The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 507

Liora’s POV

My hands shook a little, but I pinned them behind myself as I leaned back against the car. The metal was cool through my clothes, yet somewhat soothing against my flushed skin.

“Where’s Zane?” Callum asked, clearing his throat.

I shrugged. “He needed some space.” I looked over at him. “He told me that Mia wouldn’t want us to fight. And I think he’s right. So I’m going to hear you out, even if I’m pissed that you seemingly had some kind of elaborate plan and didn’t tell me about any of it.”

Callum exhaled through his nose, his nostrils flaring slightly with the motion. He leaned against the car beside me, shoving his hands in his pockets, and looked at his feet without speaking for a long time.

I didn’t bother filling the silence. Not just to give him the space to think, but also because I feared that if I said something now, it might not be very nice, and it might only make things worse.

Finally, he spoke.

“I wanted to help you get your wolf back without marking you,” he said. “So I did some research. I found this account in the restricted section—about a wolfless from generations ago who gained their wolf through shedding the female Alpha’s blood.”

I furrowed my brow, thinking back on my own research. “I looked high and low for answers,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t recall…”

“You might have overlooked it, since at the time, you were the only female Alpha,” Callum pointed out. “But since Bianca was accepted as the King’s heir, she now bears the title in all the ways that matter.”

“So you thought that… what?” I asked, pushing away from the car and turning to face him fully. “You thought you could match us up in combat? Make me shed her blood to get my wolf back?”

“That was the plan, yes.” He took a deep breath. “You’re one of the best fighters in the school, Liora. I knew you could do it, if you could just get to her first. And I thought that if it was public, then the kingdom would have no choice but to accept you back as the sole heir.”

“None taken.” I exhaled and leaned back against the car. “I guess I do have a tendency to dig my heels in.”

“Yeah.”

I looked over at Callum, and he was looking at me with that look. The same one he’d given me multiple times before we broke up. I knew it all too well, because it was the same look I gave myself in the mirror every day since it happened. Wondering if things could have been different had I just let him mark me, if I had chosen him over Mrs. Oakes.

Maybe Mia would still be here if I had.

“I’m sorry,” I said. The words tumbled out quickly, but I knew I meant them. “I should have listened to you. I wish we never…”

“I know,” he cut me off. He moved closer, sliding against the metal, one arm tentatively moving to drape around my shoulders. I let him, even though it made my heart pound, even though it made fresh tears spring to my eyes.