Lahat ng Kabanata ng Awakening the Rejected Queen: Kabanata 331 - Kabanata 340

Eden’s POVAstrid and I awoke the next morning with the sunrise. My neck was stiff from sleeping on the ground and our clothes were damp from morning dew. My eyes were still puffy from crying. I sat up, hoping for a moment that it had all been a horrible dream. Maybe I had imagined it all – my conversation with Beta Brighton and his information about his sister and witches. The strange heat. The flashes of blue light. ‘Her witch is rising’…The field of wild flowers and the arrow in my back. But as the tall walls of the hedge maze came into view, I knew in my heart that none of it had been a dream. My baby had witch blood. And her witch was strong. Astrid was still fast asleep. She looked peaceful as the morning sun shone on her iron hooks. She had held me until I cried myself to sleep. She felt my pain. We were close, like sisters. She didn’t even need to say anything. I knew she understood. I picked at the grass, my mind swirling with hard realizations. If my baby was born a

Eden’s POVAdrian looked wrecked. He wrung his hands and averted his eyes. “What?” I asked. “What do you mean they captured him?”It wasn’t possible. MY grandfather was out helping other packs. That’s why no one had been able to mindlink him. Because he was busy. Because…“It must have happened during the attack on Silvermist,” Beta Brighton said sadly. “Did no one see it?” I asked. This didn’t make any sense. “Surely someone would have seen my grandfather get captured!”“I wasn’t there,” Beta Brighton replied. “It was a surprise attack, Eden. And they were very, very fast. They came in and went out within minutes. They didn’t even kill very many people. It seemed like it was more of a warning. Most of the pack members were able to escape. But I guess…well…I guess they captured a few.”“How do you know? How do you know he was captured if no one saw?”They were wrong. They had to be. They were just jumping to conclusions. If no one saw then…“Someone did see,” Beta Brighton told me t

Eden’s POV“Brinsle?” I repeated. She nodded. I shook her hand, careful to meet her gaze. “That’s a lovely name,” I said. She then shook Astrid’s hand.“Thank you,” she replied demurely. “But I have to confess, I didn't expect my brother to bring you along. I’ve never met up with him like this. I thought I was…a secret.” Her eyes flashed to her brother.He looked sympathetically at her. “You know I hate that I can’t talk about you,” he said, his voice low. “But if people knew…it’s just easier this way, Brinsle. It’s easier for you, too. Werewolves and witches don’t mix well. I could be exiled. You too.”“We don’t exile,” Brinsle snapped, raising her chin. “We punish. Or we kill.”“Right,” he replied. “But in any case, you can trust these two. Astrid is our Gamma. I’ve known her for a long time. She’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. And Eden here…well…you know who she is.” His smile faltered at the mention of my name.“Eden.” It was Zara. She was pacing, on high alert. She

Eden’s POVI gasped. Of course, Brinsle didn’t hear me. I wasn’t really there. This was her memory, not mine. I was like an apparition, a silent spectator.The boy lay crumpled on the ground. Brinsle was breathing heavy, her eyes still wild. Her pain swirling around her. It was tangible, tinged in a soft violet hue. Eventually, though, the pain dissipated. The leaves fell back to the ground and the air was still again.She didn’t move. Not at first. She just stood, staring at the corpse of her lover. Birds chirped. Flower petals blew gently in the breeze. Other than that, there was no other sound.I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen!Brinsle had KILLED her lover. She’d unleashed some sort of awful magic and bam – just like that, the boy was dead.She’d done it in a fit of fury, an act of blind rage. He’d hurt her. She was in love with him, ready to give up everything for him. He, however, was not so willing to do the same.I stared at the dead body. Brinsle did too. And I realized,

Eden’s POVThe forest fell away, but the smile on Brinsle’s face stayed strong in my mind.This time, I released the pendant as soon as I realized where I was.She’d shown me this. She’d SHOWN me how she’d killed her baby. I was…I had no words.I tried to step back, but she reached out with impossible speed and grabbed my wrist.“Eden, she’s not safe,” Zara said.“Let her go,” Astrid warned, taking a step towards us.Fear ripped through me. Why had she shown me that? Why had she taken me to that last memory? Did she want me to know she was evil? She had no heart, Brinsle. I felt no regret from her. She was righteous and arrogant. She didn’t value life, not at all. She took what she wanted and killed anything she didn’t want.Had they know, her coven? Had they known that she was pregnant. I assumed they hadn’t. She’d forced herself into premature labour. She gave birth alone in the forest, careful not to cry out. So I assumed she’d been hiding her pregnancy.She glared at me, t