The Rejected daughter chosen by the Alpha (Maya and Atila) novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41

– ATILA

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I followed them into the forest with every muscle in my body coiled tight, tracking each step they took. Freida led the way. shoulders hunched, glancing from side to side as if the woods themselves were judging her. Elizabeth and Margot walked just behind her, then their parents. Cassian and I brought up the rear.

“I think it’s this way.” Freida said, stopping short.

Margot leaned toward Elizabeth and whispered, assuming I wouldn’t hear her. “Do you remember the path? Because I don’t.”

Elizabeth folded her arms, her face hard. “Honestly? I don’t care anymore. At this point, she’s probably dead.”

My jaw locked so tightly my teeth scraped together.

I shot her a sideways look and spoke without raising my voice-which somehow made it worse. “You’d better hope we find that well. Soon.”

Freida took a few shaky steps forward, pushing branches aside with trembling hands. “Look… there. That’s it. That’s the well.”

Cassian didn’t hesitate. He brushed past me and ran to the moss-covered stone structure. Dropping into a crouch, he forced the heavy lid and dragged it aside with a dry, grating sound.

I was right behind him.

“Can you see her?” I asked, already bracing myself to climb down.

“No.” Cassian said carefully, peering into the darkness. “It’s too deep.”

I didn’t stop to think.

“Átila, wait!” He reached for me, trying to hold me back.

I was already climbing onto the edge.

“Be careful,” he warned.

I ignored him and let myself drop.

I landed in a crouch on damp ground, the impact echoing through the enclosed space. The smell of sludge and ancient stone flooded my senses. This wasn’t an ordinary well. It was a tunnel, hand-carved, as if it had been built centuries ago.

“Atila, are you okay?” Cassian called down from above.

“I’m fine.” I answered, pulling a flashlight from my pocket.

I swept the beam across the walls. They were uneven, scarred with ancient symbols etched in faded red-marks time had nearly erased. The air was thick and stagnant, as though no one had passed through in ages.

“She’s not here.” I said after taking a few steps forward.

“Are you sure?” Cassian asked.

“I am. I’m going to check a little farther.”

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5:15 pm P WMM.

Chapter 41

55 ROUTINE

I moved deeper into the tunnel, listening for every sound. The ground was slick, the walls narrow. Farther ahead. I found an iron door, locked from the outside with a rusted padlock. It looked untouched for decades-maybe centuries.

“No one’s been through here recently,” I muttered.

I retraced my steps.

“She’s not here!” I shouted up.

The silence that followed was grave-deep.

“Hold on,” Cassian finally said. “I’ll find something to pull you up.”

While I waited, I lowered the flashlight-and saw something that made my stomach knot. A small bloodstain, dark and dried, close to where I’d landed.

“Damn it…” I whispered.

I crouched slowly, bringing the light closer to the ground. I inhaled deeply, letting instinct take over-and then I knew. That sweet, metallic scent, unmistakable. I would recognize it anywhere. My chest tightened instantly. It was her blood. Not much. Old. But still there, soaked into the stone.

If Maya’s blood was here and her body wasn’t, then someone had taken her out of this tunnel. Someone had found her.

Could someone really have pulled her out?

And if it wasn’t a person-if it was some beast from the forest-

No. I cut the thought off before it could fully form.

Minutes later, Cassian returned and tossed down a thick vine coated in moss. I grabbed hold, braced my feet against the stone walls, and climbed, my body moving on pure instinct.

When I reached the surface, I went straight for Elizabeth.

‘She’s not there,” I growled. “Are you absolutely sure this is the place?”

Elizabeth swallowed hard. “Yes. I’m sure.”

I turned to Freida.

“It’s the same well,” she said, shaking. “The same stone.”

Margot tilted her head, a strange glint in her eyes. “Maybe she died.”

She paused, deliberately. “How awful. I’ll never forgive myself.”

Their father cleared his throat, clearly prompted by his wife’s nudges. “If we’re done here, we’re heading back to

Northumberland.”

I looked at each of them in turn, unsettled by the coldness, the complete lack of humanity. I thought about Maya growing up surrounded by that-by people who weren’t family, but predators.

“You can go back to the city,” I said, forcing my fury down. “But don’t even think about running. The pack would find you at the ends of the earth. And when I find Maya, I’ll file another formal charge against your daughters for attempted murder.”

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Chapter 41

What the mother exclaimed but that excessive? They could be sentenced to death”

And wouldury that be fat I shot back “Or do you believe only your other daughters’ lives matter? Tell me was Maya ever wally vin daughter?

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