Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 218

Lisa's POV

I woke to the sound of dripping water echoing against stone, each drop magnified in the silence that smothered the room. My body ached, every muscle heavy, like I had been drained of every ounce of strength. The memory of the black room flashed in my mind—the marks on the ground, the way my power was sucked from me whenever I fought against them. My throat was dry, cracked from screaming, yet I forced my head up.

The door creaked, slow and deliberate, and the sight of Irene stepping inside made my stomach twist. Her calmness, her neat hair, the tray in her hands—it was all wrong in this place of shadows and stone. She moved with a confidence that told me she didn’t fear this place. That realization cut deeper than the ropes binding my wrists.

She set the tray on the floor in front of me, her voice steady. “Eat. Drink. You will need it to prepare for the ritual.”

I let out a broken laugh, bitter and sharp. “Ritual? What ritual?” My voice cracked, but the fury behind it burned. “You think I’ll just sit here, eat your poisoned food, and wait to die?”

Her eyes softened, but not in pity. No, it was something colder—patience, the kind of look one gives to a child who doesn’t yet understand. “Lisa, you don’t have a choice. Whether you accept it or not, Malrik has chosen you. The ritual will proceed.”

The mention of his name sent a chill crawling over my skin. Malrik—the ancient wolf who had spoken of my bloodline, who had looked at me as if I were nothing more than a tool. My chest tightened, anger warring with fear until the scream tore out of me.

“Why, Irene? Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?” My voice bounced against the walls, desperate, ragged. “You pretended—you stood by me, you acted like a friend! Why betray me now?”

Her lips pressed into a line before she knelt, her eyes leveling with mine. “Because I was never your friend, Lisa. I was never Rowland’s daughter. That was a role I played to stay close to you.”

I froze, the words stabbing through me, sharper than any blade. My stomach twisted violently, bile rising in my throat. “What… what are you saying?”

Her voice didn’t waver. “I am Malrik’s loyal servant. I was sent to watch you, to make sure you stayed alive until the day your powers awoke. My duty has always been to him, not to Rowland, not to anyone else.”

“No.” I shook my head violently, the ropes biting into my wrists. “No, you’re lying. You can’t—You grew up with us, you were there, you laughed, you cried—you can’t tell me that wasn’t real!”

A sad smile tugged at her lips. “It was all an act. Every tear, every smile, every story I told you—it was all designed to keep you from suspecting. Malrik knew the healer’s blood would return in you. He only needed me to stay close until the signs showed.”

I screamed, the sound raw, tearing at my throat. The walls caught my voice and hurled it back at me, mocking my despair. My chest heaved, breath shallow, vision blurring.

“You used me,” I choked out, shaking. “All this time, you used me. Why? Why me?”

Her expression hardened now, no trace of kindness left. “Because you are the descendant of the healer. You are the one Malrik has waited centuries for. Even the plague that swept through your lands—it was no accident, Lisa. It was his handwork, his design to drive you into his reach.”

The words struck like thunder, the ground beneath me seeming to crumble. My heart pounded so violently I thought it would tear free from my chest. “No… no, that’s not true. The plague… people died, innocent people… you’re telling me he did that? He killed them?”

“Yes.” Her voice was calm, too calm for the storm she unleashed inside me. “Every scream, every body left in its wake—it was all part of his plan to draw you out, to bring you here.”

I shook violently, tears burning my eyes. My voice rose, wild and desperate. “You monster! You watched them die, you watched me break, and you stayed silent!”

“I did what I had to do,” she said simply, standing now, her hands folding neatly in front of her. “And you will do what you must. Your powers are not a gift for you to decide how to use. They belong to Malrik. They always have.”

Something inside me snapped. I lunged forward, my whole body straining against the ropes. “I will never belong to him! Do you hear me? Never!” My scream ripped through the air, raw fury and agony tangled together.

But she didn’t flinch. She only tilted her head, her gaze like iron. “You can scream until your voice breaks, Lisa. It changes nothing. The ritual will happen. Your screams will not stop destiny.”

My chest heaved, sobs ripping through me. “You betrayed me… you betrayed everything. I trusted you, Irene. I trusted you!”

Her face flickered for a moment—just a flicker, like a shadow passing over her mask. But it was gone as quickly as it came. She turned toward the door. “Eat. Drink. You will need your strength.”

I screamed after her, my voice cracking, desperation clawing up my throat. “I hate you! Do you hear me? I hate you!”

The door shut behind her with a dull thud, and the silence swallowed me whole again. I pulled at the ropes until my skin burned, until blood welled where they cut into my wrists. My tears blurred everything, my body trembling, but no matter how hard I screamed, the stone walls didn’t care.

They had taken everything—my freedom, my trust, my hope—and left me here, bound in shadows, waiting for a ritual that felt like the end of me.

I kept screaming anyway. Screaming because it was all I had left. Screaming because even if they ignored me, I refused to fall silent.

But in the back of my mind, the truth Irene had spoken coiled like a snake: the plague, the deaths, all of it… Malrik’s doing. All of it leading to me.

And no matter how loud I screamed, nothing could erase that.