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A Cruel Joke

Author: NIGHT OWL
last update Last Updated: 2025-08-20 07:04:51

The moment the word left my lips—Deal—I hated myself.

The sound of it still echoed in my head, clanging louder than the rattle of chains when the wolf—my mate, as he dared to claim—turned and left me in the dark. I sat slumped against the stone wall, breathing hard, pulse hammering in my throat, as though saying that single word had cost me a piece of my soul.

A deal with him.

A deal with fate itself, maybe.

I pressed my wrists against the iron cuffs until the raw skin there screamed. Pain was better than thought. Better than the creeping realization that maybe—just maybe—he hadn’t been lying.

Mate.

The word burned hotter than fire.

It explained too much. Why my magic had faltered that night in his room, betraying me when I had stood over him, blade in hand, victory within reach. I should have ended him. I wanted to end him. But the spell fizzled, the strike faltered, and for the first time in my life, power had turned traitor.

Because of him.

Because of the bond.

I dug my n
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  • The Alpha King's Hated Mate    The Judgement

    The sound hit me before the doors even opened.Struggling. Chains rattling. Her voice—hoarse but furious—spitting fire into the silence of the hall.“Let me go! Do you hear me? Let me go!”The guards pushed the heavy double doors open, their grips tight around her arms as if they feared she’d burn them alive. She stumbled into the office, wrists still bound, hair disheveled, eyes wild and flashing with defiance.My wolf lunged against my chest, a snarl ripping through me from the inside. The sight of her chained, treated like a criminal—it made my blood roar, my vision go red. Every instinct screamed to tear those chains apart, to crush the guards where they stood for daring to manhandle her.But I didn’t move.I couldn’t.Her life was hanging on the edge of a blade. One wrong move from me, one wrong word from her, and I knew this room would become her execution ground.So I sat rigid, my fists clenched against my knees, nails biting into flesh, and forced my wolf down. I had to play

  • The Alpha King's Hated Mate    On One Condition

    Silence.That was all that filled the office. Heavy, suffocating silence that wrapped around my throat like a chain.Xander sat behind the desk, his hands folded neatly in front of him, his expression unreadable but his eyes sharp as blades. The weight of his gaze pressed into me. Raven sat to his right, her posture stiff, her fury radiating like heat from a forge. And me—goddess, I sat across from them, shoulders tight, heart pounding so hard I swore it shook the chair beneath me.Their silence was worse than shouting. Worse than any punishment they could have hurled my way.Because they were waiting. Waiting for me to explain how the woman who had been caught trying to steal their daughter was mine. My mate.Raven’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “So what now, Dante?” Her tone was sharp, cold, laced with disbelief. “What do you want us to do? Free her? Free the woman who tried to take my child?”Her words slammed into me like hammer strikes. I couldn’t even bring myself

  • The Alpha King's Hated Mate    A Cruel Joke

    The moment the word left my lips—Deal—I hated myself. The sound of it still echoed in my head, clanging louder than the rattle of chains when the wolf—my mate, as he dared to claim—turned and left me in the dark. I sat slumped against the stone wall, breathing hard, pulse hammering in my throat, as though saying that single word had cost me a piece of my soul. A deal with him. A deal with fate itself, maybe. I pressed my wrists against the iron cuffs until the raw skin there screamed. Pain was better than thought. Better than the creeping realization that maybe—just maybe—he hadn’t been lying. Mate. The word burned hotter than fire. It explained too much. Why my magic had faltered that night in his room, betraying me when I had stood over him, blade in hand, victory within reach. I should have ended him. I wanted to end him. But the spell fizzled, the strike faltered, and for the first time in my life, power had turned traitor. Because of him. Because of the bond. I dug my n

  • The Alpha King's Hated Mate    Do We Have a Deal?

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  • The Alpha King's Hated Mate    You're Safe Now

    The forest blurred around me, trees nothing more than streaks of shadow and green as my paws tore across the earth. The ground shook beneath every stride, claws digging deep into the soil, my wolf pushing harder, faster, driven by nothing but rage and fear.Sofia.The thought of her tiny face, her laugh, her bright eyes—my little girl—flashed in my mind, and each image ripped a fresh growl from my chest. My wolf snarled as I ran. My niece. My blood. My pup. Someone had dared to touch her. To take her. To make her cry.The world around me dissolved into red haze. My paws pounded harder. My lungs burned. None of it mattered. All that mattered was reaching the palace, reaching her, making sure with my own eyes that she was safe.My wolf surged, faster, stronger, until the gates of the palace finally came into view. Guards shifted nervously as I thundered toward them, but none dared block my path. They knew better. They knew what I was when it came to my family.At the last second, I skid

  • The Alpha King's Hated Mate    You're Done For

    Darkness pressed against me like a second skin.The cell was nothing more than stone and shadow, yet it felt alive. Cold walls whispered of misery, chains rattled with every slight movement I made, mocking me with their weight. The air was damp, suffocating, filled with the stench of mold and iron and fear. My fear.I sat curled on the hard ground, knees pulled against my chest, my forehead resting on them. My wrists were raw where the cuffs dug into my skin, my ankles bruised from the shackles. Every time I shifted, the chains clinked—a reminder of how far I’d fallen.How far I had failed.I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t escape the truth. I had been caught. Not just caught—defeated, humiliated, stripped of everything that made me dangerous. The King himself had been the one to bring me down. His wolf, monstrous and magnificent, had crushed me into the dirt like I was nothing.And maybe I was nothing.I had told myself I was strong enough. Clever enough. Ruthless enough to take what

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