Todos os capítulos de Rejected By Alpha, Craved By The Lycan King: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

Her name was Wren, and she had served my chamber since the night Kael first carried me through the castle gates, half dead and bleeding, with no idea who among these strangers I could trust. She was quiet, efficient, always careful to keep her eyes lowered when she spoke to me, and I had thought nothing of her caution beyond simple shyness.Kael summoned her that same evening, though he did it carefully, framing it as a routine matter so she would not sense the trap closing around her until it was already too late. She entered my chamber with the evening tray as always, and I watched her hands for any tremor, any sign of guilt she might be too poorly trained to hide.There was none. Whoever had recruited her had chosen well."Wren," Kael said from the shadows near the window, and the girl startled so violently the tray nearly slipped from her hands. "Sit down. I have questions for you.""My lord, I do not understand...""Sit," he said again, gentler this time but no less firm, and she

Ivara's POVThe courtyard beyond Kael's gates was lit by torches carried by a dozen Ashveil warriors, and at the front of them, still dressed in traveling leathers streaked with dust from days of hard riding, stood Draven. He looked thinner than I remembered, his eyes ringed with exhaustion, and for one unwanted moment, my chest ached at the sight of him despite everything he had done."Ivara." My name left his mouth like something he had been holding in for weeks, raw and desperate. "You are alive.""No thanks to you," Kael said before I could answer, stepping forward with his own guards flanking him, though he was careful to keep himself half a step in front of me. "You lost any right to speak her name the moment you cast her out to die."Draven's eyes flicked between us, taking in the way Kael positioned himself, the way his hand rested near the small of my back, and something dark and possessive crossed his face. "She is my mate," he said, loud enough for both courts gathered behi

Ivara's POVThe council chamber was fuller than I had ever seen it, every seat occupied, torches burning bright enough to banish every shadow that might have offered me somewhere to hide from the accusation waiting inside. Lady Serris stood at the centre of the room, composed as always, a strange man standing beside her dressed in travelling clothes still dusted from the road."This is Bram," Serris announced as I entered with Kael at my side. "A trader who happened to witness the attack on the eastern village last night. He claims to have seen the outsider meeting with the rogue riders before the fires began."My blood went cold. "That is a lie.""Let him speak," Serris said smoothly, gesturing for the man to continue.Bram cleared his throat, refusing to meet my eyes directly. "I was travelling the eastern road when I saw a woman matching her description speaking with several riders in black cloaks. I did not think much of it at the time, but when the village began burning shortly a

Ivara's POVThe letter from Draven arrived three days after the council chamber confrontation, and Kael read it twice before handing it to me without a word, his expression unreadable in a way that worried me more than anger would have.I read through the evidence slowly, my hands trembling by the time I reached the line about the marriage serving its purpose, about more permanent measures becoming necessary now that the bloodline had been confirmed. The words settled into my chest like stones, confirming every fear I had carried since the healer first discovered what ran through my blood."He believes this faction intends to kill me," I said quietly. "Not banish me. Not simply contain me. Kill me before the bloodline can mature into something they can not control.""He is likely correct," Kael said grimly. "Which means Selara's disappearance is not retreat. It is preparation."We spent the following days building alliances neither of us expected to need, Kael's forces coordinating ca

Ivara's POVThe scholars confirmed the letter's authenticity within two days, and Rurik, faced with evidence he could no longer deny, finally broke during questioning, revealing a truth even darker than we had anticipated. He had not simply agreed to help Serris out of ambition alone. The faction Selara served had approached him years earlier, promising him a path to power that his own merit and patience had failed to secure within Kael's court."They approached everyone with something to gain and little patience left to gain it honestly," Rurik admitted, his earlier arrogance replaced by the hollow resignation of a man who understood his fate was already sealed. "Serris wanted the throne she believed she deserved. I wanted the marriage promised to secure my family's standing for generations. They gave us both a reason to look the other way while they moved pieces neither of us fully understood.""Who leads this faction," Kael demanded. "Give me a name, and I will consider leniency fo