All Chapters of The Cursed Alpha Bride : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The silence of the driveway was loud, broken only by the distant, muffled thrum of the bass from the ballroom and the shallow rhythm of my own breathing. Draven stood too close. The heat radiating from his body defied the biting night air, wrapping around me like a physical shroud."I am not walking away from you?" I echoed, letting out a sharp, humorless laugh that cut through the tension. "I already did, Draven. Back in the ballroom. And the world didn't end."His golden eyes flared, the irises bleeding into a dangerous, dark amber. My inner wolf pressed against my ribs, desperate to submit to the Alpha aura rolling off him in suffocating waves, but I forced her down. I had spent a lifetime learning how to mask my scent, how to bury the royal bloodline of the Nightveil Pack beneath the guise of a mundane, low-ranking wolf. I wasn't going to break now, not for a man who looked at me like I was a stain on his family crest."You think you're clever," Draven said, his voice dropping int

The heavy footsteps of Elder Thomas and Lady Valerie faded into the guest wing, leaving me alone in the dimly lit foyer. My hands were finally shaking. I needed to get to my room, lock the door, and breathe before the sheer weight of the night crushed me. I turned toward the staircase, only to freeze. Draven was standing at the top of the landing. He hadn't gone to his room. He was leaning against the mahogany railing, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his shadow stretching long and menacing across the floor. From his vantage point, he had heard every single word. "Frosthounds," he said, his voice a low, dangerous vibration. "The elders are more desperate than I thought if they’re inviting northern vultures to nest in my house." "They aren't just nesting, Draven," I said, my voice tight as I climbed the stairs toward him. I tried to walk past him, but he stepped into my path, forcing me to stop. "They’re interviewing for my replacement. Lady Valerie didn't come here for the g

The walk back to the mansion was suffocatingly silent. Draven kept his hand wrapped firmly around my upper arm, not hard enough to bruise, but with a fierce, unyielding grip that made it clear I wasn't allowed to escape. He didn't say another word, but the lethal tension rolling off his shoulders told me the interrogation was far from over.The moment we crossed the threshold of the estate, I wrenched my arm free. Before he could stop me, I hurried up the grand staircase, bolted into my bedroom, and locked the heavy oak door behind me.My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I needed a moment to think. I needed to wash the scent of the forest, the snow, and Valerie’s prying hands off my skin.Stepping into the adjoining master bathroom, I turned the brass handles of the bath, letting steaming hot water fill the porcelain tub. I stripped off my soiled hunting clothes and slid into the heat, letting the steam cloud the mirrors. For thirty minutes, I did nothing but t

The air in the grand parlor remained frozen long after Julian took a cautious step back. Draven’s grip on my waist didn't loosen; if anything, his fingers dug deeper into the fabric of my emerald gown, anchoring me to his side as if the entire world were trying to steal me away."Alpha Vance," Elder Thomas cleared his throat, desperately trying to salvage the political wreckage. "Perhaps we should take this discussion to the strategy room. Lady Valerie has brought forward some... pressing matters regarding northern border security that involve your territory as well.""An excellent idea," Alpha Vance muttered, his eyes darting uncomfortably between Draven’s lethal glare and Julian’s clenched fists. "Julian, come."Julian didn't move immediately. He gave me one last, lingering look a mixture of unspent longing and deep suspicion before turning on his heel to follow his father. Valerie lingered for a second, her ice-blue eyes dancing with malicious amusement as she swept past us, the si

The heavy, exhaustive sleep that followed the binding of our souls was the deepest I had known in years. But as the fire in the hearth dwindled to gray ash, the instinctive paranoia of a hidden royal woke me before the sun could even clear the horizon.My body ached with a profound, completely new exhaustion, tingling with the residual heat of Draven’s touch. Beside me, his chest rose and fell in a slow, deep rhythm, his heavy arm still draped possessively over the indentation where I had lain. The midnight-black fur blanket was tangled around his waist, exposing the broad expanse of his scarred back.Gently, millimeter by millimeter, I slipped out from beneath his weight. My inner wolf whimpered at the loss of contact, but my rational mind was screaming. The high-altitude herbal tonic masking my scent was entirely gone, washed away by sweat and heat. If anyone came to the door right now, the sheer potency of the bond combined with my unmasked royal aura would be detectable through th