The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 98

Liora

The garden was the kind of place you’d expect to see printed on the back of a postcard: a maze of stone paths, fountains whispering in the distance, rose bushes trimmed so precisely it almost felt wrong to breathe near them.

But Zane was right, it was far from Callum’s parents eyes, deep in the hedges.

We sat at a white iron table beneath a trellis of climbing ivy, a tray of lox bagels, fruit, and pastries laid out between us like some perfect little royal picnic.

It should have been peaceful.

It very much wasn’t.

Zane leaned back in his chair like he owned the place, his ankle resting on one knee, the book balanced on the table in front of him. “You know,” he said, gesturing with a piece of bagel, “if this date thing works out, I might just move our next one here. It suits you. Green, quiet, expensive—like a princess hiding in a hedge maze.”

I ignored him, pulling my chair closer to the table and reluctantly eating into a bagel. “You said there is a book here. Give me anything. Color, section. Where?”

“Somewhere in the middle,” he said vaguely, taking a bite of his bagel.

I set my bagel down, rolling my eyes. “Somewhere. That’s helpful.”

“You’re welcome.”

I glanced up. “Zane.”

“Yes, princess?”

“Why bring me here if you’re just going to be vague? Are you helping me or wasting my time?”

“Helping. But it’s fun watching you try to be patient,” he said with a grin.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my attention back on lunch.

“Okay. Can you tell me what you remember about this ritual that was done on your cousin?” I asked, my nail tapping the plate.

“I wasn’t there. It’s a rough memory.”

My finger froze. “Then tell me roughly. I don’t have time to play games with you.”

“Harsh,” he said, leaning forward on his elbows. “But I like it when you get bossy.”

“Stop doing that and tell me.”

“Not when I can look at you instead,” he said, and this time there was no humor in it. His eyes held mine, unflinching.

Something in my stomach twisted, not butterflies, not warmth, just the uncomfortable realization that this wasn’t the Zane I’d gotten used to.

“I said stop that,” I growled.

“Stop what?”

“Whatever this is,” I said, gesturing between us. “This isn’t you. This isn’t how you talk to me.”

“You keep saying that,” he said softly. “I don’t get what you mean.”

“You do,” I said. “I liked you better the other way. Before you…”

His smile wavered for a fraction of a second before he straightened, leaning back like he hadn’t heard me. “You’ll get used to it.”

“No,” I said coldly. “I won’t. I gave you my answer.”

For a moment, there was only the sound of the fountain.

“You ever think maybe you’re too serious?” Zane’s humorous voice seemed to pinch a bit. “Always studying, always fighting. No wonder your wolf bailed.”

I snapped my bagel down. “Careful.”

“Just saying,” he said with a shrug. “You might find what you’re looking for if you loosened up a little.”

“I don’t need to loosen up. I need answers.”

“And I told you,” he said, plucking a strawberry from the tray, “I’ll help you. But that’s the price. You sit here, you eat, and you talk to me like a human being for one afternoon.”

“Okay, okay,” Zane said, tapping the table with the tip of his finger, pulling out a book from his jacket he must have snuck from the liberary. “It’s not the book, but I do have one idea. ‘One path to unlocking a lost or disconnected wolf lies in deep emotional connection. In love.’”

The words hit me like a slap.

I froze.

So did she.

For a moment, even Zane didn’t speak. Then, of course, he laughed. “Well, that’s easy. Clearly, dating me is the answer.”

I swear, I’d have jumped out and hit him myself if Liora didn’t look ready to do it herself.

Her chair scraped as she shoved back from the table. “This was a waste of time.”

“Liora—”

“I said this was a waste,” she snapped, and even from where I was crouched in a hedge like an idiot, I could see the way her shoulders tightened, every line of her rigid with fury.

She turned for the path back to the house, but Zane caught her arm before she could go.

“Relax,” he said, his voice suddenly serious. That’s not the only way. We can think of other ways—different triggers, different situations—”

“You don’t get it!” she shouted, jerking her arm free. Her voice cracked sharp across the garden. “I’m not just trying to awaken my wolf! I’m trying to get it—! Just—stop!”

For a second, even Zane was silent, his brow furrowing.

And then she was gone—walking fast enough that the roses along the path shook as she brushed past them.

I stayed hidden until her footsteps disappeared.

The leaves rustled around me as I pushed out of the hedge, brushing off my jacket, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles ached.

Love, huh?

That’s what the book said.