All Chapters of Rejected by My Mate, Desired by His Enemy : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

"Warriors gather in darkness, and I try not to think about how many won't see tomorrow's sunset."I say it to Donovan at four in the morning, standing in the clearing where we're supposed to meet. The air smells like pine and damp earth. My breath makes clouds in the cold."Don't think like that," he says."I'm being realistic.""You're borrowing trouble."Maybe. But 130 wolves are about to walk into a warehouse and face a 200-year-old monster. Some of them won't walk out.The first vehicles arrive. Headlights cut through the pre-dawn darkness. Doors open quietly. Warriors step out, already in combat mode. No unnecessary noise. No wasted movement.Marcus arrives with Redwood Pack. Forty wolves, every one of them trained fighters. Sarah brings Silvercrest next. Thirty warriors who've fought beside us before. Then smaller packs, ones I barely know but who answered the call anyway.By the time everyone's here, the clearing feels crowded. 130 bodies packed into a space meant for maybe fift

"Welcome home, Iris."Lucian's voice carries across the ruins, mocking and calm. He stands in the center courtyard where I was rejected three years ago. Where Damon threw me to the ground and told me I was worthless. Where I nearly died.I'm not that woman anymore."This isn't my home. Not anymore."One hundred warriors spread out behind me. Surrounding the ruins completely. Lucian has nowhere to run this time.Five corrupted wolves stand with him. Clarissa at his side, blonde hair wild, eyes harder than I remember. She sees me and smiles. Actually smiles."It's where you were broken," Lucian continues. "Fitting it's where you die.""You first."The attack comes from all sides. Coordinated. Simultaneous. Warriors pouring over crumbling stone walls like water.Lucian's hands move. Purple-black magic explodes outward. The first wave of warriors flies backward. Ten bodies hitting the ground hard. Some don't get up."Keep pushing!" Donovan shouts.The second wave hits. Corrupted wolves mee

"Breaking a spell that's been on you for fifteen years requires precision, pain, and absolute trust."Sage says it while I'm trying to eat breakfast. The food turns to ash in my mouth. Two weeks have passed since we killed Lucian. Today is ritual day.I haven't eaten in three days. Fasting is required. My stomach is empty and my head feels light, but my mind is clear. Sharper than usual.Donovan sits across from me, looking equally hollow. He's been fasting too. His cheekbones are more pronounced. Eyes brighter."We're ready," I say.Sage nods. "The sacred grove is prepared. The pack will witness from a distance.""Haven and Oliver?""With Meredith, they are too young to watch." She pauses. "This will hurt. Both of you. The suppression spell has roots deep in your magic. Ripping it out won't be gentle.""We understand.""Do you?" Her eyes are serious. "The backlash could kill you. If even one layer tears wrong, the magic could consume you from inside."The stakes have always been clear

"Walk away and see how far you can get before I can't hear you anymore."I say it to Donovan while standing in the training ground at dawn. The grass is wet under my bare feet. Cold enough that my breath makes clouds.Four weeks until Summit. Starting today, we figure out what this mate bond can actually do.He starts walking. Ten feet. Twenty. Fifty.*Can you hear me?*His voice appears in my head. Not out loud. Just there. Like my own thoughts but distinctly his.*Yes. Perfectly clear.*A hundred feet. Still crystal clear.Five hundred feet. He's all the way across the training ground now.*How about now?**Still good.*He keeps going. Disappears into the tree line. A mile away, maybe more. The bond between us stretches like a rope pulling taut.*Getting quieter,* I send back.*Same here. But I can still hear you.*Two miles. His thoughts start breaking up. Static creeping in around the edges.*That's... limit... think...*Then nothing. Just silence in my head.He jogs back. Takes hi

"Week four is about making sure we don't die," Sage says, spreading a map across the breakfast table like the eggs and toast aren't even there.Nobody argues with her.One week until Summit. Seven days to close every gap the conspirators might find and use against us. The map shows the convention center in clean, flat lines. Entry points marked in red. Exit routes in blue. Security blind spots circled in black ink.I lean over it with my coffee going cold beside me."They'll be watching every move you make," Sage says. "Every conversation. Every reaction. You need to look confident without looking like a threat.""While actually being one," I say."Exactly."Donovan traces one of the exit routes with his finger. "How many hostile Alphas are we expecting?""Enough that you should plan for all of them and hope for fewer."She starts us on scenario training that same morning. No warmup, no easing in. She just sets a situation in front of us and watches what we do."You're surrounded. Have