Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Alpha’s Rejected Mate Was The Stolen Werewolf Princess : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

Astrid POVThe forest was dark, so dark that I could see anything. I forced my body up on shaking hands, the ringing filled with faint screams from far away.The air reek of silver and dust “Sebastian “His eyes were closed, his skin too pale for a man of high power and dignity. I checked for his pulse, and I found a pulse_faint, but thereDamien’s men spread through the trees like a swarm of black-cloaked shadows. The metallic scent of silver filled the air, thick enough to sting the back of my throat. I could taste the iron, feel the danger before he even came into view.Sebastian lay half-conscious against the roots of an oak, blood soaking through my makeshift bandage. Every beat of his heart felt slower than the last.I couldn’t let Damien find him like this.Or me.I wiped my palms on the hem of my ruined dress, smearing blood across my fingers. My pulse roared in my ears. The last time I’d seen Damien Greyson, he’d stood over my fallen father — smiling. I’d sworn then that I’d

Astrid’s POVThe smoke was thick enough to taste—bitter, metallic, like burnt blood.I couldn’t see ten feet ahead, but I didn’t need to. I always knew where he’d be — in the heart of it.“Sebastian!” My voice cracked in the air, thin and desperate.The trees around me hissed as the fire crept along their bark. Everything smelled like ash and fur. The forest wasn’t just burning — it was alive, angry, roaring.And somewhere inside that fury was him.I tripped over a fallen branch and barely caught myself. My wounded arm screamed in protest, but I didn’t care. The pain meant I was still moving.Still trying.Still failing.I spun at the sound of footsteps behind me, claws scratching dirt.“Sebastian?” I called.A shadow emerged through the smoke — tall, broad, and not Sebastian.Damien.For once, he looked less like a commander and more like a man dragged through hell. His shirt torn, streaked with soot and someone else’s blood. A smear of ash was across his jaw, and his eyes glowed fai

Astrid's POV For a moment, none of us moved. The air inside the tent seemed to shrink — tight, tense, waiting.Taylor was the first to break the silence. “Armed and heading where exactly?”“North,” Damien said, his voice clipped. “Same direction Sebastian went.”Of course. Because fate apparently had a sense of humor.I shoved my boots on and grabbed my dagger, still faintly smudged with soot. “Then we’re wasting time talking.”Damien’s hand shot out, catching my arm. “You’re not going after him alone.”“I wasn’t planning to be alone,” I snapped. “You’re coming with me.”He exhaled sharply through his nose, like arguing with me was the last thing he wanted to do at dawn. “You’re injured.”“So is he.”Taylor threw up her hands. “You two can flirt-fight later. If Sebastian’s out there, he’s either tracking something or walking into a trap.”Damien let go of me, but didn’t back down. “We leave in five. Pack light. And Celeste—”I met his eyes. “Yes, Commander?”“Try not to make any hero

Astrid’s POV ********The forest moved like a living thing.Branches groaned in the wind, roots shifting under my boots as if the earth wanted to crawl away from what was coming. The air had gone wrong—too cold, too still, like we’d stepped into the lungs of something ancient that had just drawn its last breath. Sebastian’s blood still stained my fingers, hot and human, but the world around us felt nothing like either.I could hear them before I could smell them.Soft footfalls. The shuffle of armor. The hiss of steel brushing wood.Sebastian’s hand brushed my back, subtle, protective. His eyes had already changed—blue drowned in silver, rimmed with that quiet fury that always made me both terrified and safe.“Stay behind me,” he said.“Not a chance,” I shot back.His smirk was almost invisible, gone as fast as it came. Then the first figure stepped into the clearing.A woman.Tall. Cloaked in white that shimmered like moonlight on oil. Her hood cast her face in shadow,

The forest that had roared with blood, screams, and lies only moments ago now sat in a stunned silence. The air was thick with smoke and the ghost of violence. Every breath scraped my throat, tasting of iron and ash. Somewhere far off, a tree cracked and fell, the final groan of a battlefield giving up its fight.My pulse was still hammering in my chest like a war drum when I heard it.“Damien—”Her voice.I spun toward the sound. There, by the twisted altar of roots, Celeste knelt — trembling but free. The ropes that had held her were gone, scattered like the last remnants of a nightmare. Sebastian was beside her, pale and bloodied, but breathing.For a long moment, I just stood there, the smoke curling around us, unsure if any of it was real. Then I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. The weight pressing on my chest eased, if only a little.“You’re both safe now,” I said quietly.Celeste lifted her gaze to me. Her eyes shimmered, not just with tears but with something