Chapter 11:THE RETURN OF THE QUEEN"
The forest was no longer a place of fear for me.
It was my kingdom.
Every step I took, the wind shifted like it recognized me. Like the world itself was bowing to something I was only beginning to understand.
I was no longer Lyla—the rejected mate.
I was something else now.
Something stronger.
Something dangerous.
The silver glow beneath my skin was harder to hide these days.
My wolf didn't whisper anymore.
She spoke clearly.
"They will kneel."
And for the first time… I didn't disagree.
When I reached the border of my old pack territory, I stopped.
The memories hit me like a storm.
The rejection.
The laughter.
His voice.
"I reject you."
My chest tightened—but I didn't break.
I smiled instead.
Because I wasn't the same girl who left here crying anymore.
A guard spotted me instantly.
His eyes widened.
"L-Lyla…?"
Whispers spread quickly through the gate.
"She came back…"
"No… that can't be her…"
But I didn't answer.
I simply walked forward.
Slow.
Calm.
Powerful.
The gate opened.
And then I felt it.
That pull again.
The bond I thought was dead… flickered.
And then I saw him.
Alpha Kael.
Standing at the top of the stairs.
Watching me like he had seen a ghost.
But I wasn't the one who looked broken anymore.
He was.
His eyes darkened the moment he sensed it.
The power inside me.
The difference.
The rise.
"You…" he said slowly.
My smile deepened.
"Yes, Kael," I replied softly.
"I'm back."
Silence swallowed the entire courtyard.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Because everyone could feel it.
The girl he rejected…
Was no longer beneath him.
She had risen.
And for the first time…
Alpha Kael looked unsure.