Semua Bab His Rejected Mate, His Greatest Regret : Bab 21 - Bab 30

I spent the rest of the morning trying to convince myself that I was not becoming paranoid. The parchment had frightened me because it mentioned my mother, but fear could easily turn suspicion into certainty, and I refused to accuse Lyra without proof. I had already learned how quickly a carefully planted lie could become the truth in the eyes of everyone around me, and I would not give anyone another opportunity to use my emotions against me.I returned to the records room and found the documents exactly where Damon and I had left them. I gathered the shipment records into a neat pile and began comparing them with the original purchase orders. If someone wanted to make me look guilty, they had overlooked one thing. I knew Silvercrest’s accounts better than anyone because I had spent years trying to keep my father’s failing pack alive.After nearly an hour, I noticed something unusual. The altered documents were not created on the same day. The handwriting changed from one order to an

That evening, Damon sent Gabriel to search the villages surrounding Silvercrest without alerting the council. While he handled that, I returned to my room, hoping for a few moments alone. Instead, I found Lyra standing outside my door.She turned when she heard my footsteps. “I wanted to check on you,” she said.“I’m fine.”“I heard Father was angry.”“He was.”Lyra hesitated before offering me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry.”I studied her face. “Why?”“Because I know how much Silvercrest means to you.”For a moment, I almost believed her, almost then I noticed a faint red mark around her wrist. It looked like ink. “Where did you get that?” I asked.She immediately covered her wrist with her other hand. “What?”“Your wrist.”She glanced down and quickly smiled. “Oh, this? I was helping Mother with some old documents.”My stomach tightened. “What documents?”“Nothing important.” She said.I stepped closer. “What kind of documents?”She looked uncomfortable. “Old household records.”“

The silence inside the council chamber became suffocating after Damon exposed the mark on Peter’s wrist. Everyone seemed to be staring at the thin red line circling his skin, but I could not take my eyes away from it. I had seen the same mark on Lyra and although the resemblance could have been a coincidence, something deep inside me refused to believe it was.Peter struggled against Damon’s grip, his breathing becoming increasingly uneven as the Alpha examined the mark. Damon held his wrist firmly, his expression growing colder with every passing second.“Where did you get this?” he demanded, his voice low and controlled.Peter shook his head desperately. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Damon tightened his fingers around the man’s wrist, preventing him from pulling away. “You expect me to believe that a mark appeared on your skin without you noticing?”“I swear I don’t know,” Peter replied, his voice trembling.I stepped closer, keeping my attention on Peter’s face rather t

Unfortunately, Silvercrest refused to let me forget him. When I entered the healing sanctuary, I heard two servants whispering near the doorway.“I heard the Alpha was with another woman again,” one of them murmured.“He doesn’t even hide it,” the other replied.“He is supposed to be married.”“They say the Luna doesn’t care.”I stopped walking and the servants immediately fell silent. One of them lowered her head. “Forgive us, Luna,” she said nervously.I looked at them both. “You should be careful about repeating rumors.”“Yes, Luna,” they answered together.I continued into the healing sanctuary, but their words followed me. The Luna doesn’t care, if only they knew how much I cared. I entered the healer’s chamber and found several wounded warriors waiting for treatment. I immediately pushed Damon from my mind and focused on them. For the next several hours, I worked beside the healers, preparing herbs and organizing the medicines.By sunset, my hands were stained with crushed leave

That evening, I returned to my room and found Damon waiting outside. He straightened when he saw me and took a step forward. “We need to talk,” he said.I unlocked my door but did not invite him inside. “About what?”“About yesterday,” Damon answered, his expression unusually serious.I looked at him. “If this is another explanation for Elena, I am not interested.”“It isn’t,” he assured me as he stepped closer. “I owe you an apology.”I studied his face, searching for the usual arrogance I had grown accustomed to seeing whenever we discussed his behavior.“For what?” I asked.“For making you feel as though you were alone in this marriage,” Damon said, lowering his eyes briefly before meeting mine again.A bitter smile touched my lips. “You didn’t make me feel alone Damon, you made sure I was.”His expression fell, and he nodded slowly. “I know.”For once, he did not defend himself, and that almost made his apology harder to dismiss. I looked away and folded my arms. “I have spent yea