All Chapters of Bound to the Alpha She Was Raised to Hate : Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

Odessa's POVWe crossed back into Ironhollow territory three days later, once the healers cleared all of us to travel, and the pack had already prepared the burial ground by the time we arrived, word apparently having traveled ahead of us about everything that happened in that stone cell.I recognized the clearing immediately. The same stretch of ground where they buried Finn months earlier, except now it held two more fresh markers alongside his, plain stones set into the earth without any of the grandness I imagined a place like the Vale might have given similar losses."Who else?" I asked Ronan quietly, my chest already tightening in anticipation of the answer."Two scouts," he said, his voice rough. "Wounded during the fight at the pack house before we even left for Vale territory. They held on longer than the healers expected, but they didn't make it through the night."I closed my eyes for a moment, the weight of it settling heavy over everything else I was already carrying.The

Odessa's POVI met Nora at our usual coffee spot near campus, the same small table by the window where we spent countless afternoons complaining about professors and boys before any of this had ever started, and something about the familiarity of it made the whole conversation ahead feel even stranger than it already did."You look better," Nora said, studying my face carefully across the table. "Less like you're about to collapse, at least.""I've had a few days to actually sleep," I said. "Feels like a novelty at this point.""So," she said, wrapping both hands around her mug, "you said you wanted to talk properly. In person. No more half answers over the phone.""Yeah," I said, my stomach tightening despite everything I already survived. "You deserve the full truth, Nora. All of it, not just the pieces I've been feeding you whenever I needed help with something specific.""Okay," she said, something careful entering her expres

Ronan's POVI found my father in the study again, the same room where I told him I wasn't his heir that night, and something about standing in that exact spot made my chest tighten before either of us said a single word."You've been avoiding me," he said, not looking up from whatever paperwork he'd been reviewing."I haven't been avoiding you," I said. "I've been busy. There's a difference.""Is there?" he said, finally setting the papers down, studying me with an expression I couldn't quite place yet.I stood there a moment, uncertain how to start the conversation I'd been putting off for days now, ever since we all made it back safely from Vale territory."I owe you an apology," I said finally."Is that so?" he said, something careful in his tone."For what I said that night," I said. "Before we left. Calling myself no one's heir, walking out like the title meant nothing to me."He was quiet for a mo

Odessa's POVRonan didn't answer right away, and something about the way he took his time made me appreciate whatever came next even more, like he wasn't just offering the first reassuring thing that came to mind."I don't know exactly what it looks like," he said finally, his voice steady. "I'm not going to stand here and promise you some grand version of forever, all bond marks and mate ceremonies and everything the old stories always make it sound like it should be.""That's not what I'm asking for," I said, though something in my chest tightened slightly, unsure exactly what I was asking for either."I know," he said. "I just want to be honest with you. About what I can actually offer right now, instead of dressing it up as something bigger than it is.""Okay," I said, waiting."What I can tell you," he said, turning to face me fully now, his hand still holding mine steady, "is that I'm not going anywhere. Treaty or no treaty

Odessa's POV I didn't ask Briar to explain further right there at the ceremony. Something in her tone told me it wasn't the moment for it, celebration still humming all around us, and I filed the comment away rather than let it swallow the peace we all fought so hard to reach. By the time I made it back to my room that night, exhausted from a day of formal handshakes and careful diplomatic conversation, I'd nearly managed to convince myself it hadn't meant anything more than idle rumor. Then I saw the letter. It sat on my windowsill, folded once, resting there like it had simply appeared out of nowhere, no envelope, no visible way anyone could have delivered it without slipping directly past the pack's newly reinforced security. My stomach dropped before I even crossed the room to pick it up. "That's not right," I muttered to myself, my hand hovering over it a moment before I finally forced myself to pick it up.