Lahat ng Kabanata ng Curse of the Alpha demon: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

Chapter 54"It was Ryker," Mendy said simply, her voice soft but matter-of-fact.The words hit me like a physical blow. I felt my mouth fall open, my heart doing something complicated in my chest that I didn't want to analyze too closely. "Ryker?" I repeated, my voice coming out smaller than I'd intended.Mendy nodded, watching my face carefully. "He asked me to make sure you got to the human world safely. Said he couldn't live with himself if something happened to you."For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The man whose heart I'd shattered, whose face had gone completely empty when he saw me on the bed with his brother, had still cared enough to make sure I was protected. Even after everything, even after I'd walked away from him, he'd been looking out for me.But then reality crashed back in, cold and harsh as a winter morning. I forced myself to shrug, to push down the warmth that was trying to spread through my chest."He probably only did it because I'm carrying his child," I said,

Serena’s POVI pressed my face into the scratchy hotel pillow, my body wracked with sobs that seemed to come from somewhere deeper than my chest. The encounter with my mother kept replaying in my mind like a broken record, each memory cutting deeper than the last."I don't want my husband to know I have another child."Those words echoed in my head, cold and final as a death sentence. Twenty-three years of wondering why she'd left, twenty-three years of imagining tearful reunions and explanations that would make sense of the abandonment, and this was what I got. She hadn't left because she was young and scared, or because she thought I'd be better off without her. She'd left because I was an inconvenience, a secret that didn't fit into her new life.The tears came harder now, soaking the pillow beneath my cheek. I'd found her living in a beautiful house, looking prosperous and happy with her new family. She'd answered the door herself, and for a moment just one brief, shining moment

Ryker’s POV I threw the contract across my desk with enough force to send papers scattering across the floor. The numbers and legal jargon might as well have been written in a foreign language for all the sense they made to me. Every word seemed to blur together, every clause meaningless when all I could think about was her.Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Serena walked out of my life, and I was falling apart piece by piece. I couldn't focus on work, couldn't sleep, could barely force myself to eat. Everything felt hollow, pointless. The pack business that had once consumed my thoughts now seemed trivial compared to the aching void in my chest.Jaxon appeared in my doorway, taking in the mess of papers and my disheveled appearance with a concerned frown. He'd been walking on eggshells around me lately, trying to help while avoiding my increasingly volatile temper."Maybe you should take a break," he suggested carefully. "You've been at this for hours.""I'm fine," I snappe

Serena’s POV I jabbed the power button on the remote with more force than necessary, the screen going black with a sharp click. The image of my mother's radiant face next to that creature's smile was burned into my retinas, making my stomach churn with a mixture of rage and disgust.I threw the remote across the room, where it clattered against the wall and fell to the carpet. The sound was satisfying in a small, petty way, but it did nothing to ease the storm of emotions raging inside my chest."Damn you, Juliana," I whispered to the empty room. "Damn you and your perfect little life."Sleep was impossible after that. I spent the rest of the night pacing the small hotel room, my mind racing between the creature's words and the sight of my mother looking so blissfully happy. Every shadow seemed to move, every creak of the building made me jump, but I refused to acknowledge the fear creeping up my spine.I was done being afraid. Done letting my imagination run wild with thoughts of de

Serena’s POV The morning had started with such promise. I had dressed carefully for my job search, choosing a professional blazer that didn't yet show my growing belly and comfortable flats for what I knew would be a long day of walking. I'd printed out copies of my resume the night before, highlighting my qualifications and experience with the kind of optimism I hadn't felt in months.But each interview had ended the same way. Polite smiles followed by vague excuses about "needing someone with more experience" or "looking for a different skill set." By the fourth rejection, I could see the pattern forming. Something was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on what."We'll be in touch," the last interviewer had said, though we both knew no call would come.Now I walked down the busy sidewalk, my resume folder clutched tightly in my hands, trying not to let the disappointment overwhelm me. I needed this independence, needed to prove to myself that I could build a life without relying o