. The man was still holding the gold pitcher, but his fingers were shaking so violently now that the metal rattled loudly against his rings. The pale powder caked between his knuckles was completely exposed for everyone at the head table to see.The spy realized he was caught. He dropped the pitcher, the heavy gold clattering loudly against the table and spilling dark wine over the linen cloth, and turned on his heel to run toward the back exits.

ZARIA'S POV The messenger’s words felt like a physical blow to the room. The sudden silence in the art gallery vanished, replaced by an instant wave of high-alert panic. The guards by the doors didn't even wait for a command; their hands dropped straight to the hilts of their swords.Cassian stood perfectly still for a second, his dark hair falling into his face. I could feel the exact moment his energy shifted from a protective mate back to a ruthless king. The fur on his jaw disappeared completely, and his long claws slid back under his skin, but his expression stayed cold.He turned to his lead commander, his voice dropping into a dangerous, quiet rumble that made everyone freeze. "Lock down the entire inner perimeter right now," he ordered. "I want the archers on the walls. I want them armed and ready to fire on my mark."The commander nodded quickly, his heavy armor rattling as he listened."And do not let Garrick or his men set a single foot inside my private palace," Cassian a

ZARIA'S POV From my hidden spot on the dark balcony, I watched the Bloodmoon convoy completely fall apart.Garrick stumbled backward, his boots slipping on the icy cobblestones. Without saying a single word to defend himself, Garrick scrambled back onto his massive black horse. He pulled the reins so hard the horse reared up in a panic. Then, he turned around in defeat.The rest of his warriors followed his lead immediately. They looked absolutely terrified.They rode out of the pavilion with their heads bowed, completely humiliated in front of the northern army. The heavy iron gates of the valley groaned loudly as they were pulled shut behind them. My guards quickly escorted me away from the freezing balcony. They didn't take me back to my bedroom. Instead, they led me straight to Cassian’s private study in the center of the estate. The heavy oak doors clicked shut behind me, leaving me entirely alone in the quiet room.The study was beautiful and massive, filled from floor to ceil

ZARIA'S POV The morning after the standoff at the gates, I couldn't sit still. My mind was a complete mess. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Garrick’s hollow, pale face looking up at the balcony. My emotions were all over the place, looping between a strange sense of relief and a lingering, heavy anxiety. I knew that if I stayed in my room staring at the ceiling, I would drive myself insane. So, I walked down to Maeve’s greenhouse just to give my hands something to do.Camilla came with me, of course. She hadn't left my side since the assassin attack in the gallery, acting like a silent, protective shadow. I sat on a low wooden stool at one of the workbenches, sorting through a massive pile of dried mud-roots that Maeve used for making healing salves. The repetitive motion of scraping the soil off the skin with a small knife was the only thing keeping me grounded.Camilla sighed, her expression turning incredibly soft and sympathetic. She sat down on the edge of the workbench nex