All Chapters of THE ALPHA’S RELUCTANT BRIDE: Chapter 71 - Chapter 77

The morning was quiet. Too quiet for Ember.She sat on the edge of the clinic bed, her hands twisting in her lap, staring at the pale line of sunlight that crept across the floorboards. For days now, she has not rested. Not truly. Every time she closed her eyes, something pushed her awake—the sound of her wolf growling inside, the echo of Velise’s whisper, or the heavy footsteps outside Kellan’s ward. But most of all… Tessa’s presence.Kaila wouldn’t calm. Not once. Every time Ember walked too close to her former friend’s room, her chest tightened, her skin prickled, and nausea curled through her like poison. Her wolf hated it. She hated it. Yet everyone else seemed blinded by Tessa’s sudden redemption. The way she had saved Kellan’s life. The way she had cried, begged, exhausted herself just to help.But Ember knew better. She felt it in her bones.The door opened softly. Gamma stepped inside, his broad shoulders heavy with something he wasn’t ready to say. His eyes flickered to her

The sun rose slow that morning, it is light dull and weak through the mist that rolled over the trees. Darius had not slept. His eyes were red from long hours of pacing, from the echoes of a voice he could not erase. Tessa’s whisper clung to his mind, curling through every thought until he could no longer tell where his suspicion ended and truth began.Reailks.The name sounded different now that he had heard it spoken by her. It was no longer a mystery from his past, it was a living thing breathing through the halls of his home.He stood by the window in his office, his fingers resting on the cold glass. Outside, he could see the training grounds where the younger wolves had already begun their morning drills. Their laughter should have filled him with pride, but instead it felt like a lie, as if they were playing on a battlefield they did not yet know existed.A quiet knock sounded.“Come in,” Darius said without turning.Gamma entered, his face drawn, his steps careful. “Alpha, I w

Morning returned heavy and gray, as though the night had not truly ended. The air inside the mansion felt colder than usual, carrying the faint smell of rain that hadn’t yet fallen.Darius had not moved from his chair since the early hours. He sat at his desk, elbows on the surface, his fingers pressed against his forehead. He could still hear Tessa’s whisper as clear as if she stood in front of him now.He watches. He waits. The blood remembers its oath.The words wouldn’t leave his head.He had heard Ember’s soft gasp too, the way her breath caught when she realized she wasn’t alone. It was not fear in her sound, it was heartbreak, the kind that came from knowing something terrible about someone you wanted to believe in.A knock broke through his thoughts.Gamma entered quietly. His face showed the same exhaustion that had settled on everyone lately, like they were all running from something they couldn’t see.“You didn’t rest again,” Gamma said gently.“Could you, if you were me?”

The rain had stopped, but the night still felt soaked in it. Every surface in the packhouse glistened faintly under the lanterns, and a soft mist rolled through the corridors like something alive but unseen.Darius hadn’t slept. He sat by the window in his room, elbows resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the courtyard below. The faint torchlight outside showed only silhouettes of the guards moving, but his mind was on Tessa’s voice, the whisper Gamma had told him only hours ago.Reailks. Again. Always circling back to that same name.It was like the universe refused to let him forget.He rubbed his face tiredly, then looked toward the door when a soft knock came.“Come in.”It was Ember. Her hair was still damp from the rain, her expression calm but wary.“I thought you’d still be awake,” she said.“I couldn’t sleep,” Darius replied. “Gamma told me what he heard.”She nodded slowly. “Then it’s true.”“Yes.” His voice was low, heavy. “She’s in contact with him… or she thinks she is.”E