All Chapters of The alpha king's slave mate: Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

Celeste's povThe sound was unexpected and slightly bitter. She turned to face me and there was something different in her expression now. Less cold. More... human."You want to know something?" she said. "That whole 'cold fury' act in the throne room? That was not entirely real."I blinked. "What?""When the scouts told me they found you at the forest edge I did not know how to react. Part of me wanted to kill you immediately, part of me wanted answers. Part of me was just... confused." She crossed her arms. "So I asked Ronan what I should do and he told me to be cold. To show no weakness and make you think I hated you so you would not try to manipulate me.""Ronan?" The name was unfamiliar. "Who is Ronan?"Lyra's entire body went rigid. Her expression closed off. "No one. Forget I said that."But I had seen her reaction. The way color rose to her cheeks. The way she suddenly found the window very interesting again."Is he someone important to you?" I asked carefully."Change the sub

Celeste's povMy heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might break through. Kael's brother. The man standing in my room was Kael's brother."That is impossible," I whispered. "Kael's brother died. Everyone knows that. He died when they were children.""Everyone knows what they were told." Ronan moved away from the bed giving me space. He walked to the window with the fluid grace of a predator. "My father tried to kill me when I was eight years old. He wanted Kael on the throne. He wanted a son he could control and manipulate and I was too... difficult. I was a resistant to his plans.""So he tried to murder you." I whispered as the realization dawned on me.Just how bad were the royals of moonstone? How much did they bury under lies and we failed to see?"I had tried to escape with Kael but of course, our father's claws had sunk deep into him making him betray me. My father sent assassins to get rid of me and they nearly succeeded." Ronan's hand moved to his side as if t

Celeste’s povI did it until my hands blistered, my shoulders burned and sweat poured down my face. But I kept swinging until the weapons master finally called a halt."She will not survive a real fight," he said to Lyra. "But at least she might not immediately die either.""That's good enough." Lyra gestured for me to follow. "Come. We have work to do."She led me to a planning room where maps covered every surface. Troop positions, supply routes, terrain features. It was overwhelming."Show me where Kael will position his forces," Lyra commanded. "Based on what you know of his tactics."I studied the maps trying to remember everything I had observed. "He favors high ground. Places where he can see the entire battlefield. Here." I pointed to a ridge overlooking the forest edge. "He will want command of this position.""What about the shadow creatures?""They move independently. They do not follow standard formations but they respond to fear. So wherever your soldiers are most frighte

Celeste's povThe ground shook so violently I lost my footing and fell hard onto my knees beside the soldier I'd been trying to save. His blood soaked through my borrowed armor, warm and sticky, but I barely noticed. All I could do was stare at the thing emerging from the corrupted forest.It wasn't just large. It wasn't supposed to even exist.The Beast towered over everything on the battlefield—taller than the castle walls, wider than ten men standing shoulder to shoulder. Its form shifted constantly like smoke given terrible substance, sometimes appearing wolf-like with too many legs, sometimes almost human but grotesquely elongated, sometimes just a writhing mass of pure shadow. Hundreds of purple eyes opened and closed across its surface, each one fixing on Lyra's position with unmistakable intent."Moon Goddess protect us," someone whispered beside me.The Beast took another step. The impact sent soldiers sprawling, created cracks in the earth that swallowed screaming men whole.

Aldric called an emergency council within the hour. I sat in a corner of the war room, exhausted and filthy, as commanders delivered their reports.Four hundred soldiers dead. Another six hundred wounded, many who wouldn't survive. The shadow corruption had spread to the forest edge and we'd lost ground.And Kael's forces? A thousand casualties, maybe more. But it didn't matter. The corrupted thralls didn't need rest or food or medical care. They were already dead so they just kept fighting until they were destroyed completely."Scouts report the enemy is retreating but only to regroup," Garrick reported. He looked as exhausted as I felt. "They're building something in the corrupted forest. Some kind of structure. We think it's a ritual site.""For what purpose?" Aldric demanded."That's unknown. But if Kael is preparing a ritual with that much shadow magic concentrated..." Garrick didn't finish. He didn't need to.The room fell into heavy silence.Then I heard myself speak. "I can fi