All Chapters of Alpha’s Claimed Mate.: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

POV: Asher Nightshade.The sun dipped behind the modern, fortified walls of Raven’s Peak, casting long, golden strokes across Asher’s study. The room, usually a refuge of quiet determination, felt heavy tonight. Stacks of untouched reports and blueprints sat on the desk while a half-open file bore the weight of his company’s fate.Ember’s soft breathing came from the nursery down the hall—her presence a gentle reminder of what they were fighting to protect.Asher’s phone buzzed insistently on the desk. Glancing at the screen, his face fell as he pressed play on a new voicemail from an unknown number.VOICEMAIL (muffled voice):“Asher Nightshade, this is Calvin Rowe from Rowan & Finch Law. We’ve just received confirmation of the final filings—Nightshade Power Inc. is formally declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I’m sorry, sir. We did all we could. If you want to discuss options… please call me.”The line went dead. For a long moment, the only sound in the study was the slow tick of the wa

POV: ASHER AND EMBER.The room was dim, lit only by the soft lamp on the desk and the fire flickering low in the hearth. Ember sat curled on the window bench, a worn blanket draped over her legs, one hand resting gently on her belly.Asher stepped in quietly, closing the door behind him. She looked up, sensing something was different.**EMBER** You’re late.**ASHER** Got caught in the library.He crossed the room and sat across from her, elbows on his knees. For a moment, he just looked at her. She had changed—so had he—but now he could *see* it, what Maela had seen.**ASHER (softly)** I talked to Maela. The girl who… knew about you. About your blood.**EMBER (tensing slightly)** What did she say?He hesitated.**ASHER** That you’re not just the cure. You’re part of something deeper. Something that *chose* you.Ember blinked, a mix of confusion and quiet dread passing across her face.**EMBER** I’m just… me, Asher. I didn’t ask to be part of any prophecy. I was locked in a

POV: Ember Wellesley.The light filtered soft and gold through the wide windows. Ember stood by her desk, flipping through a stack of prints—her recent work. Mostly quiet shots: the way moss clung to the base of pine trees after rain, a deer frozen mid-step in the mist, and one she kept setting aside but couldn’t ignore—A photo she’d taken during a sleepless night.The earth had cracked open just past the southern ridge, steam curling from the soil like breath. In the center of the frame stood Asher, half in shadow, half bathed in silver light, his expression unreadable. The mountain loomed behind him like something ancient and watchful.She hadn’t meant to capture *that*, not exactly. But the moment had been real. Raw.Her phone buzzed.She glanced at it.**UNKNOWN NUMBER.**She almost didn’t answer.But something told her to.**EMBER (tentatively)** Hello?There was a pause. Then a crisp, modulated voice answered. Genderless. Almost too calm.**CALLER** Ms. Wellesley?**EMBER**

POV: Akira.FLASHBACK – 2 years ago.The air was thick with sage and salt.Akira knelt before the altar carved into the stone wall, its surface lined with old runes and melted wax. Her breath came slow and shallow. Her fingers were stained with ash.She had fasted for two days. Not for ritual—but because her spirit had started to itch. The way it always did when the veil thinned.Now, as the silver bowl of moonwater before her began to ripple without touch, Akira let her eyes drift shut.Her voice, rough from silence, barely stirred the air.**AKIRA**Mother of shadow and firelight... show me what comes next. Show me *her*.The room darkened.And then—Moonlight poured through the stone slit above, impossibly bright. It struck the bowl like a blade.Akira’s body arched, eyes wide and white. Her mind was no longer in the shrine.She stood somewhere higher now—where mist curled like breath, and stars spun slow in a night sky more real than the waking world.And in the silence came a voi

**FLASHBACK – YEARS AGO – THE DEEPWOOD OUTSKIRTS**Before she became a ghost in Ember’s mirror, her name was **Eira**.Born under the same moon cycle as Ember Wellesley, just hours apart, on opposite ends of the forest. The healers whispered it was a blessing—that the Goddess had blessed the Peak with twins of power.But only one was claimed.Ember was marked.Eira was not.She watched from the trees that first night, barely five years old, as the villagers gathered for Ember’s moon-naming ceremony. Lanterns floated into the air. Wolves howled. Magic surged.No one noticed the other child watching—her small hands clenched, her face streaked with tears.Her mother died giving birth. Her father drank himself into a whisper. The Elders never came for her. Never tested her blood.She wasn’t chosen.And the land, sensing the fracture, grew *quiet* around her.---**INT. CAVE BENEATH THE MOUNTAIN – ADOLESCENCE**Years passed. Eira wandered deeper into the old woods, where the paths forgot n