Alle Kapitel von Rejected Once, Now Claimed By The Lycan : Kapitel 91 – Kapitel 100

Far from the Lycan palace, in a pack house where nothing had ever gone against the Beta's word, a suitcase stood packed by the bedroom wall."Tell Sebastian you won't be attending." Beta Samuel's voice left no room for argument. "If he wants you there, he can extend the invitation to me as well.""That isn't possible, Samuel, and you know it." Ava's mother kept her tone level. "King Sebastian will never allow you to set foot in his kingdom. Think about what you've done to his mate — to your own daughter, who becomes queen in a matter of hours. You shouldn't be doing this."Samuel scoffed. "And what makes you any better? Have you forgotten how you treated her? Don't play the saint now that fortune has smiled on the girl. You're every bit as guilty as I am.""You're right." She nodded, and the calm of it seemed to unsettle him. "I'm no saint. But I'm willing to answer for what I did. I intend to apologize to my daughter, and if she never forgives me, I'll carry that for the rest of my l

With the coronation behind them, the reception opened in a swell of music and light. Ava and Sebastian had changed again — the royal robes had no place at a party."You look beautiful, Princess." Sebastian's breath was warm at her ear as the first of the performances unfolded before them. "You have no idea how hard I'm working not to kiss you right now.""Then you'll have to be patient." Ava's mouth curved. "And you look rather wonderful yourself, dear husband."The word slipped out and made her giggle. *Husband.* Neither of them could quite believe it was real."You're too kind, Queen Ava." He tilted his head toward her, and heat bloomed across her cheeks."Forgive the interruption, Your Grace." Clara stood before them, hands clasped. "Ava — Queen Ava now. Congratulations.""Thank you, Clara. I'm glad you were able to come." Sebastian's smile was genuinely warm.Ava couldn't bring herself to meet her mother's eyes.Sebastian had told her what happened that day — how Clara had struck

"Of course, Ava. She may stay as long as she likes. She's the mother of the queen, after all."It made Sebastian genuinely glad — this thawing between the two of them, after everything."I'll have a room prepared right away. Bring her with you.""All right. Thank you, Sebastian." Ava's voice softened. "I'll see you in a few minutes."She deleted his number from the call log before handing the phone back. "Thank you."Then she made her way to the terrace, where Clara was still waiting."Sebastian is having a room made up for you. It'll be ready before we've even crossed the palace."Clara caught her daughter's hand between both of her own. "Thank you, Ava. I'll leave first thing in the morning — I'm so sorry to be a burden.""You're not." Ava shook her head. "Sebastian said you may stay as long as you want.""Oh — that's far too much." Clara pressed her lips together. "Thank you. Both of you.""We should go."Clara collected her bag from the chair and followed her out.They had almost

The noon bells were already sounding somewhere below them."Here goes nothing." Ava smoothed the front of Sebastian's shirt with both hands, then rested her forehead against his chest. "We have to finish this today."She didn't say the rest of it. She didn't have to.Beneath the resolve sat a fear she couldn't quite name — not of Edgar himself, but of what came after. Of what a kingdom did when it learned its former king had gone to war over a queen he considered unworthy. Of what they might decide, in time, about *why* he had."Everything will be all right, Princess." Sebastian tipped her chin up. "Come. My love."He took her hand and drew her gently through the door.The main hall was already full when they arrived — and not with the household alone. Every seat, every aisle, every space along the walls had been taken by the people Sebastian had sent for that morning. Council members who had gone home after the wedding and been called back. Pack representatives. Elders from territori

"This is the King's word. And my word is the law."The hall did not react the way a hall usually reacts. There was no uproar. There was a single collective intake of breath, and then nothing at all.Even Ava and Isabelle stood staring at him. Neither had known this was coming.Nobody dared speak. They could see what was sitting in Sebastian's eyes, and every person in that room understood that opening their mouth now would only deepen the hole they had dug for themselves in the last ten minutes.The silence went on long enough to become unbearable. And in the middle of it, the men who had nodded along with Edgar — the ones who had let their agreement show on their faces where the king could see it — began, quietly and far too late, to understand what they had done.Edgar himself was genuinely stunned.He had not thought his son would go that far. For six hundred years it had been custom for the council, the elders, and the leaders of every sector to live within these walls beside the