All Chapters of The alpha king's slave mate: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

Celeste's povI woke to sunlight streaming through infirmary windows and the dull ache of every muscle in my body protesting. The healers had done their work well—my wounds were cleaned and bandaged, the worst of the bruises already fading thanks to their salves. But no amount of medicine could erase the memory of those purple eyes in the darkness, or Kael's voice calling my name.A servant appeared the moment I stirred. "Lady Celeste. The council is convening within the hour. King Aldric requests your presence."Lady Celeste. Not "the Moonstone woman" or "that traitor." The change was small but significant.I dressed quickly in clothes someone had left for me—simple but well-made, Shadowfang colors. My hands shook as I fastened the buttons, exhaustion and fear still coursing through my veins. But I forced them steady. I had a role to play now and information to deliver.The throne room was packed when I arrived. Commanders in full armor lined the walls. Scholars in dark robes clutche

Celeste's povI sat on the bench beside him, close enough to talk quietly but far enough to maintain respectful distance. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. We just sat there in the moonlight, two people carrying the weight of loving someone who'd become a monster."Tell me about him," Ronan said finally. "Before all this. What was he like when you first knew him?"I drew in a breath, reaching back through memories that felt like they belonged to someone else entirely."I was fifteen when I first really noticed him," I began. "He came to visit our estate with his father—some political matter I didn't understand. I was just the spoiled daughter that no boys liked. But Kael..." I smiled despite myself. "He saw me reading in the library and instead of ignoring me like everyone else, he sat down and asked what I was reading.""That sounds like him," Ronan murmured. "Kael was always curious about people others overlooked.""We talked for hours that day. About books, about the things w

Celeste’s povThe corrupted forest was worse the second time.Maybe because I knew what to expect because the corruption had spread further, digging deeper into reality itself. Or maybe because this time, I wasn't running away—I was running toward the heart of darkness with four people whose lives depended on me not making a mistake.No pressure."Stay close," Ronan whispered, his voice barely audible even though I was right behind him. "And whatever you do, don't touch anything. Not the trees, not the ground, nothing."Not the ground? The ground that felt like it was eating away at the sole of my boots.The two warriors—Finn and Sera—moved like shadows themselves, trained and deadly. Finn was tall and broad-shouldered, his face scarred from years of battle. Sera was smaller but moved with a predator's grace, twin blades strapped to her back.Both looked at me with undisguised skepticism.I didn't blame them. I was the weak link. The civilian who'd barely survived her first infiltrati

Celeste's povA final blast happened.I felt it in my bones.As the shockwave ripple through the air, I knew with absolute certainty that Garrick was gone.Ronan knew it too. He stumbled, nearly falling, a sound torn from his throat that was half-sob, half-scream. The Shard still clutched in his corrupting hand pulsed with happy satisfaction, as if feeding on his grief."Keep moving," I gasped, wrapping my arm more firmly around his waist, bearing more of his weight. "Garrick bought us time. We can't waste it.""He was my friend," Ronan choked out, each word seeming to cause him more pain. "My brother. I can't—""You have to." My own tears were streaming now, but I forced my legs to keep moving, I forced us both forward through the nightmare landscape. "He did this so you could live. So we could get the Shard back don't make his sacrifice meaningless."The corruption in Ronan's arm had spread past his ears now, creeping up his head in dark, pulsing veins. His skin had taken on a gray

Celeste's povDawn broke cold and gray over the meeting ground—a clearing at the edge of the corrupted forest where healthy trees met twisted shadows. The boundary between life and death made real.I rode beside Lyra, part of the small delegation King Aldric had assembled. We were twenty in number and strong enough to show we weren't afraid, few enough to avoid appearing threatening. Soldiers flanked us, weapons ready but sheathed. A white flag snapped in the wind above our heads, the ancient symbol of truce that even corrupted kings supposedly respected.Supposedly."He'll try to manipulate you," I warned Lyra quietly as we approached. "Kael's always been brilliant at finding weaknesses and exploiting them. Don't let him get in your head.""I won't." But her hands were tight on the reins, her knuckles white. Through the mate bond, she could feel Ronan dying back at the castle. Every moment we wasted here was another moment he suffered.Kael was already waiting.He stood in the center