Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Silver Alpha: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

* Alpha Archer *The steam of the hot water still clung to my skin as I pushed the bathroom door open, droplets trailing from my hair down to my shoulders. A towel hung low on my hips it's the only barrier between me and the cool air that swept across my chambers.I didn't expect anyone to be there. At this hour, I rarely was disturbed, warriors knew better, and servants were instructed to wait until I left for training before entering my room to tidy it. But that morning, the faint scrape of cloth against wood made me pause.Then to my surprise it was Regina. She is bent on her knees, her small hands worked the cloth over the carved legs of the chair near the hearth, polishing wood until it gleamed. Her hair was tied back in a loose braid, wisps of it falling against her cheek as she leaned forward, lost in her task. She hadn't noticed me yet.My chest tightened, though I told myself it was only surprise. She moved with such quiet precision, as though she belonged to the silence itse

* Alpha Archer *Her words cut through me like a blade drawn slowly and deliberately. Serve me? Yeah right. Like hell, she had no idea what those words did inside my chest. It's like an open invitation and I don't want to think what the others would do if they hear those same words coming from her!She was too close, her shoulder brushing mine, her scent mingling with the lavender in the hearth. My wolf stirred, hungry, clawing at the edges of my restraint. For one dangerous second, I let my eyes linger. The neckline of her dress dipped lower than before giving me a glimpse of those blossoming breasts, clinging to a body that was no longer a child's. Her lips trembled as if waiting for me to claim them.My blood surged hot, dragging heat down to places I refused to acknowledge. A part of me, raw, male, primal, wanted to seize her by the waist, press her against the carved bedframe she had so carefully polished, and take what she was already offering with her every glance and every bre

* Regina *The moment the whispers reached my ears, the world tilted. Alpha Douglas was coming to the Western pack. Without his Luna, without Luna Diana.My heart clenched, my hands trembling where they gripped the edge of the wooden table in the chamber my mother and I shared. Amanda's face turned pale, the lines of weariness deepening as though the years of servitude to him had caught up in a single breath."He's coming," I whispered, the words sharp, a secret torn free. "Mother, I am sure he's coming here. For us."Her gaze flicked to mine, wide, fearful, then quickly dropped, as though even naming that fear aloud would summon him faster. "Of course he is. He always comes when he feels control slipping from his hands."I shook my head, a bitter laugh escaping before I could stop it. "Control. That's all we ever were to him, weren't we? Chains on his belt. Names in his ledger. Never people."Amanda flinched. I hated myself instantly. She still bore his mark on her soul, even if she

* Regina *The grass under my boots still smelled of trampled dew and smoke from the wolf riders' torches where they'd passed. The world felt stretched thin, like a skin pulled over too much bone. When my mother used to say that fear makes the air taste like iron, I never believed her. Now every breath I took carried that metallic tang, and inside my ribs something small and stubborn clenched against it.Mama's hand shook when she reached for me. Her fingers were cool and callused, the same hands that had scrubbed my skirts and braided my hair for years until the day Luna Diana said we had no right to stay in the Southern pack. She touched the fabric of my sleeve as though she could anchor me back to something steady or perhaps to gain strength for herself."Alpha Archer," she began. She stayed behind me, but the words were meant for him, and for the lean line of warriors, for the land itself. "Please, Alpha Archer. You have given us shelter. You said the West would stand between us

* Regina *We went inside a secret room situated between two shattered stones of the inner ring, the place that Alpha Archer said we could be safe. My mother's hands, were cold against my cheek, her fingers trembling as if she could only hold me steady by using her full strength. The wall smelled of smoke and old blood, the mortar had the sweet, metal tang of a hundred battles that perhaps unfolded in this place in the past. Every footstep that I heard outside was like a bell in my chest."Regina," she breathed my name in her trembling voice. "Breathe. But do not make a sound."I could feel the thud of my heart like a trapped animal inside a cage. My lungs wanted air and my mouth wanted to scream, scream for Alpha Archer to come, for his wolves to rip the South apart, and that we were not theirs to take. But all I could do was to press my forehead to the cold stone and listen to what was happening outside.Something moved in the corridor beyond the ruined gate. Not a wolf, boots, not