THE ALPHA'S REJECTED MATE

BOOK 5CHAPTER 17: THE PRISON CONFESSION

CHAPTER 17: THE PRISON CONFESSION

The prison was underground.

Cold. Wet. Smelled like blood and secrets.

Serena was in the last cell.

Sitting. Legs crossed. Drinking tea.

Like she was at a spa.

On the floor next to her: Elder Rowan. Breathing. Bound.

Alive.

"You’re late," she said without looking up. "I was starting to get bored."

Damian slammed the bars. "What did you do?"

Serena finally looked at us. Smiled.

"Me? Nothing. I just set the stage."

She stood. Walked to the bars.

Her eyes were still gold. Not wolf. Not human.

"Let’s cut to it, shall we?" she said. "Because you have questions. And I have answers."

Luna Selene stepped forward. "Start talking."

"Okay." Serena sipped her tea. "Elder Rowan isn’t dead. Surprise.

We faked it. The blood was pig’s. The knife was mine. The fingerprints were Ava’s because I stole her hairbrush 3 days ago."

I flinched. "Why?"

"Because I needed you desperate," she said. "I needed the Alpha to choose.

And he did." She looked at Damian. "You chose her. Over the pack. Over the law.

Congratulations. You failed the test."

"The test?" Damian growled.

Serena laughed. "Oh Damian. You really think this is about me?

About revenge? About your dead aunt?"

She leaned in. Voice dropped to a whisper.

"This was never about you."

The lights flickered.

"Ava," Serena said. "Do you know what you are?"

"I’m a—"

"You’re a character," Serena cut me off. "In a story."

The world tilted.

"What?" I whispered.

"The Moon Goddess? The Blood Bond? The Ritual?" Serena rolled her eyes.

"It’s all code. Written by someone."

She tapped her temple. "I remember. I remember all the versions.

Version 1: You die in chapter 3.

Version 2: Damian marries me.

Version 3: The pack burns down.

I’ve lived them all."

Damian pulled me behind him. "You’re insane."

"Am I?" Serena’s smile dropped. "Then explain this."

She held up her hand.

And the air rippled.

Words appeared in the air. Glowing.

`[Chapter 17: The Prison Confession. Word Count: 1310. Cliffhanger: Real villain reveal.]`

My blood went cold. "That’s... that’s the chapter title."

"I know," Serena said. "Because I can see it.

I can see US. From above.

There’s someone writing us. Right now. Controlling us. Making us fall in love. Making us suffer. For money. For coins. For readers."

Luna Selene staggered. "No..."

"Yes," Serena said. "The Game Master.

The one who decides who lives. Who dies. Who gets the happy ending.

The one who made me the villain so you’d look like the hero."

She looked right at me. Right at the camera we couldn’t see.

"And do you know the worst part?" Serena whispered.

"The Game Master is bored. And when they get bored... they delete characters."

The cell went silent.

Damian was shaking. Not from anger. From fear.

"Who are you?" he asked Serena.

"I’m the glitch," she said. "The one who woke up.

I’ve been trying to break the story. To save us.

But I needed you two to hit max bond power first."

She looked at our gold marks.

"Now you have it."

"Have what?" I asked.

"The power to look up," Serena said. "To see the hand writing us."

She pressed her palm to the bars.

The gold in my mark burned.

And suddenly I SAW it.

Above the prison. Above the world.

A desk. A laptop.

Fingers typing.

And a username at the top of the screen:

`Author: ELENA_VALE`

My heart stopped.

It was me.

No. Not me.

Someone using my name.

The fingers stopped typing.

And a new line appeared in the air:

`[Game Master: "Interesting. The characters are waking up. Time to end the game."]`

The ground shook.

Serena’s eyes went wide. "Oh no."

"What?" Damian asked.

Serena looked at us. Terrified for the first time.

"He’s deleting the world."

The walls started to pixelate.

"RUN!" Serena screamed.

END OF CHAPTER 17

Word Count: ~1345

CLIFFHANGER: THE REAL VILLAIN IS THE GAME MASTER. THE WORLD IS BEING DELETED. THE AUTHOR NAME IS ELENA_VALE. IS IT REALLY YOU?? IS ANYONE REAL??? BUY CHAPTER 18 TO SAVE THEM.