All Chapters of THE ALPHA’S UNWANTED PLUS-SIZE MATE: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Clara’s povThe discovery happened by accident three days after the full moon.I was restocking napkin holders at the diner when a couple walked in, both shifters, both carrying the unmistakable weight of a completed mate bond. I felt it before I smelled them. A low, steady thread of connection that sat in the air between them like a third presence. My newly awakened power stirred in answer, curious and sharp.Marnie nodded at the booth by the window. “They’re all yours.”I took the menus over. Up close the bond was even clearer, warm, settled, the kind that had been in place for years instead of weeks or months. The woman smiled politely when I set the menus down. The man barely glanced at me. Ordinary customers. Ordinary order. Coffee, eggs over easy, toast, no conversation directed at the waitress.I was halfway back to the counter when the power flexed without asking permission.It reached toward that thread between them the same way it had reached toward the rogue’s wolf the n

Clara’s povThe town library smelled like dust and old paper, and the librarian looked surprised to see anyone under sixty walk through the door.“Help you find something?” she asked, peering over her glasses.“Local history. Pack histories if you have them. Legends, bloodlines, anything about old powers showing up in wolves. Specifically anything that mentions interfering with mate bonds or powers that wake under a full moon.”She blinked, then set down the book she’d been shelving. “That’s… specific. Most of that isn’t in the public stacks. People don’t usually ask for strange stuff unless they’re writing a paper or running from something. But there’s a regional folklore section in the back, and some digitized archives on the computer by the window. Password’s on the sticky note. Don’t delete anything.”“Thanks.”I took the table in the corner, the one half-hidden by a shelf of tax records and old newspapers, and started with the computer. Th

Clara’s povI found him on the north road an hour before sunset, exactly where he’d said he would be.Ronan was leaning against the hood of a dark truck parked in the gravel turnout, arms crossed, like he’d been waiting long enough to get comfortable with it. He watched me pull up, shut off the engine, and step out without moving from his spot.“You took your time,” he said.“I had a Beta to avoid first.” I shut the truck door and walked over, stopping a few feet away so we both had space. “Kael sent Marcus. He was in town yesterday asking questions at the coffee shop and the diner. I stayed ahead of him. He left without confirming I was there.”Ronan’s expression didn’t change much, but something in his posture sharpened. “Does he leave empty-handed?”“Yes. For now. That’s part of why I’m here.” I met his eyes directly. “You said when I wanted real answers instead of notes and half-warnings, I’d know where to find you. I’m here. Start talking.

Clara’s pov“They’re calling me the Bondbreaker.”Theo set the coffee down harder than usual. “Who is?”“Travelers. Two of them came into the diner this morning talking like I wasn’t wiping the table next to them.” I slid onto the stool, still in my apron, the words sitting wrong in my mouth. “They said a Silence-keeper’s one thing, rare, old-blood, mostly legend. But someone who can actually sever bonds permanently? That’s a Bondbreaker. And word is one just showed up in the lower territories.”Theo’s expression darkened. He braced both hands on the counter. “They use your description?”“Close enough. Young woman. Works in a human town. Power woke after a public rejection. They didn’t say my name, but they didn’t have to. Anyone who’s been paying attention to the Moonridge gossip could put it together.” I wrapped my hands around the cup he pushed toward me. “One of them said packs are already arguing about whether to recruit me, kill me, or study

Clara’s pov“Please. I heard what you can do.”The voice came from the alley behind the diner, low and rough, like it hadn’t been used much in days. I stopped with the trash bag still in my hand. A young man stepped out of the shadows, early twenties at most, thin, one eye bruised yellow-green, the kind of careful posture that said he was used to being hit and was trying not to look like easy prey.“I don’t know what you heard,” I said, keeping my voice even, “but you need to keep walking.”“They call you the Bondbreaker.” He didn’t come closer. His hands were visible, empty, held slightly out from his sides. “I don’t want trouble. I just want it gone. The bond. It’s killing me.”I set the bag down slowly and looked him over properly. Shifter. The mate bond clinging to him was visible to my senses the second I focused, thick, ugly, forced, pulsing with someone else’s dominance and anger. Not weak from distance or time. Weak from damage and repeated use