All Chapters of The Alpha's Broken Pet: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

VanessaMy eyelids felt impossibly heavy. When I tried to sit up, my body sank back into the soft cushions of the couch as if my limbs were made of sand. I blinked at the ornate ceiling of Nina's apartment, frowning.What the hell had Alec given me?The taste of the feverroot paste still lingered on my tongue—deceptively soft, like it meant no harm—but my body felt drugged.The room swam as I forced myself upright. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, trying to chase the dizziness away.Then came the laughter. Voices. The clink of forks against plates.I turned my head slowly toward the sound. The dining space at the far end of Nina’s apartment was full. Alec’s deep voice cut clean through the air. Lucas, the Beta snake, laughed obnoxiously—loud and petty. Gary, the gentle Gamma, was probably the one who had actually said something funny. And Nina, ever the perfect hostess, was smiling politely, holding it all together.And Maya. Of course she was there. Her voice rang out, hig

Alec"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucas demanded. His voice was sharp and scolding, the kind of tone a Beta should never take with his Alpha."Relax. It's my house, after all."Lucas scoffed bitterly at that, repeating my words with a sneer."'Your house.' You were kissing her, Alec. Out in the open. Like no one could possibly walk by and witness it." His voice was rising, frantic with disbelief. "Maya’s room is just down the hallway!""I couldn't help it," I replied flatly. "If you have a problem with it, go argue with the moon."I didn’t wait for a response. My body moved ahead of my mind, dragging me back toward the wine bar. A familiar heat curled beneath my skin. My wolf was prowling the edges of my consciousness, restless and undone by her.Lucas followed, his footsteps heavy with anger. "This won't end well," he warned. "People loved your father, Alec. They respected him. And now you're bedding the daughter of the man who killed him. Who killed their Luna."That ma

VanessaMorning crept in with the reluctant slowness of something unwelcome, dragging behind it the weight of my thoughts.I didn’t want to think. I wanted my mind free from worry. So I did what I always did when the world became too loud.I worked.I resumed my morning duty, dusting furniture in the upper hallways, folding linens that required no thought.From somewhere below, in the main training courtyard, a grunt broke the quiet, followed by laughter and the thuds of bodies hitting sand.The sounds came at uneven intervals. Curiosity nudged me forward, toward the noise.Setting the dusting cloth aside, I moved to the nearest open window. The courtyard below stirred with motion and heat. Three males sparred shirtless under the early sun, practice blades drawn, fueled by raw adrenaline.Lucas, Gary, and the one who made my breath catch like a trapped bird.Alec.His back was to me, the muscles across his shoulders flexing with every motion, revealing a landscape of controlled power.

Vanessa Nina had been the only person I let in. Now I couldn't tell where her loyalty ended and manipulation began.Since overhearing Isabella’s conversation with Maya, I’d started seeing Nina through a lens I couldn’t turn off. Every memory of her support twisted into something darker. I went back to each shared moment like I was dissecting a crime scene. Her comfort. Her calm instructions. Her smile when she handed me that ridiculous orange cloak and insisted it suited me. Had it always been that calculated?“She still loves him,” Isabella had said to Maya. “A love that intense doesn’t simply vanish.”They didn’t know. That was what cut deepest. They had no idea what he and I were. They thought I was some slave. A passing threat. They had no clue what it meant to be bonded. No understanding of what it cost.And yet, their words landed. Not because they were right. But because I couldn’t be sure Nina hadn’t lied to me by staying silent.Why didn’t she tell me?If she'd truly buried

AlecMaya gloating about her upcoming coronation wore me out and convinced me, every damn day, that I was making a mistake.She was obsessed with the spotlight, like a cat stretching in the sun, soaking up every last ray of attention. Her friends buzzed with talk of the ceremony. I couldn’t stand another second of it, but as Alpha, I had no choice but to endure.To escape the preparations, I spent the entire day surrounded by young, eager scouts with too many questions and too much energy—the kind of energy I used to have, before everything changed.“Alpha Alec! Is it true you once outran a mountain lion on foot?”The boy who asked had eyes shining with uncomplicated hero worship.“I want to be like you when I grow up,” another beamed.A dark chuckle escaped me.“Don’t be moved by what you see. And don’t be fooled by stories. Be better than me. What you see isn’t all there is.”I smiled briefly as the scouts beamed, unaware that my words were more warning than praise.Later that night,