Alle Kapitel von Bound To The Ruthless Alpha: Kapitel 71 – Kapitel 80

A violent shiver wracked through me at her words, my body jerking like I'd been struck by lightning. The movement was too sudden, too obviously not from cold, and Mira's trained eye caught it immediately.She wrapped a steadying hand around my arm, her touch gentle but firm. Her fingers were warm against my skin, and I could feel her pulse through the contact—steady, concerned, alive. The sensation was overwhelming now, as if Selene had stripped away layers of numbness I hadn't even realized were there."You're trembling," Mira observed quietly, her brow creasing with worry. "Aria, you look as though you've seen a ghost."If only it were that simple. A ghost would have been easier to explain, easier to dismiss. Ghosts were external things, haunting from the outside. What I was dealing with was something far more complex—something that had been living inside me all along, waiting for permission to wake up.I tried to steady my b

My breath came in sharp, irregular gasps that made my chest ache. I was unraveling in front of her. Every thread that held me together was snapping one by one, and Mira could see each one break."You think you can hide me?" Selene snarled, her voice rising to match my distress. The sound reverberated through my bones, making my teeth ache. "You think you can crawl back into that pretty little cage you built for yourself nineteen years ago? No, Aria. I am here now. I am awake. And I will not be silenced again."My chest rose and fell like I'd been running for miles across rough terrain. I pressed my palm flat against the woven rug, trying to ground myself in something solid and real—but the moment my skin made contact with the floor, the wooden legs of the table beside me began to rattle violently.The sound was like bones chattering, wood against stone, and it filled the room with a percussion that had nothing to do with the crackling fire. The

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the urge to let her words sink deeper, to imagine what it would feel like to meet Kael's cruelty with something stronger than submission. A part of me—a part that was growing larger by the moment—wanted to explore that possibility. Wanted to imagine not shrinking when he entered a room, not flinching when he reached for me, not bowing my head when he spoke.But power wasn't freedom, not in this world. Not with him holding all the keys to every cage I might find myself in."Then we keep it secret," Mira said softly, her voice cutting through my internal struggle. She reached out again, and this time her hand actually made contact with my arm, her fingers warm and steady against my skin. "You'll learn to control it before anyone finds out. I'll help you however I can."Something in my chest loosened at her words, a fragile thread of relief weaving itself through the panic. The simple fact that someone knew&

The room suddenly felt too small, too stifling, the walls closing in like the bars of a cage. I moved restlessly from hearth to bookshelf to window and back again, my bare feet making no sound on the stone but my presence filling every corner with barely contained energy.My gaze snagged on the locked drawer built into the side of my desk—the one I never left unlocked, the one that contained the only photographs I couldn't bring myself to destroy. Elira's portrait, taken just days before her death when she'd still been laughing at something I'd said. Her face pale and perfect in the morning light, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders like silk but now it also holds the photograph of Aria I took the other day.And beneath it, the crime scene images that had burned themselves into my memory. Elira’s blood painting the marble floor of Vale estate in abstract patterns that spoke of violence and betrayal. Roran Vale's satisfied smirk as he stood ove

"Fetch the Luna," I ordered, each word clipped and precise as a blade stroke. The title left a bitter taste on my tongue—Luna was an honor she hadn't earned, a crown that belonged to someone worthier. "Now. Bring her to me immediately."The guards exchanged a quick glance—hesitant, nervous, uncertain—before bowing their heads in acknowledgment. They had learned not to question my commands, but I could see the curiosity burning in their eyes. It was past the normal hour for conducting business, and Aria Vale rarely merited my personal attention."Yes, Alpha," they replied in unison, their voices carefully neutral.As their footsteps echoed away down the corridor, growing fainter with each passing second, I leaned against the doorframe and tried to regulate my breathing. My chest rose and fell with the effort of containing the energy that my wolf had awakened, the restless power that demanded immediate action.I hated the s