All Chapters of Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Don: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The message arrived just after midnight.Aria was still awake when Silas entered her room without knocking. The additional guards outside had already shifted aside for him. He closed the door quietly and held out a small black phone.“This came through one of our secondary lines,” he said. “No sender ID. No traceable route.”Aria took the phone. The screen was already lit.A single line of text waited for her.You’re looking in the wrong direction.That was all.She stared at the words for several seconds. The anonymous note from the gate had been one thing. This was different. This was direct. Personal.Silas watched her face.“Do you recognize the style?”“No.”“Could it be connected to the first message?”“It could be the same person,” Aria said slowly. “Or someone else who knows I’m asking questions.”Silas took the phone back and slipped it into his pocket.“Mr. Vale already knows. He wants you in the study.”Aria rose without argument.* * *Dominic stood by the window with his

Serena. The name sat in Aria’s mind like a shard of glass. She moved through the morning routine with mechanical precision—shower, change of clothes, a light breakfast she barely tasted. The estate continued its quiet rhythm around her, but everything felt slightly off-balance, as if the air itself had shifted overnight. Serena of the Northern Bloodline was in the city. In this life, their paths should not have crossed so soon. In the last one, Serena had only appeared near the end—polished, confident, already chosen. She had stepped into the clearing on Aria’s mating night as if the position had always belonged to her. Now she was here early. And she was asking questions. * * * Silas found her in the secondary library just before noon. Aria was seated at the long table with three open files in front of her, though she had not turned a page in nearly twenty minutes. Her focus kept drifting back to the same thought. Why now? Silas closed the door behind him and remained stan

Lucien did not look away first. Aria held his gaze for several seconds longer than was polite, measuring the weight of his presence the same way she had learned to measure every new threat in Dominic’s world. He was tall, broad through the shoulders, and carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone who had never needed to raise his voice to be obeyed. There was something else too. Something under the surface. Dominic set his glass down on the mantel. “Lucien will be staying under this roof for a while. His interests currently align with mine. That is all you need to know for now.” Aria finally shifted her attention back to her father. “And my role in this?” “For the moment, none,” Dominic replied. “You will continue your training and your studies. Lucien has his own work. The two of you are not required to interact beyond basic courtesy.” Lucien spoke then, his voice low and even. “I prefer clear boundaries. Courtesy will be enough.” The words were polite. The tone

The card sat on Aria’s desk like a loaded weapon. She had read the message so many times that the words no longer felt separate from her thoughts. If you want the truth about Serena, come alone. Dominic had forbidden her from attending the gathering. Silas had reinforced the order. Every logical part of her understood why. She was not ready to walk into a room full of power players and remain invisible. Especially not when Serena of the Northern Bloodline would be there. But the card offered something Dominic’s protection could not. Answers. Aria stood by the window with her arms crossed, watching the early light stretch across the estate grounds. The patrols had not lessened. If anything, they had grown more precise since Lucien’s arrival. Everything was tightening at once. * * * She found Dominic in his study just after breakfast. He was signing documents when she entered. He did not look up immediately. “You’re here early,” he said. “I need to speak with you about the g

The day of the gathering arrived with a deceptively quiet morning. Aria moved through her usual routine as if nothing had changed. She trained with Silas until her muscles burned, ate a light meal she barely tasted, and spent the afternoon in the library with files she could not fully focus on. Every hour that passed tightened the coil beneath her ribs. Dominic did not summon her. Silas did not ask any further questions. It was as if the house itself was waiting to see whether she would obey. * * * By late afternoon, Aria returned to her room and locked the door. She stood in front of the wardrobe for a long time before choosing. The dress she selected was dark, elegant, and understated — expensive enough to belong in the room she was about to enter, but not so striking that it would draw unnecessary eyes. She pinned her hair up in a simple style and kept her jewelry minimal. The silver blade went into a slim sheath strapped along her thigh, hidden beneath the fall of the dres