All Chapters of THEIR REJECTED DAUGHTER WAS THE LOST HEIRESS: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

POV: ARIAThe black SUV pulled up the gravel driveway of the Frostwood Pack estate. I stared at the stone arches. For fifteen years, this place was my home. Now, looking at it, I felt completely hollow.Gavin parked near the main entrance. His hands remained gripped tight on the steering wheel, his knuckles white after watching me flinch in the car. He hadn't said a word since."We're here," Gavin said quietly. "Aria... about what happened on the road…""I will take my bag, Alpha," I interrupted, unbuckling my seatbelt. "Thank you for the ride."I stepped out into the cool mountain air. The estate grounds were buzzing with activity. Servants were carrying trays and floral arrangements across the courtyard for the Lycan King’s delegation. Nobody stopped working because I had returned. A few older servants caught sight of me and froze in shock, but most of the new staff walked right past me without a second glance.Gavin pulled my canvas bag from the trunk and stopped a young steward. "

POV: ARIA The morning sun spilled across the east hallway, but it brought no warmth to the stone floors. I woke up early, before the rest of the household, driven by a lingering habit. For fifteen years, my morning routine had been identical: prepare Mother’s herbal decoction, check her pulse, and adjust her daily medicine schedule.I made my way down to the sunroom where Mother usually sat for her morning tea. I carried a small wooden tray with a cup of warm water and her old ledger notes. I thought if there was still one place I could be useful, it was ensuring her fragile lungs survived the stress of the Lycan King’s visit.When I reached the doorway, I stopped.Mother was already seated in her armchair near the window, but I wasn't the one beside her. Lyra was kneeling on a velvet stool at her feet, carefully measuring two drops of liquid tincture into a porcelain teacup. The family doctor stood nearby, nodding approvingly as Lyra recited the dosage with practiced ease."You've m

POV: ARIAThe air in the medical wing carried the sharp, medicinal sting of silver-laced antiseptic and dried chamomile, but beneath it lay the suffocating, heavy chill of the stone walls. My eyelids felt weighed down by lead, every breath scraping against my ribs like rusted iron. Instinctively, as I had done every single morning for the past two years, I reached inward into the quiet dark of my mind. I searched for the warm, familiar rustle of fur, the low rumble of a comforting voice, the vital spark of my wolf.Nothing came.Just a hollow, echoing void. For two years inside Coldspire prison, I had endured the terrifying silence within my own soul. She had once been a lively, stubborn beast who filled my mind with endless banter and fierce protection. Now, there was only a phantom ache where she used to rest. I shifted on the thin mattress, the coarse cotton rubbing against the faint scar tissue lining my spine."Trauma can cause a spirit to recede, Lady Aria," the old pack doctor

POV: KAELENThe underground holding cell was empty now, the damp iron smell fading beneath the scent of pine needle scrub, but I could not shake the memory of how she had lain in the dark.I had watched a dozen hardened rogues claw at those stone walls, screaming until their throats bled with silver-burn. Aria had done none of that. When the iron door slammed shut, her posture had not even broken. She had simply retreated into herself, sitting on the cold flagstones with her spine straight, her breathing shallow and deliberate, as if she were already accustomed to small, airless spaces.From the shadow of the second-story balcony, I watched her now as she walked across the inner courtyard. The sun hit her face, illuminating the pale skin beneath her cheekbones and the dark, violet-tinged shadows under her eyes. Every report I had read prior to coming to the Frostwood estate painted the same vivid picture: a manipulative, overly attached foster daughter who had grown bitterly jealous w

POV: KAELENThe grand courtyard was chaotic with the departure of the Lycan King’s royal vanguard. Silver-plated armor gleamed under the harsh afternoon sun, heavy war-horses stomped their hooves against the cobblestones, and the air crackled with the suffocating, high-density pressure of royal aura.The entire Frostwood household had lined the stone steps to pay their respects. Lord Frostwood stood at the head, his chest puffed with pride, flanked by Gavin and Elena. Right at Elena’s side stood Lyra, wearing a gown of embroidered midnight blue, bowing gracefully as the King’s high commander passed. She was radiant, charming, and perfectly composed, the ideal picture of a high-born pack heiress claiming her rightful place before the sovereign court.Everyone in the estate had a clear, unshakeable opinion of the family dynamic. To the guards, the servants, and the visiting nobles, the story was simple: Lyra was the long-lost true blood who had returned to save her family, while Aria wa