All Chapters of Rejected Mate: Rise of the Lycan Princess : Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

Hannah's POV The safe house sat at the edge of a dying town. From the outside, it looked like every other forgotten building scattered across the desert—sun-bleached walls, cracked windows, and a rusted metal sign hanging crookedly above the entrance. A motel once. Or maybe an office building. Time had erased whatever purpose it used to serve. We parked half a mile away. Atreus insisted. "Whoever used this place valued secrecy," he said as we stepped out of the SUV. "People like that usually leave surprises behind." Anton glanced toward the building in the distance. "You mean alarms or explosives?" Atreus slid a pair of dark gloves over his hands. "Hopefully just alarms." Anton muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "That's not comforting at all." Despite myself, I smiled. The drive had changed something between the three of us. Anton still didn't trust Atreus. Atreus still enjoyed provoking him. But the hostility had

Hannah's POV Something felt wrong the moment I stepped out of the coffee shop. The evening crowd moved around us in familiar patterns. People laughed as they crossed the street. Music drifted from a nearby restaurant. Cars crawled through traffic beneath the fading glow of sunset. Everything looked normal. But my wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin. Beside me, Anton slowed. He felt it too. Atreus emerged from the shop carrying the drinks we'd ordered. His expression remained calm, but I noticed the subtle shift in his posture. More alert. More focused. His gaze swept across the street once. Twice. Then settled somewhere behind me. His eyes hardened. "We need to leave." The ease from earlier disappeared instantly. Anton stepped closer to my side. "What is it?" Atreus handed me my drink without taking his eyes off whatever he'd seen. "We're being watched." A cold knot formed in my stomach. "How many?" "Too many." That was all the warning

Atreus POV Hospitals had always unsettled me. Not because of death. Death had walked beside me for longer than most civilizations had existed. I understood death. Accepted it. It was the fragile hope inside hospitals that made me uncomfortable. The desperate belief that people could always be saved. That loss could be postponed indefinitely. Sometimes it could. Most times, it couldn't. Tonight, at least, hope had won. Anton had survived. The doctors cleared him to leave shortly after sunrise. The wound had been severe by human standards, but wolves healed quickly. Thankfully the hospital was a hospital that treated both supernaturals and humans and was owned by a vampire. By the time Hannah finished signing discharge papers, some color had already returned to his face. He still looked annoyed. Which, judging by Hannah's relieved smile, was apparently a good sign. "I can walk on my own," Anton grumbled. Hannah ignored him. "That's nice." "I

Hannah's POV The kiss ended slowly. Neither of us moved away immediately. Atreus rested his forehead against mine, his hand warm against my cheek. For one perfect moment, everything else faded away. The Veil. The visions. The danger. It was just us. Just him. Just this. A small smile curved his lips. Then it vanished. His entire body went rigid. I frowned. "What is it?" Atreus turned sharply toward the boardwalk behind us. His posture changed instantly. Every trace of softness disappeared. Predator replacing man. A figure stood several feet away. Tall. Impeccably dressed. Silver streaked through dark hair that looked untouched by age. Power rolled off him in quiet waves. Ancient. Vampire. His pale eyes settled on me with open curiosity. Then he smiled slowly. "So this is the Seer." His gaze moved over me. Not threatening. Not kind either. Evaluating. "Pretty wolf." Atreus stepped in front of me immediately. The

Anton's POV I had no idea what to say. For once in my life, I genuinely had no idea. The park was quiet around us. Streetlights cast long shadows across empty pathways, and somewhere in the distance, traffic hummed through the city like a constant heartbeat. Beside me, Hannah stared at the ground. Her eyes were red. Her shoulders slumped. She looked exhausted. The kind of exhausted that sleep couldn't fix. I had seen Hannah survive things that would have broken most people. I'd watched her leave everything she'd ever known behind. I'd watched her carry grief she barely understood. I'd watched her adapt to a completely different life without complaining once. But tonight felt different. Tonight she looked lost. And that made me worried. For several minutes, neither of us spoke. I didn't rush her. There wasn't any point. When Hannah wanted to talk, she would. When she didn't, trying to force it only made things worse. Eventually she took a s