The cursed alpha's dirty secret

They sold me like I was already dead. I stood there barefoot on the freezing stone floor, chains heavy on my wrists, the thin white robe doing nothing against the cold or the shame burning in my chest. My heart hammered so loud I could barely hear anything else. This could not be real. After everything they promised. The Head Priest sat behind his desk with that gentle smile he always used when he lied. He slid the papers across to Silas like it was nothing. “Lord Silas, Ashe is yours now,” the Priest said calmly. “Twenty-two, healthy, untouched. He will serve your pack well.” I clenched my jaw until it hurt. Do not cry. Do not beg. Not in front of him. Silas stood tall and silent, like a statue carved from darkness. His face gave away nothing. Only that left hand caught my eye, smooth and shining like polished marble. He took the papers with his right hand and looked them over without a word. “Will he survive the first night?” Silas asked, voice low and rough. The Priest nodd

Chapter 3: The Stone TouchThe clawed hand was inches from my throat when a sharp voice cut through the dark.“Enough.”Silas stormed down the hallway like thunder. He grabbed Rook by the back of his neck and yanked him back hard. The half-shifted Alpha growled but stepped away. Wren melted out of the shadows, one silver eye glowing faintly.“Back off, both of you,” Silas ordered. “He is not ready.”Rook’s ember eyes stayed locked on me. His claws flexed once before he turned and disappeared into the dark corridor. Wren tilted his head and smiled in a way that made my skin crawl.“The lamb tastes like fear and fire,” Wren whispered before slipping away.Silas turned to me. His face looked carved from stone. “You tried to run.”I pressed harder against the wall, chest heaving. “I had to try. You locked me in there like an animal.”He grabbed my arm and started dragging me back toward the bedroom. His grip hurt. “Never run again. The house will not let you leave. And next time Rook migh

Rook stayed glued to my side the whole way back, his hand heavy on my lower back like he was afraid I would vanish. The moment we stepped through the doors of Thornwood, Silas and Wren were waiting in the grand hall, faces tight with urgency.“It cannot wait,” Silas said, voice hard. “The full bond happens tonight. Now.”I froze, still wrapped in the torn blanket. “Right now? I just ran through the fucking woods.”Wren stepped closer, his silver eye flickering. “The house is waking up. We do this or everything falls apart.”Rook growled beside me. “Mine. Need him.”Silas took my arm, not rough but firm. “Master bedroom. All of us. No more delays.”My legs felt weak as they led me upstairs. Fear and that strange pull mixed together in my gut. I should have said no. But after Rook in the woods and Silas earlier, my body already ached for more.The master bedroom was huge and dimly lit by candles. The massive bed dominated the room. Silas closed the heavy door and looked at me.“Strip,”

Morning light barely pierced the eternal mist outside, but Thornwood didn’t care. The house had its own rhythm floorboards sighing like tired lungs, curtains stirring without wind. I woke tangled in a mess of heavy limbs and alpha scent, my body deliciously sore from the night before. Rook’s arm was locked around my waist like a steel band, his breath warm against my neck. Silas slept on my other side, his newly fleshed left arm draped possessively over my hip. Wren curled at the foot of the bed like a watchful cat, silver gray eye cracked open even in sleep.The fresh bond thrummed steadily between us, warm and golden. It made my chest ache with something I wasn’t ready to name.I should have felt powerful. Bonded. Close enough to strike. Instead, I felt exposed.Carefully, I slipped free of their hold. Rook growled in his sleep but didn’t wake. I pulled on a loose robe I found draped over a chair probably Wren’s, judging by the faint scent of old books and ozone and padded toward th

We barely made it back to the main halls before Rook began to pace.The bond thrummed with restless energy his, mostly. The priests’ approach had stirred the beast in him, and the stone throne room had left all of us raw. Silas’s jaw was tight as he barked orders at the house itself, demanding it seal the eastern approaches. Wren had gone distant again, murmuring fragments of futures I couldn’t quite hear.Rook’s amber eyes locked on me. “Hunt,” he rasped, voice more growl than words. “With me. Now.”Silas glanced between us, then nodded once. “The woods are restless. Take him. But stay close to the estate. The priests are circling.”Rook didn’t wait for more permission. His massive hand closed around my wrist and he pulled me toward the heavy back doors that led into the ancient cursed woods. I grabbed a thick cloak on the way out, heart hammering with equal parts fear and anticipation.The mist swallowed us the moment we stepped beyond Thornwood’s shadow. Trees twisted like tortured