Approved for Her Rejected for Me novel Chapter 19

Chapter 2

Riley’s POV

Grayson was eight years older than me.

When I was seven, our parents were killed in a sudden accident.

He was fifteen then, freshly awakened as an Alpha, still struggling to control his strength. Yet he

stood between me and the world at their funeral.

He shielded me from the swarm of vampire relatives trying to seize custody, from the Elders arguing over Pack succession, and from the outsiders whispering about Stormhowl’s future.

That day, almost no one cried for our parents. Only him. And me.

Grayson, a young Alpha cornered with no way out, drove everyone from the hall with a roar. Then

he pulled me into his arms as I sobbed uncontrollably, his voice shaking and raw:

“Riley, don’t be scared. I’m here. As long as I’m alive, no one will hurt you.”

I cried myself unconscious in his arms.

For the rest of my childhood, I woke up screaming almost every night.

And even when he came home exhausted from late-night Alpha training, Grayson would still sit

beside my bed, humming the lullaby our mother used to sing.

For nine years, we survived by holding onto each other. I always believed that as long as we stood

together, no one could tear us apart.

But everything changed my freshman year of high school. That day, Grayson had been away on a

month-long business trip. His call came out of nowhere, also his first in weeks.

“Grayson! Why haven’t you picked up my calls? I was worried sick!”

He went silent for a moment.

“Riley, I’m coming home right now. We… need to talk about something.”

The moment I heard his voice, all my frustration dissolved into worry.

“Okay. Just come back.”

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Right before he hung up, I faintly heard a girl’s voice. Soft. Barely there. But sharp enough to sting.

Half an hour later, the familiar Maybach rolled into the yard.

“Grayson!”

I bolted forward, ready to fling myself into his arms like always.

“Finally, you’re back-”

But I froze mid-movement when I saw the unfamiliar girl in the backseat.

Grayson didn’t notice my reaction. He simply reached inside, movements full of a gentleness I had never seen from him, and helped the small, frail girl step out.

“Riley, this is Briar. Starting today, she’s Briar Monroe. She’s our sister.”

My whole body went numb. A buzzing filled my ears.

“You said… sister? Her?”

She looked timid, cheeks reddened from the cold, skin darkened like someone who’d spent years malnourished. She resembled a scrawny rogue pup more than anything else.

Grayson explained softly, “I ran into danger on this trip. Without Briar, I wouldn’t have survived.”

“What? You got hurt?!”

I rushed forward to check him, panic rising. But his attention never once shifted from Briar.

“She’s an orphan. This is her home now.”

My mouth opened, but no words came out.

“…Alright. I’ll take care of her.”

Grayson smiled, ruffled my hair, then turned to lead Briar into the house-leaving me standing alone in the cold wind.

Back then, I didn’t realize this girl’s arrival would rip my entire life apart.

My roommate hugged her pillow, eyes brimming. “So… that girl is the one who made you like this?”

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I shook my head. “No. It was both of them.”

Under Grayson’s protection, Briar quickly shed her fragile shell. And the jealousy she harbored toward me gradually morphed into open hostility.

In my sophomore year, after Grayson and I visited our parents’ graves, we returned to the werewolf

academy.

The moment I stepped into class, the way everyone looked at me shifted. Whispers swelling like a rising tide, scraping cold fingers down my spine.

The wolf inside me stirred uneasily, sensing danger before I did.

I had barely taken my seat when my deskmate jumped away from me. “Don’t sit next to me! Who knows what kind of diseases you have!”

Laughter erupted around us. I froze, confused. A girl who was usually kind to me slipped her phone

into my hand.

“Riley… the internet says this is you.”

I glanced down. My breath stopped. Then I snatched the phone, heart slamming painfully.

“This isn’t me!!”

Pinned at the top of the forum was a post.

[Stormhowl Sophomore Beauty Secretly Works as a Slut]

Dozens of explicit photos. Some badly photoshopped, some taken in a bedroom that looked like

mine.

A boy shouted, “Not you? This room looks exactly like yours. Riley Monroe, having fun with random guys at home?”

“I said that’s not me!!” I hurled the phone across the aisle, the wolf in my chest burning so hot I could barely stay standing.

Then, Briar suddenly rose from her desk, walked over, and stood beside me.

“Riley, if you did something wrong, just admit it. No one will really judge you…”

I stared at her. “It was you.”

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No one else could’ve gotten into my bedroom. No one else could’ve collected so many photos.

Briar’s eyes widened, pure pretended innocence. “Me? What are you talking about, Riley? No one

ames you.”

A cold laugh slipped out of me. I lifted my hand, and slapped her hard across the face.

“Riley Monroe! Stop this!”

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