Semua Bab Marked for Ruin: The Alphas’ Rejected Mate: Bab 21 - Bab 26

ELLALyla and I had spoken during lunch. Her trip to the principal’s office had been a simple misunderstanding—at least, that’s what she said.But as she narrated the ordeal, I felt like her teammates were trying to sabotage her and get her out of the cheerleading squad for reasons best known to them.She asked if I had seen the pictures of her making the rounds in the school gossip vine, and I told her I was out of touch with anything that wasn’t related to schoolwork and going straight home once the day was over.She chuckled at the response, and that was the first time I had seen her genuinely smile all day.It was great to see the stress lines on her face lessen a little, and I asked her to tell me all about it.She explained that someone had made a fake picture of her in a compromising position with an older man and sent it to the whole school.As she spoke, I remembered coming to school a few days ago and noticing how everyone was glued to their phones or chattering excitedly wi

ELLAI continued training until after sunset and was breathless by the time I decided my body had reached its limit for the day. Despite the ache in my joints, I felt lighter and much stronger.I had also practiced the moves I saw Lyla perform and was certain I had mastered them, but I would only confirm that when we returned here to practice tomorrow.I closed my eyes for a moment, exhaled, and inhaled until I had steadied my breathing. I resisted the urge to open my eyes and decided to listen to the sound of the waterfall to help me stay calm.As the minutes rolled by, I realized that the feeling I had been ignoring for so long—the sensation of impending doom that seemed to envelop me throughout the day—was still there, and this time, it seemed to have heightened with the emotions I was feeling.This was yet another problem I had to solve. My troubles seemed to be exacerbated at every turn, and it irked me greatly. I needed to find solutions to everything plaguing my mind, and I did

KADE“If you hate it so much, then why are you here?” she retorted, and I scoffed.“You really just hear what you want to hear, don’t you?” I asked, trying to mask my irritation.She was trying to process what I was saying, and I understood it. I wasn’t sure why I had decided to do this, but after Lucian told me he had seen her in this part of the woods, I needed to see for myself if what he was saying was true. It was.I didn’t admit that to him, though, and instead, I suggested it was better for all three of us to move on since we had already rejected her.But I understood it; she was on a loop in my mind, and I needed to do something about it.I wasn’t sure if this was the right way to go about it, but I needed to cover my bases.If the pack considered having a mate essential to taking over the leadership role, perhaps I could make things feel less abrasive with Ella.She still wasn’t a great pick for the role, but I needed a backup plan on that front—and a bird in the hand is defi