A Rejected Wolf and a Court of Ash (Eden and Azriel) novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Eden

The cold seeps into my bones long before the darkness settles into my mind. A werewolf shouldn’t freeze, but I haven’t connected with ret

So I shiver where my wrists are locked, trying but failing to get comfortable. I wish I could wrap!

arms around myself, try to keep myself from that.

But I can’t.

The cold bites at me all night, and outside of the pack dungeons, I hear the Valentine pack howl. They are hunting. Puriring and chasing rabbits while I’m in here. Suffering. I try to close my eyes, pretend I’m with them, but their howls die, and I’m all alone in silence louder than any insult Paris has ever hurled at me.

I don’t know how long I stand there, wishing I could sleep or at least daydream to leave my body for even a minute. I’m hurting, and yet.. regret nothing.

Every blink brings the memories back. My mother dying to Marcus’s teeth. Elvira’s betrayal. Paris and Hilda laughing at my weakness.

And then, defiance.

My hand connecting with Paris’s cheek. The gasps. The rage I felt when I did it. The cold look in Logan’s eyes when he jumped at Axel. The twisted satisfaction in Marcus’s.

But most of all I remember the flicker of pride I felt when I for once stood up for myself.

I hadn’t been an omega. Not in that moment. I had been something more.

My eyes close, and a whisper inside of my mind stirs. There’s something there. My wolf buried deep in my mind but now watching me. Judging. Waiting for me to become strong enough to let her come through.

“It will happen,” I whisper to myself. “I’m growing stronger every day, and you, my wolf, will see that I’m worthy even if I don’t regret what I did.”

I’m not sorry for slapping Paris. Not sorry for speaking my truth. Not sorry for standing tall even when my knees had threatened to buckle.

The pack wants an apology. But an apology means giving up what I’m becoming. It means telling my wolf, who is finally paying attention, to stay silent. It also means that I deserve everything they have done to me.

And I don’t.

So, I can’t apologize. Never. I would rather rot in this cell than let them chain my soul and force me to act like an omega ever again.

Footsteps echo in my ears. I can hear three people, yet I don’t look up as the iron door creams open.

Marcus’s scent hits my nose first, then Yang’s and the sickly sweet one belonging to Paris.

I lift my eyes. Marcus‘ hands are clasped behind his back, expression unreadable. Yang is lingering just behind, eyes cool and calculating. And Paris… Paris is smirking like a cat who’d swallowed the bird.

“Well,” Marcus says, voice sharp as broken glass. “Are you ready to apologize, girl?”

I meet his eyes, and my voice doesn’t tremble. “No.”

Silence.

Paris scoffs. “Still playing brave? Cute. Let’s see how long that lasts.”

Marcus nods once. “Very well. Let her rot. Perhaps a few more days will remind her of her place.”

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Chapter 39

The door slams shut again.

And this time, the silence doesn’t scream.

This time, it bums.

I hate this.

I hate myself.

But most of all, I hate my pack for treating me like this.

Hours pass, and at some point, a pack warrior comes to release me from the wall but keeps me chained. I try thanking him, but he kicks me in the stomach since he didn’t give me permission to speak.

Fucking asshole.

I want to scream at him.

But I don’t.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

There we go.

Each breath is a small victory. Each one a whisper to myself that I’m still here.

Time becomes impossible to track. Has it been hours? Or a day in here? My stomach knots from hunger. My skin itches. I’m tired. Dizzy. I think I even started hallucinating at one point. Something glowed. But when I blinked, it was gone.

The presence returns.

My wolf.

She is closer and it feels like heat in my chest. Like she’s testing the edges of my soul.

Did she notice what I did?

Refusing to bow. Refusing to be less.

I think she did. She saw me choose myself first. A girl who doesn’t cry under pressure and who doesn’t take shit.

“I’m trying,” I whisper. “I’m trying to be who you need me to be.”

There’s a hum inside me.

Is she watching?

The feeling grows stronger, and I smile.

My wolf is with me. I’m grateful for her presence, even if it only means we will suffer together in the pack dungeons. The hunger is making me dizzy. The cold is eating me from the inside out. But with my wolf’s strength, I don’t pass out.

Instead, I dream.

It feels like I’m floating.

First, there is darkness, and then there’s a whisper in the dark. Calling me.

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Chapter 39

Eden.

I’m barefoot in a forest at night. There is a moon. Stars. A river and a hooting owl. The trees are taller than any I’ve ever seen. However, my focus doesn’t remain there.

Not when I hear something coming.

Footsteps. Four–legged. Fast.

A wolf.

My breath catches.

Is that her? My wolf?

I’m running. Following her. Branches slice my arms, but I never stop running. My heartbeat is thunder. The air pulses around me.

And then, I see it.

A silhouette. Lean. Agile. Its fur is red, almost orange, like my hair, and its paws are light on the earth. A long tail trails behind it.

No. Not one tail. Nine.

I skid to a stop, my lungs heaving. The creature slows. Turns. When our eyes meet, my blood freezes.

It isn’t a wolf.

Its face is narrow, its ears pointed, too long with black tips. Its eyes are odd–colored like mine. And behind it, nine ghostly tails fan out, flickering like

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