All Chapters of ALPHA COLTEN: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Colten’s Point Of View The councilman was still talking.Something about the border patrol rotations, or maybe it was the shipment of steel blades we were supposed to receive from Silvercreek last week. I couldn’t tell anymore. His words spilled over me like water, tinny and distant, as if I were underwater and only catching muffled phrases. My fingers drummed once against the oak armrest, my jaw locked tight. Across the chamber, one of the elders cleared his throat.“…if we reassign Gamma Reid’s men to the southern ridge, Alpha?”I looked up slowly.Three pairs of eyes were fixed on me, councilmen, warriors, one of the elders who rarely spoke unless it was life or death. All of them were waiting for an answer I hadn’t heard. A decision I hadn’t made. How long had I been zoning out?I clenched my jaw until it clicked. “Reassign them,” I said flatly, rising to my feet.The councilman’s eyes flicked nervously toward the elder. “But Alpha—”“I said, reassign them.”My tone cut through w

Kieran’s Point Of View The moon hung low, almost shy behind the curtain of drifting clouds, casting silver light over the royal gardens. Everything was too quiet, like the world was holding its breath. I pulled the shawl tighter around my shoulders, the fabric too thin to shield against the chill that had settled deep in my bones lately. Maybe I was just always cold now. Maybe that’s what happened when your life no longer belonged to you, when every part of you had been pulled apart and repurposed to serve someone else’s desires.Iliana had appeared in my room just as it was getting dark outside, her voice hushed but her eyes strangely bright. “Someone wants to speak with you. Alone. It’s safe, I swear on my life.”I didn’t ask questions. Curiosity was dangerous in this place. Curiosity got punished, usually with silence or worse, with a look that made you feel stupid for hoping anything could change, and I was just starting to talk to this maid, I don't want to ruin that.But the wa

Kieran’s Point Of View The walls didn’t look like stone anymore.They gleamed, polished to a cold, gleaming mirror finish. Smooth enough to catch pieces of my reflection as I walked, but distorted. A flicker of a girl I didn’t recognize. Not really.A girl in a backless, midnight red gown that shimmered like ink under candlelight. A girl with powder-dusted skin, lips painted a bold red that didn’t belong to her, and lashes dark and heavy with something that felt like disguise. My hair, my plain, dull hair, had been coiled and pinned into elegant loops, jeweled combs glinting like ice in the strands.Even with all this distraction going on and getting ready for tonight’s Summit, I was still reeling from what Colten did last night, claiming me as his just to make sure I didn’t choose Rogan. He literally stopped me from making my own decision on the matter, and for whatever reason I couldn’t reject his claim last night because I was afraid of what might happen. How Colten would react,

Kieran’s POVThe music still echoed in my bones, long after it died.Colten hadn’t let go of my hand since he dragged me off the ballroom floor. His grip was steady, strong, but not harsh, and somehow, that shook me more than if he’d just yanked me around like I was nothing.He didn’t say a word the whole way, and the silence between us? It wasn’t peaceful. It was the heavy, suffocating kind, the kind that says more than shouting ever could. Every step I took beside him, I braced myself, expecting a jab, a shove, some reminder of who I was to him just a week ago. But he didn’t do anything.He led me into a part of the palace I’d never seen. Lavish, untouched, too quiet. Servants along the hall bowed and averted their eyes, but I felt them staring. They knew. Or maybe they were just guessing. Either way, it made my skin crawl.The dress I wore felt too heavy now. Too rich for someone like me.He stopped in front of a massive oak door and pushed it open. The warmth hit me first, golden

Kieran’s Point Of View I used to dream about rooms like this.White marble floors that stayed cool beneath bare feet. Ceiling-high windows dressed in velvet the color of ripe wine. A bed so large I could roll from one side to the other and never reach the edge. Pillows stuffed with feathers. Sheets are soft as milk. Chandeliers that caught the late-afternoon sun like falling stars. Even the closet, Gods, it looked like a boutique in itself. Gowns in every shade imaginable, shoes that sparkled or clicked, perfume bottles lined like soldiers on a gold-trimmed dresser.A room built for a Luna.A queen.But the longer I stayed here, the more I understood the cruel joke of it all.This wasn’t a sanctuary. It was a prison.No locks, no bars, just silence. Thick, echoing silence. The kind that settles over you like a shroud. Makes the air heavy. Makes your own breathing feel too loud, like you’ve been buried alive.I had every luxury I could want… except the one thing that mattered.Freedom