All Chapters of Rejected Before The Apocalypse, Now I'm The Queen: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

BOOK#1ELENA'S POV.I have a secret.For three years, I had carried feelings for one man.I had first seen him when I was seventeen.It had been only a brief glance, barely enough to remember, but I had remembered it anyway.After that, I found myself noticing everything about him. But i knew better than to imagine that a man like him would ever look at someone like me.Still, I had sometimes wondered whether the Moon Goddess had something different planned for my life.Tonight, I was going to find out.“Elena.”I turned to find my friend Mara approaching with two cups of berry juice. She handed one to me before examining my face.“You’re doing it again.”“Doing what?”“Looking toward the entrance every few seconds.”Heat crept into my cheeks. “I’m not.”“Of course not.” She took a sip of her drink. “And I’m the future Luna of the Blackthorn Pack.”I nearly choked. “Mara!”She laughed, drawing a few curious glances from the wolves standing nearby.“Keep your voice down,” I whispered.

ELENA'S POVHe continued, his voice cold enough to silence the few wolves who had begun whispering.“I cannot allow personal feelings to compromise the future of the Blackthorn Pack. An Alpha must consider more than a bond when choosing the woman who will stand beside him.”I stared at him. “And you believe I cannot stand beside you?”His silence lasted only a second. But it was enough.“Your abilities as a healer are valuable,” he said. “However, being Luna requires more than healing wounded wolves. It requires political understanding, influence, and the ability to secure alliances that protect thousands of lives.”I felt something inside me break a little further.“So this is about my family?”“This is about the pack.”“Because I don’t come from a powerful family?”“Elena.”“Because I have no territory to offer you? No army? No influential father who can negotiate a marriage agreement with your council?”His expression darkened. “That is enough.”But I couldn’t stop. Not when he was

ELENA'S POVFor the first time that night, I was not asking him to choose me. I was not asking him to reconsider the rejection or promise me a future.I only wanted the truth.“Does the distinction matter?” he finally asked.I stared at him. “Yes.”“To what end? If I told you it was the council’s decision, would that change anything? If I told you I had considered the matter myself, would that make the outcome easier for you to accept?”“At least I would know.”He exhaled slowly.“The council has a responsibility to protect this pack. The Thornes control resources we need, and their military support would strengthen our borders. A union between our families would benefit everyone.”“Everyone except me.”His expression tightened. “This is not about you alone.”“But my life is the one you’re deciding.”“I am not deciding your life. I am deciding my own.”The words struck me with unexpected force.For a moment I could not speak.Then I nodded slowly. “You’re right.”He seemed surprised b

AUTHOR’S POVThree years after leaving the Blackthorn Pack, Elena Voss had learned to recognize the sound of trouble.The crash outside her treatment room made her drop the bloodied cloth in her hand.A horse screamed. Wood splintered. Someone shouted for help.Elena snatched her medical bag and rushed outside.A loaded cart had overturned beside the trading post. One wheel spun uselessly in the dirt while sacks of grain spilled across the path. The horse thrashed against its harness, eyes rolling white.A man lay beneath the broken shaft.“Get that horse under control!” Elena shouted.Two men rushed forward, but the animal reared, nearly catching one beneath its hooves.Elena grabbed the reins from the ground and pulled hard, speaking in a firm, steady voice until the horse stopped fighting. Only then did she turn toward the injured man.“Can you hear me?”He groaned.“Good. Don't move.”She dropped to her knees. Blood soaked through his trousers, spreading rapidly around his thigh. T

AUTHOR’S POV The warning bell rang just after sunset.Once. Twice.A third strike sent Elena rushing out of her treatment room, medical bag in hand.At the settlement gate, two men struggled to support a third between them. The stranger’s boots dragged through the dirt. Sweat soaked his shirt, and his head lolled against one man’s shoulder.“Move!” Elena ordered.The crowd parted.“He was lying beside the eastern road,” one of the men explained. “We thought he’d collapsed from exhaustion.”The stranger’s lips cracked open.“Water.”Elena caught him as his knees buckled. His skin burned beneath her fingers, but his hands were ice-cold.“How long has he been sick?”“Couldn't say. He was alone when we found him.”The stranger seized Elena’s wrist.His grip was shockingly weak at first, then tightened with sudden desperation.“Don't let them in.”“Who?”His eyes darted toward the darkening road.“Please.”His fingers slipped from her wrist, and his body sagged.“Get him to my treatment ro