Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Alpha's Fated Desire: Kabanata 221 - Kabanata 230

{Dominic}My heart pounded in my chest, but not out of fear. No, this was something else entirely. A sharp, electric rush that made my blood sing and my wolf bare his teeth in anticipation. I couldn’t tell you why the thought of a fight made me feel this alive… only that it did.Lucas stood in the ring, sweat still gleaming on his skin from his match with Grimhold, that wolfish smirk daring me to step forward. I shifted my weight forward ready to move, only for Lyra’s fingers to clamp around my forearm.I turned, already half-smiling. “I know. I’ll be careful—”“Careful?” Her eyes sparked, the corners of her mouth twitching like she was trying not to grin. “Fuck careful. Give him hell and shut him the fuck up.”For a split second, I just stared at her, caught between laughing and kissing her senseless. Then I leaned in, pressing a kiss to her cheek, my lips catching the faintest trace of her smile. “Yes, ma’am.”The crowd shifted, making way as I crossed into the circle of torchlight.

{Lyra}My brain finally caught up with what Myra had just said. “No brakes.”As in, the pedal that was supposed to keep us alive was now just a useless piece of metal under her foot.“Okay,” I said, gripping the side of the seat so tightly my knuckles went white. “This is… fine. Totally fine. We’ll just… gently crash into something soft. Like a giant snowbank. Or a marshmallow factory.”“Do you see any fucking marshmallow factories around here?” Myra snapped, swerving around a truck.“No, but at least I’m brainstorming, Myra!” I snapped backShe didn’t bother answering, her jaw clenching as she threaded us through the traffic in Frostvale like the car was an extension of her own body. Her knuckles were tight on the steering wheel, and though she wasn’t screaming or hyperventilating, I could feel the tension radiating off her like heat from a furnace.The world outside blurred into streaks of white and gray—snowbanks, glittering shop windows, and startled pedestrians pulling back from

{Dominic}It took a few minutes for the ringing in my ears to fade, and even longer for my pulse to stop trying to pound its way out of my skull. My breath still steamed in the cold air, my claws flexing restlessly at my sides.The clearing was empty now. No silver stag, no starlit snow, just me, standing there like an idiot who’d wandered off mid-hunt.Only then did I remember the small details. “Right, the boar. Grimhold. The entire reason I was here in the first place.”I shoved the voice and its cryptic “find the crack” nonsense to the back of my mind, letting my Alpha aura flare. It surged out of me, brushing against every living thing in range until it finally collided with a familiar energy; as solid as a mountain, brimming with bloodlust and stubbornness—Grimhold.“Gotcha.” I exploded forward, boots barely touching the snow. Trees whipped past, and the cold air burned in my lungs. The sound of battle grew louder and louder—hoofbeats pounding, a roar that was half-animal, half-

{Dominic}The music swelled around us, but my heartbeat drowned it out.It was a slow, decadent melody that felt like it belonged in another world. A world untouched by death threats and terrible curses. Lyra’s hand was warm in mine, and her laughter felt like a low ripple that teased the corner of my mouth into a smile that I couldn’t even fight if I wanted to.For a moment, I let myself sink into it all. The scent of her, the brush of her gown against my trousers, the glint of silver embroidery catching the chandelier light like frost embedded into silk. My wolf was finally content. Maybe almost too content. But the universe had a way of distorting my happiness, and this was no exception. It was nothing at first—just a tall figure moving along the fringe of the ballroom, half-hidden behind the sweep of chandeliers and the swirl of dancers. But then the head turned, the light caught the line of a jaw I knew far too well, and my entire body locked up.“No. It couldn’t be.”. The air

{Dominic}The best way to describe the ballroom would be a sea of chaos. People shoved past me, their perfume mixing with the acrid sting of smoke still drifting in from the courtyard. Glass crunched under my boots as I forced my way forward, the crowd surging toward the exits like a flood of terrified cattle. My ears picked up screams, the clatter of overturned tables, and the relentless pounding of my own heart.“Move!” I barked, muscling past a knot of nobles too frozen in fear to get out of my way. My shoulder clipped someone, but I didn’t slow down. Every instinct screamed for me to find Lyra.The chandeliers swung above like they’d been rattled by an earthquake. Snow gusted through cracked windows. And there—across the room—I spotted her. Lyra was crouched beside Odessa, both of them tense, eyes fixed on something ahead of them. My eyes followed theirs.Three hooded figures stood on the stage, black robes pooling at their feet, and their hoods swallowing their faces, all except