All Chapters of Adored by my ruthless alpha: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Marcus’s POVThe weight of the council chamber was enough to suffocate a wolf.Every elder sat in silence, their gazes flicking between me and Andre like vultures waiting to see which of us would bleed first. The trial had left scars, not just on Zara but on the pack itself. Doubt was spreading, slow but insidious, and Andre was feeding it like fire to dry timber.I stood at the center, shoulders squared, jaw locked tight. Zara’s scent lingered faintly on me lavender and smoke, fragile but alive. I clung to it, because without that reminder, I wasn’t sure I could keep the rage inside from tearing free.Andre leaned against the carved table, relaxed, smug, as though he hadn’t spent the last week trying to rip the ground out from under me. His smirk cut sharper than silver.“You should be tending to your mate, brother,” he drawled, voice dripping with false concern. “Not wasting the pack’s time with meetings.”“She is being tended to,” I snapped. “By me. Where she belongs.”His smile wi

Marcus’s POVI never thought silence could feel like betrayal.But as I lay there in the dark, pretending to sleep, the sound of Zara’s shallow breaths told me more than any words ever could. I didn’t need to hear everything just enough.Tomorrow, I will leave.Those words carved themselves into my skull, refusing to let go.My chest tightened until breathing became an effort. My mate Luna was planning to run.Why?The question tore at me like claws against flesh. I had given her everything: protection, loyalty, a place beside me no one could challenge. And yet… It wasn't enough. Or worse it was never what she wanted at all.My wolf stirred, snarling beneath my skin. She lies. She’s hiding something. Rip the truth out of her.But another voice, softer, steadier, whispered back. She’s yours. She loves you. Don’t let doubt destroy what you’ve built together.I clenched my jaw, fighting the storm that raged inside me. Love and suspicion wrestled, neither giving ground.I could still feel

Marcus’s POVHer silence cut deeper than any blade.I stood there, staring into the eyes of the woman I had claimed as mine, the woman whose scent was etched into my bones, and all I saw was fear. Not love. Not trust. Just fear.And she said nothing.The bond between us pulsed painfully, tugging, pleading with me to reach for her. My wolf snarled inside me, furious, restless, demanding I tear the truth out of her throat if she wouldn’t give it freely.But all I could do was stand there and drown in the emptiness of her silence.“I gave you a chance,” I said finally, my voice low, trembling with restraint. “And you chose to say nothing.”Her lips parted, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. For a moment, I thought she might speak, that she might finally shatter the wall between us. But the words never came.And with every second that passed, something inside me cracked.The courtyard felt colder than before. The guards shifted uneasily, pretending not to watch, but their ears caught ever

ANDRE POVThe night air was cold on my skin, but it did nothing to cool the fire inside me.Her silence burned in my chest.Zara. My mate. The woman fate had tied me to.She had stood before me, lips closed, eyes full of secrets. She gave me no answer when I asked for the truth.And that silence hurt more than any lie.I had begged her to trust me. She turned away.That could only mean one thing she was hiding something.And I would find out what it was.I walked down the corridor of the Alpha’s wing, each step echoing against the stone floor. The guards at their posts straightened as I passed. They wanted to ask questions, I could see it in their eyes, but none of them dared to speak.Good.This wasn’t for them to know. Not yet.I reached my office and slammed the door behind me. Lantern light flickered across the walls as I dragged old records onto the desk. My hands shook with anger, but my mind was sharp.If Zara would not give me the truth, then I would dig it out myself.Her sto

Marcus’s POVI didn’t sleep that night.Her silence haunted me.Zara had always been fiery, stubborn, quick to fight back when challenged. But in that library, with the record laid bare between us, she had been silent. Not defiant. Not apologetic. Just silent.And silence was the loudest answer of all.I paced the length of my chambers, the firelight casting restless shadows against the stone walls. My wolf pressed beneath my skin, snarling, restless, desperate to tear away the mask she wore and demand the truth.But I held him back.Not yet.Zara wasn’t a stranger to me, every instinct screamed that she was mine. My mate. My bond. The only one who had ever steadied the storm inside me.And yet…The lies were there. I could taste them in the way her scent shifted when I pressed too close, in the way her pulse stuttered when my questions cut too near.She was hiding something.And if I ripped it out of her too soon, I feared I would destroy not only her but us.Dawn came, gray and cold