Chapter Twenty

The walk back to the west wing passed beneath a sky slowly surrendering itself to evening, the last traces of sunlight slipping behind the mountains that surrounded Valmere like ancient guardians. Warm amber light filtered through the tall palace windows, stretching long shadows across polished stone corridors while servants quietly lit lanterns one by one along the walls. The palace had begun settling into its evening rhythm, though tonight, something about the silence felt heavier.Fenrir walked beside Valeria rather than ahead of her, though neither spoke for several moments after leaving the gardens.The quiet between them felt strained.Uncomfortable.Not because he did not know what to say, but because his thoughts refused to settle long enough for him to understand what exactly he was feeling.His wolf had reacted immediately the moment he stepped into the garden.Protective.Instinctive.Valeria was carrying his child.That alone changed things.The sight of her crying, distre

Chapter Twenty-one

“A villager is missing.”The words settled over the garden with enough weight that, for a moment, even the evening breeze seemed to still.Only moments earlier, the quiet had felt almost restorative. Lanterns had begun flickering softly along the stone pathways while the last warmth of the day lingered between rows of lavender and calendula, their scent rising gently into the cooling air. Now, the peace felt strangely distant, disrupted by something Aurelia could not yet place but instinctively disliked.“A villager?” she repeated, her attention sharpening immediately. “From where?”The guard lowered his head slightly. “I was only told there had been an incident in one of the outer villages, Your Highness. Captain Henry instructed me to find you at once.”Aurelia nodded once, already moving.“Have the strategy room prepared,” she said. “And inform Henry I want the patrol captains gathered immediately.”The guard bowed quickly before disappearing back toward the palace.Beside her, Lyr

Chapter Twenty-two

Fenrir's POVSleep should have come easily.After everything that had happened throughout the day, exhaustion should have dragged me unconscious the moment I stepped into my room. Instead, I had somehow spent the better part of an hour lying across the bed staring at the ceiling like it had personally offended me.The palace had quieted considerably since the strategy meeting ended. Somewhere beyond the walls, guards still rotated through evening patrols while servants moved softer through the corridors than they had during the day. Valmere slept differently than my territory. Quieter. Less tense. Even now, there was something strangely calm about the place that I still had not decided whether I respected or found irritating.Probably irritating.Everything about this territory felt too calm.Too trusting.I shifted onto my side with a quiet sigh, dragging a hand across my face before shutting my eyes again. Sleep still refused to come. Mostly because my thoughts refused to settle.Tom

Chapter Twenty-three

Morning arrived far too quickly.I had only just fallen asleep when a hand nudged my shoulder once, then again with considerably less patience.“Aurelia.”I made the mistake of opening one eye.Lyra stood beside the bed fully dressed, hair already braided back and expression entirely too awake for an hour that should not exist.“No.”“You asked me to wake you before sunrise.”“I regret that decision.”“You regret most sensible decisions.”I pulled the blanket higher, “I’m reconsidering this friendship.”“That seems unfair after I let you sleep longer than my father wanted.”“How long has he been awake?”Lyra crossed her arms, “Long enough to reorganize supplies twice, question three patrol routes, and complain about your decision making to anyone willing to listen.”“…That sounds exhausting.”“He’s worried.”The quiet honesty beneath her voice softened something in my chest.Because, unfortunately, I already knew.Henry had never been subtle when it came to worrying. Neither of them w

Chapter Twenty-four

The forest had gone unnaturally quiet.Not the ordinary stillness that sometimes settled beneath thicker trees or colder weather, but something heavier. Unsettling. The sort of silence that arrived only when something had disturbed the natural rhythm of a place badly enough that even the animals no longer trusted it. No birds called overhead. No movement rustled through nearby brush. Even the wind seemed quieter here, slipping between branches with little more than a faint whisper.The carving sat against the bark like something wrong.From a distance, it had looked random enough to mistake for damage. Up close, however, intention became impossible to ignore.The symbol curved into the shape of a crescent moon, though not an untouched one. Deep jagged slashes cut violently through the center, splitting through the curve hard enough that it looked less carved and more wounded, as though someone had meant to destroy the shape rather than simply mark it. The cuts crossed unevenly through

All Chapters of A Marriage Bound by Curse: Chapter 21 - Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four