All Chapters of The Cursed Alpha And His Rejected Bride: Chapter 61 - Chapter 69

EdricDiana was gone. Just... gone.And I had myself to blame.I sat in the corner of my room, drowning in the weight of the silence. The candle cast long shadows of furniture around me, reminding me what it was like to be alone with lifelessness.I’d heard her footsteps when she ran. Heard the door slam, and heard the wolves stir from their rest. And still, I didn’t chase her. I couldn’t. It wasn’t worth it…to hold on to something that didn’t want to be.“You look like hell,” Muzan muttered as he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him with more force than necessary.I didn’t answer. What was there to say?“She’s gone,” he added, as though I needed reminding.“I know.” My voice was rough and hollow, scraping my throat raw. I hadn’t spoken since she left, save for the howls I let off into the night, crying and begging for her return.He crossed the room and stood over me, his arms crossed, face tight with frustration. “This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. She should’ve n

EdricSomething was wrong.Ever since I was in that room, I didn’t know how I knew it, only that I did. It wasn’t the usual stir of paranoia or the claw of guilt. This was deeper than that. I could feel it in the very earth, like trouble lingering just beyond the door, staring at me and waiting for me to make a move to latch on.‘She’s in trouble,’ Bane whispered in my chest. His voice was a low snarl beneath my skin. I felt his fur rise inside me, his teeth baring through the marrow of my bones. He was begging to be let out. To hunt.I stopped walking.Muzan was a few paces ahead, already halfway to the edge of the woods. He turned when he heard me halt, his brow creasing. “What is it?”I scanned the forest, my fingers twitching. “Diana is in trouble.”“Yeah? Well, something’s off about these woods too.”Then the wind changed. It carried a scent I didn’t recognize at first. Herbs. Burned sage, ironroot, feverfew. My body locked onto it instinctively, my senses sharpening like a b

DianaMorning had long since passed, but I hadn’t left Edric’s room. He hadn’t either.I sat on the edge of his bed with my knees drawn to my chest, fingers wrapped tightly around the warm mug of deer bone broth he’d insisted I finish. He was pacing now, back and forth, hands raking through his hair like he wanted to tear something out of his skull.“Edric,” I said, interrupting his fifth lap across the floor. “Stop.”He halted, looking at me with a hesitation I didn’t like.“I want to know everything,” I said firmly. He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but I held up a hand.“And I mean everything. If I’m going to be here if you want me to stay here with you…I can’t be blindfolded while walking through fire.”Edric let out a long, uneven breath. “You have every right to ask that.”“Then say it.”His brows furrowed. “Say what?”“That there’ll be no more secrets. From now on, we tell each other everything.”For a second, I thought he would say it. The words were at the tip of hi

DianaI didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it.Edric… he had pinned me down.My shoulder still ached where his grip had left red marks, and the image of his eyes haunted me more than I wanted to admit. There was something wild within them…something unhinged.It wasn’t like him. Not the man who brought me pancakes in bed. Not the man who bandaged the wounds on a dying pup without being asked. But no matter how much I tried to reason it away, my body had already memorized the fear.I sat on the floor, my back against the door, feebly thinking that my weight could keep him from entering. It provided a false sense of security…and in fact, stopped him from entering.He turned the knob and pushed it. Upon being denied, he simply stopped.“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said quietly through the door. “Diana, I swear, I just…”“Leave me alone,” I sobbed. My voice was already hoarse from everything that I had been through in just the past few days. I hated how small I felt. How weak…how

EdricThe sharp knock of claws against stone stirred me awake.My body ached. Every inch of me felt like I’d been dragged through the claws of a hundred wolves and thrown into a furnace. But none of it compared to the ache inside.“Edric…”The voice was strained. It was raw and scratchy, but I recognized it.Muzan.His skin was pale, stretched taut over his bones, but his eyes were clear again. No longer burning with that feral gold, but dim… sorrowful. He looked like he was drunk and was just beginning to sober up…like a man tethered just on the brink of madness, balancing himself between the planes of lucidity and sorrow.But he was…him. Not the beast that tore me apart, almost limb for limb.“You’re awake,” I muttered.“Yeah,” he said softly. “You too.”“Well, I am now.”He moved slowly like his joints hurt just to function. He sat on the bench across from me, arms draped over his knees, eyes unfocused.Neither of us said anything for a while. It was Muzan who broke the silence fir