All Chapters of Rejected By My Mate, Claimed By The Lycan king : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

71 Chapters

The confrontation

ZARIA'S POV The heavy iron gate groaned as I pushed it open, the sharp sound echoing down the narrow, torch-lit corridor of the cells. The air down here was thick with the smell of stagnant water, rust, and old stone, but I barely felt the damp chill biting through my clothes. My breath was steady. My pulse was completely calm. The chaotic storm of anger that had nearly choked me back in the medical wing had frozen over into a solid, unyielding sheet of ice.As I walked down the dark hallway, the rhythmic clanking of my boots against the wet stones drew his attention.Garrick looked up from the damp granite wall. His arms were still pulled taut by the rusted iron chains, his clothes matted with dried mud and the crusty sweat of his dead horse. But the moment his wild green eyes locked onto me through the gloom, a pathetic, desperate flash of hope lit up his face. He leaned forward as far as the metal links would allow, his chest heaving as he gasped for air."Zaria," he breathed. It

Someone heard the truth

CASSIAN’S POV I could still hear Garrick’s screams behind me as I walked slowly behind Zaria, making sure to keep a safe distance between us. I had been following a few paces behind her since she left the clinic, wanting to give her space to face her past, when I saw them.Helen was standing at the landing, her arms crossed tight over her chest, looking down at Zaria with a cold, cutting judgment that made my blood boil. Zaria didn't say a word; she just held Helen’s gaze for a long, heavy second before lowering her head and walking past her toward the royal wing.The moment Zaria turned the corner and was out of sight, the restraint I had been forcing myself to maintain all night snapped completely.I stepped out of the shadows, my boots striking the stone with a heavy, deliberate thud. Helen didn’t even have time to turn around before I closed the distance. I grabbed her upper arm in an iron grip."Cassian—" she started, her eyes widening.I didn't give her a chance to finish. I dr

The ultimate betrayal

ZARIA'S POV The quiet of the hallway felt heavy as I walked back toward my room, my mind still trying to process the absolute ruin of Garrick's lies down in the cells. I was completely exhausted, every muscle in my body aching from the fight, wanting nothing more than to close my eyes and let the world fade away for a few hours."Lady Zaria?"A soft, hesitant voice broke the silence. I stopped and turned to see a young palace servant standing a few feet away, clutching a small leather ledger to his chest. He looked incredibly nervous, his eyes darting toward the floor before he forced himself to look up at me."Forgive me," he stammered, bowing his head slightly. "King Cassian requested your immediate presence down near the lower vault area. He said there's a strategy update regarding the border security that you need to hear right away."I frowned slightly, a faint wave of exhaustion washing over me. "The lower vault? Now?""Yes, mi lady. He said it was urgent." The boy bowed again,

Change of plans?

ZARIA'S POV The heavy wooden bar slid into the iron brackets with a dull, hollow thud, locking me inside the small guest room at the furthest edge of the north wing. This part of the citadel was rarely used, smelling of old dust, cold sheets, and stone that hadn't seen the sun in years. It was exactly what I wanted. I needed the distance. I needed walls that didn't remind me of him.A second later, the heavy wood shuddered under the impact of a frantic fist."Zaria! Please, just open the door!"Cassian’s voice was ragged, completely stripped of that calm, kingly authority he always wore like armor. He slammed his palm against the door again, his breathing heavy and loud through the gap in the frame."It isn't what it sounds like. Let me explain. Please, Zaria, just give me a minute."I didn't answer. I backed away from the entrance, my eyes fixed on the vibrating wood, my hands pressed flat against my thighs to stop them from shaking. Hearing him use that tone—so desperate, so broken

Change of plans

ZARIA'S POVI unfolded the wrinkled parchment, my eyes tearing through my mother’s frantic, ink-smeared script. The letters were shaky, written with a hand that had clearly been trembling with pure terror.“Zaria,” the note read, the words bleeding into each other where her tears had hit the page. “Cynthia discovered that Garrick is missing, and she has completely lost her mind. She went straight to your father. Alpha Rowan has locked me away in the lower cellars to keep me silent. Cynthia has seized total control of the entire Bloodmoon pack, and she is marching a massive rogue army from the wastes toward the neutral borders right now for a total slaughter. She wants you dead, Zaria. She wants the North in ashes. Please, you have to run. Do not let them find you.“I stared at the paper for a long, silent beat. My mother wanted me to flee. She wanted me to run away into the shadows like a frightened animal, waiting in hiding while the wolves decided the fate of the world. She thought

A full on war

ZARIA'S POV The heavy double doors clicked shut as the last of the generals filed out of the war room, their hushed, anxious whispers fading down the long stone corridor. The moment the latch snapped into place, a heavy, suffocating silence rushed in to fill the massive room. The air felt thick, charged with everything we weren't saying to each other. I kept my eyes pinned to the massive leather map stretched across the table, focusing entirely on the painted topography lines of the neutral border valley, refusing to look up.A soft, distinct clink of porcelain broke the quiet.Cassian stepped closer to the table, his large frame casting a long, dark shadow across the grid lines of the map. He extended his hand, carefully offering me a steaming cup of tea he had poured himself. His golden eyes were wide, heavy with an unspoken plea, searching my face for any crack in the armor I had put on since leaving the cells. He looked desperate for me to just look at him, to give him an opening

The female leader

AUTHOR'S POV The air inside the heavy silk war tent was thick with the suffocating scent of burning ironwood, stale wine, and the sharp, metallic tang of unwashed weapons. Outside, the chaotic din of thousands of rogue mercenaries shouting, fighting, and sharpening steel echoed against the steep rock faces of the valley ridge, but inside, the silence was sharp enough to cut.Cynthia stood before a cracked, full-length mirror, her fingers clawing frantically at the edge of a heavy gold headpiece. She jammed the sharp metal tines into her tangled hair, her breathing short, shallow, and ragged. In the reflection, her eyes were bloodshot and wild, surrounded by deep, dark shadows of exhaustion. The sheer, crushing pressure of maintaining the massive web of lies she had spun—the poison, the frame-up, the stolen title, the faked innocence—had driven her to the very brink of absolute psychosis. Every shadow in the tent looked like an executioner waiting to strike; every whisper outside sou

My mother!

ZARIA'S POV The low crackle of the dying fire was the only sound echoing through the damp stone cavern. Scattered throughout the vast, shadowy recesses of the lower valley caves, the warriors of the Shadowpelt army slept in uneasy shifts, their heavy breathing rising like faint mist in the freezing night air.They were trained warriors and knew that sleeping heavy wasn't part of the deal when it came to war. Unlike them, I couldn't even sleep a wink. I was uneasy, nervous and anxious about what will happen when day breaks, but I wasn't scared. I sat alone on a smooth boulder near the edge of the embers, the cold weight of my crossbow resting heavily across my lap. One by one, I pulled the silver bolts from my leather quiver, checking the alignment of the shafts and running my thumb carefully over the lethal, polished tips. My hands were steady, entirely focused on the mechanics of the weapon, but the silence inside my own head was deafening. The impending battle at the border was ho

No need for a bloody battle

ZARIA'S POV I dropped the heavy crossbow to the dirt floor, the metal clattering loudly against the stone as I rushed forward, completely abandoning the cold, rigid control I had forced myself to maintain. For the first time in weeks, the thick, clinical walls I had built around my heart cracked wide open. I threw my arms around my mother, pulling her shivering, frail body close against mine, burying my face in her neck as the familiar scent of home—underneath the mud and iron—hit me.My mother completely collapsed into my embrace, clutching the back of my tunic with a desperate, white-knuckled grip as if she were terrified I would vanish into the shadows if she let go. She wept openly, her entire body shaking with heavy, broken sobs that echoed through the quiet stone cavern."Zaria... oh, my sweet girl," she sobed, her voice raw, thick with tears, and completely exhausted. She pulled back just enough to look at my face, her trembling, scratched fingers gently brushing against my ch

Kill her!

ZARIA'S POV The morning sun broke sharply over the neutral valley, casting long, stark shadows across the dew-covered grass. The air was crisp, freezing, and heavy with the sharp scent of damp earth and the suffocating tension of thousands of waiting warriors. In the exact center of the open field, the High Council Pavilion had been erected as a fragile, temporary boundary between the two massive opposing forces, its white fabric snapping loudly in the cold mountain breeze.I walked out onto the open grass, the ground firm and solid beneath my heavy winter boots. On my right, Cassian marched with a slow, deliberate, and commanding stride, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his massive black-iron broadsword, his golden eyes fixed unblinkingly on the horizon ahead. On my left, Maya kept a perfect pace, her shoulders tense, her posture light and ready to move, her eyes tracking every slight shift in the terrain. We walked out not as master and servant, but as a unified front, the

...

3 4 5 6 7 8

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP