Rejected For My Curves. Desired By The War Alpha 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 31 - 챕터 40

The war council gathered within the hour, the long table filled faster than I’d ever seen it, tension thick enough to feel before anyone spoke a word.“A supply line struck less than a day’s ride from our border,” Asher said, opening the session without preamble. “I want opinions before I decide anything.”An older elder spoke first, arms crossed. “Neutrality. That’s my opinion, plainly. This is an Ashguard civil conflict. It is not ours to bleed for.”“With respect,” another elder cut in, “neutrality assumes the fighting stays contained to their borders. Nothing about tonight suggests it will.”“It’s stayed contained so far.”“So far it isn't a strategy. It’s luck, and luck runs out.”“Luck or not, we don’t have the numbers to fight two fronts if this spreads. Better to stay clear entirely than get pulled into something we can’t finish.”“Staying clear entirely assumes we get a say in whether we’re pulled in. History rarely offers that courtesy.”A younger council member leaned forwa

I waited until the council member’s footsteps faded down the opposite hallway before I pushed the door open the rest of the way.Asher looked up, surprise flickering across his face before he could smooth it into something more careful.“Briar.”“An Ironback symbol under Kade’s banner would change everything for us,” I said, repeating his own words back to him exactly. “The older territories have spent years treating us like an upstart pack that got lucky. That kind of alliance would force them to take us seriously, finally, in a way nothing else could.”His expression shifted, the careful composure cracking at the edges.“You heard that.”“Every word.”“How long were you standing there?”“Long enough. Does it matter?”“No. I suppose it doesn’t.”“Briar, let me explain.”“You’d need her willing. Fully willing. I know. I’m working on that. That’s what he said, and that’s what you answered.”“I can explain the context.”“I don’t want context. I want the truth, plain, the way you clearly

The rebellion’s meeting point turned out to be an old stone circle deep in the forest, lit by torches arranged with a precision that told me this wasn’t a casual gathering.A dozen figures waited, and the moment I stepped into the clearing, every one of them knelt.“Please,” I said, startled. “Get up. I’m not anyone’s ruler.”An older woman rose first, silver-haired, her eyes sharp despite her age. “Not yet, perhaps. Tonight isn’t about ruling. It’s about knowing.”“Knowing what.”“What you actually are. You’ve come here uncertain. We intend to remove that uncertainty.”“I came here to talk. Nobody mentioned a ceremony.”“The talking comes after. Some truths aren’t reached through conversation.”“You could have warned me.”“Would you have come, if we had?”“Probably. I still would have preferred the choice.”“Fair. I’ll remember that, if there’s a next time.”“What kind of ceremony are we discussing?”“The old rite. Ironback lineage was once confirmed through it, generations ago, befo

Callum found me before dawn, breathless, the kind of urgency that meant whatever he’d learned couldn’t wait for a decent hour.“She gave the order,” he said, no preamble. “Last night. I intercepted the courier before he could ride out.”“What order?”“Kill order. Direct. Against Briar. Not contain, not deter. End.”Something in my chest went very still and very cold.“Say that again.”“Your mother ordered Briar’s death, Ronan. In writing, under her own seal. I have the courier’s copy.”“How did you intercept it?”“I’ve had someone watching the courier routes since I found the requisition logs. I didn’t expect it to matter this fast.”“She swore she’d never cross that line. She told me, weeks ago, that removing her was only ever a consideration.”“Considerations don’t usually come with sealed orders and reassigned units.”“How many units?”“Enough. She’s not being subtle anymore. Whatever restraint she was showing before, it’s gone.”“Where is she?”“Your mother? Her study, last I chec

We found him within the hour, propped against the northern watchtower like he might have fallen asleep on duty.He hadn’t.“Don’t let Wren see this,” Asher said quietly, already moving to block the sight line.Too late. Wren had already stopped beside me, going very still.“His throat,” she said, voice flat with shock. “It’s clean. There’s barely any blood.”“That’s not an animal attack,” Asher said, crouching beside the body, studying the wound with a tracker’s careful eye. “That’s not a rebellion skirmish either. Look at the ground around him.”“What am I looking at,” I asked.“Nothing. No struggle marks, no drag lines, no signs he even had time to draw his blade. Whoever did this got close enough to kill him before he registered the threat.”“How is that even possible? He was trained. He would have sensed someone approaching.”“Not if they knew exactly how to move against a trained sentry. This wasn’t luck, Briar. This was a skill built over years.”“That takes training,” Wren said