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Chapter 9 – The Cold Alpha’s Games
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2025-08-23 23:48:25The summons came at dusk.
A servant delivered it with a stiff bow, eyes carefully averted, as though speaking directly to Bella were beneath him. The Alpha requests your presence at dinner.
Requests. The word was laughable. There was no request when it came from Lucian Blackthorn.
Bella smoothed the folds of her plain gown with trembling hands. It wasn’t silk tonight, only simple gray linen that marked her place as something less than the wolves who would share the table. Still, she straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and walked the long corridor toward the great hall.
When she entered, the sound struck her first. Laughter, low voices, the clatter of goblets and cutlery. The hall was bright with torches, shadows leaping high into the rafters, banners gleaming silver and black.
And at the head of the long table, Lucian sat in easy command.
He looked every inch the Alpha in black tailored to his frame, silver embroidery at his cuffs, his scar sharp under the firelight. His raven hair gleamed in the torchlight, his silver eyes unreadable as they swept over the hall. Wolves bent their heads as he spoke, his power pressing down on the room like a storm.
Beside him sat Lilith Duskbane.
Her crimson gown shimmered against her pale skin, her dark hair spilling over one shoulder in waves. She leaned close to Lucian, her laughter light, her icy blue eyes glinting with triumph as she placed a hand delicately on his arm.
Bella’s chest ached, but she forced herself forward.
The elder guiding her gestured to a seat not beside Lucian, not even near him, but at the far end of the table. She sat quietly, her gray-green eyes lowered, every muscle taut as whispers rose around her.
“The human Luna.”
“Even her dress is plain.” “She doesn’t belong at this table.”She focused on her food, though she couldn’t taste it. The goblet trembled in her hand as she lifted it, wine sloshing dangerously close to the rim. She steadied herself, forcing her breaths even.
Lucian never looked her way.
He spoke to Lilith instead. His voice was low, smooth, carrying easily across the hall. He asked her about the hunt, about the council’s debates, about matters of the pack. Lilith answered with silvery laughter and sharp wit, her words meant as much for Bella as for Lucian.
Every glance, every shared smile, every brush of Lilith’s hand against his sleeve cut into Bella like a blade.
The wolves around her noticed. Their smirks widened, their whispers sharpened. Bella’s humiliation became a game they played between bites of venison and gulps of wine.
She clenched her hands in her lap until her nails bit into her palms. Her chest burned with the effort of holding her head high, of swallowing down the humiliation choking her throat.
When at last she could endure no more, Bella pushed back her chair quietly, rising to her feet. If she could just leave without drawing attention—
“Sit.”
The command cracked through the hall like a whip.
Every wolf froze, heads snapping toward the Alpha at the head of the table.
Lucian’s silver eyes burned across the distance, pinning Bella in place. He hadn’t raised his voice, but the power in the single word left no room for disobedience.
Her pulse thundered in her ears. Slowly, stiffly, she lowered herself back into her seat, heat rising in her cheeks as whispers flared again around her.
Lucian lifted his goblet, his gaze never leaving her. The faintest curve touched his lips—not warmth, not amusement, but something darker.
“You will stay until I dismiss you,” he said, his voice low, steady, deliberate.
The hall erupted in laughter.
Bella’s stomach twisted, her hands trembling under the table. She wanted to scream, to run, to throw the goblet in his face. But she didn’t move. She sat, spine straight, chin high, though her eyes burned with unshed tears.
Lucian turned back to Lilith as though nothing had happened, speaking once more of matters Bella wasn’t meant to understand. Lilith’s smile widened, icy triumph flashing in her blue eyes as she leaned closer to him, victorious in a game Bella hadn’t wanted to play.
The meal dragged on, each moment stretching like iron chains across Bella’s chest. Only when Lucian finally rose from his chair did the tension break.
“The feast is ended,” he announced, his voice carrying easily. “Return to your duties.”
Wolves stood, chairs scraping, goblets clattering. Bella remained seated, her hands clenched in her lap. She didn’t dare rise until Lucian’s silver eyes swept over her once more.
“Now you may go.”
The words were cold, final, dripping with cruel satisfaction.
Bella stood, her legs weak beneath her, her chest burning with humiliation. She walked from the hall with steady steps, refusing to run, refusing to let them see her break. But inside, her heart screamed.
In the corridor beyond, the laughter still echoed in her ears. She pressed her back to the cold stone wall, her breaths ragged, her nails biting into her palms until they hurt.
“I will not be broken,” she whispered into the silence, the words trembling but fierce.
But even as she spoke them, she knew Lucian’s silver eyes would haunt her long after the torches burned low.
최신 챕터
Stormfang Pack: Human Luna Chapter 62 – The Alpha’s Wrath
Bella’s POVThe panic was a live thing in my chest, sharp-clawed and desperate, raking from the inside out.I forced it down. Forced myself to breathe shallow and steady, to keep the sound of air moving in and out of me quieter than the rattling of the chains. Fear, if I let it rule me, would turn me into exactly what Lilith wanted—a trembling little human waiting to be broken.So I studied.So I listened.The dungeon had its own language if I stayed still enough to hear it.A steady drip of water echoed from somewhere far away, slow and rhythmic: one, two, three, pause, repeat. If I ever lost the thread of time, I could count by the drops. To my left, boots scuffed the stone at intervals. The guard there dragged his foot slightly on the third step each time—an old injury, maybe, or just habit. To my right, another man cleared his throat every so often, a phlegmy sound that spoke of boredom. He cracked his knuckles between stretches of silence.Two of them, then. At least two I could
Stormfang Pack: Human Luna Chapter 61 – The Bait
Bella’s POVThe world came back in pieces.Cold first—stone biting through thin fabric, seeping into my skin like water through cracks. Then the ache in my arms, shoulders stretched cruelly above my head. My wrists burned, raw under iron shackles that clinked with every twitch.Then sound—water dripping steadily somewhere beyond sight. A chain scraping as I shifted. Breathing that wasn’t mine, low and steady, patient as a predator.When my eyes opened, darkness swam before them. Torchlight guttered in brackets along a wall, too far for warmth, only enough to sketch jagged shadows across damp stone.And in those shadows, a shape I knew too well.Lilith.She lounged in a carved chair like it was a throne, crimson silk pooling around her legs, dark hair tumbling down her shoulders. Her pale fingers toyed lazily with the hilt of a dagger resting against her thigh. Her icy-blue eyes gleamed in the firelight as her mouth curved into a smile sharp enough to bleed.“Finally awake.”I swallowe
Stormfang Pack: Human Luna Chapter 60 – Captured by Shadows
Bella’s POVThe fog pressed thicker than usual that night, curling against the windows like smoke searching for a way inside. I sat at my desk, thread between my fingers, shawl draped across my shoulders. The small lamp threw a pale circle of light over the worn wood, but everything beyond it felt smudged and waiting.Mae had warned me to bar the shutters. I had. I’d barred the door too. Still, unease slithered under the cracks. I kept glancing at the corner where Lucian’s coat still hung from the night I’d mended it, as if the fabric itself might bristle at danger before I did.I told myself I was safe. I told myself Kael’s words were only meant to frighten me into returning. But deep down, my bones knew otherwise. The city no longer felt like mine.A sound snapped me alert.Not the groan of pipes. Not the shuffle of a drunk in the lane. A deliberate scrape, like metal dragged across stone.My breath caught.I rose quietly, candle flame trembling with me, and crossed to the window. T
Stormfang Pack: Human Luna Chapter 59 – Between Two Worlds
Bella’s POVThe candle had burned itself into a puddle by the time I finally rose from the chair. My back ached, my eyes felt bruised from holding tears too long, and Kael’s words still circled like wolves scenting weakness: Decide soon. Because others already have.I tucked the shawl around my shoulders and stood at the window. The street outside was dark, shuttered tight, fog draping the stones like burial cloth. Somewhere beyond the wharf, gulls wheeled sleepless, their cries thin against the tide. The city was never silent, but tonight it felt watchful.And I felt caged in a place I had chosen for its freedom.By morning, routine tried to smooth me over. The café’s bell rang and Mae bustled in, setting her basket on the counter with a grunt. “Market’s gone dear again,” she muttered, pulling out a string of onions. “War’s always blamed. Never mind there hasn’t been a proper war in years.”Her words barely reached me. I tied my apron, moved to the shelves, began filling jars without
Stormfang Pack: Human Luna Chapter 58 – A Dangerous Alliance
Lilith’s POVThe night was her confidante.It slipped down the mountain slopes and pooled like black wine across the valley, filling every hollow and clinging to every tree. Fog crawled with it, wrapping the world in a shroud that felt less like weather and more like waiting.Lilith Duskbane welcomed it.She always had.The road to Magnus’s stronghold wound like a serpent through the forest. Torches burned at intervals along the path, their flames choking on damp air, doing little more than sketching out how deep the shadows went. Her crimson cloak dragged over mud and leaves, the hood low, concealing the sharp line of her mouth.Behind her, a handful of loyalists followed—wolves who still bent knee to her even after Stormfang had thrown her in the dungeons for a year. They were lean and hungry now, eyes glinting, more shade than flesh. Desperation made for obedience. And obedience made for tools.At the final turn, the trees gave way to a clearing. Stone walls rose from the earth like
Stormfang Pack: Human Luna Chapter 57 – Kael’s Warning
Bella’s POVThe needle slipped from my fingers. I blinked down at the thread pooling in my lap, realized I had been staring at the tiny rip in Lucian’s coat for far too long without moving. The candle beside me had burned low, its flame leaning against the stub of wax. The room was quiet—too quiet.I told myself to sleep. I told myself not to wait for footfalls on the roof, not to listen for the scrape of claws on slate. But waiting had become habit, the silence stretched taut as string, and my chest ached with a restless thrum that wasn’t mine.A knock startled me.Not Lucian’s fist—it wasn’t the kind of blow that rattled wood and ribs alike. This one was measured, deliberate, three taps against the door as if the caller had weighed whether I’d open.My heart leapt anyway.I rose, shawl tight around my shoulders, and set my ear to the door. “Who is it?”A pause. Then a low voice I knew. “Kael.”The Beta. He had first found me only weeks ago after the rogues—and I was surprised he’d s
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