บททั้งหมดของ Alpha's Secret Mate: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 16

The night air was cool against Aria’s skin as she slipped out into the back courtyard, her breath forming faint clouds in the dark. It was well past midnight, but the kitchens had run out of fresh bread for the morning rounds, and someone needed to run to the lower cellars to fetch more grain. Of course, that someone was her. She didn’t complain. She never did. Complaining would only bring attention. And right now, the last thing she wanted was attention—especially his. Aria’s steps were quiet against the stone path, her fingers clutched around the edge of her shawl. The stars above were blindingly bright, like a sky full of eyes watching her every move. She hadn’t seen Lucien in two days. Not really. Just brief flashes of him walking past in his ceremonial armor, his voice echoing down the hall during council meetings. But each glimpse was like a dagger sliding between her ribs. And every time she caught his scent—deep forest and smoke—it coiled around her throat like a noos

Morning came wrapped in fog and judgment.The sun barely cut through the gray skies hanging over the castle, but the inner courtyard was already filled with murmurs, nobles, and soldiers standing at attention as Princess Celine stepped forward to address the court. Her gown shimmered with white gold thread, and her expression was regal, cruel, and victorious.Lucien stood beside her—silent, armored, and cold—like a statue carved from frost and steel, his expression unreadable, eyes fixed on the horizon as if trying to will her return. The air between them was heavy with unsaid words and tense anticipation. Aria was nowhere in sight, and the longer her absence stretched, the more it gnawed at the edge of hope. Not that she could be. She was hidden beneath the kitchens, tucked behind the stone ovens, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried not to cry. Magda had ordered her to stay hidden, and this time, Aria didn’t argue. Because this time, the court wasn’t just whispering about w

The dawn was bleeding over the kingdom like spilled wine, painting the castle walls in fiery streaks of red and gold that promised a new day but whispered of inevitable endings, as if the light itself carried the weight of all the secrets, betrayals, and heartaches hidden behind those ancient stones. Each ray seemed to burn with bittersweet hope, illuminating a world on the edge—caught between the fragile beauty of beginnings and the harsh certainty of what must come to pass.But inside, beneath the polished marble floors and silk-draped windows, a far darker storm was brewing—one that no sunlight could chase away, swirling quietly yet relentlessly, threatening to unravel everything that had been carefully built.Celine stood in the shadowed recesses of the royal gallery, her eyes locked on the fragile blossom of the cherry tree outside—its pale petals trembling softly in the morning breeze, delicate and fleeting, like a whispered promise that might be broken with the slightest touch.