Semua Bab The Alpha king and the Hunt: Bab 51 - Bab 58

Aria’s POV…..They made me scrub floors that reeked of old iron and vinegar, until my knuckles bled and my palms were raw. The servants — pale, hollow-eyed women and men who moved like ghosts — watched me with a mixture of scorn and pity. They dressed me in plain rough wool and braided my white hair into a tight rope that tugged at my scalp. My hands shook the first time the basin slipped from my fingers; the metal clanged against stone and I swallowed my shame.The Evil King had decided something petty that morning: a lesson in humility for the Luna of the Royal Pack. He told the guards to bring me broken — and they had obliged. He wanted me small. He wanted me to know that when his fist closed, the whole world bent.The kitchen was the worst of it. Heat and smoke clawed at my lungs, and every step tugged at the wound in my thigh where a rogue’s blade had sliced me. They gave me a cracked wooden spoon and set me to stirring a cauldron of broth so thin it might as well have been water

Aria’s POV....The moment dawn crept through the cracked walls of the dungeon, I was already awake. My body ached from the bruises Serena’s rage and bitterness had left, but pain no longer mattered. Not when I’d overheard what I did last night.The guards had spoken carelessly near my cell, boasting about the ritual — a blood offering under the Red Moon to strengthen the Evil King’s hold over the rogues. But what struck me most wasn’t the ritual itself… it was the name they’d whispered.Serena.Not as a servant. Not as a victim. But as his daughter.She was made from th dark magic and was sent to spy on us all this while.My heart had stopped in that instant. Serena — the one who had fought beside us,and betrayed us — was the Evil King’s blood. She hadn’t been corrupted by him. She’d always belonged to him.Now I understood everything. Her sudden loyalty, her cold smirk when she watched me beaten, the way the Evil King looked at her with approval instead of suspicion. It all made sens

Aria’s POV ....The morning broke with a pale silver light that seeped through the thin fabric of the tent. My eyelids fluttered open, and for the first time since my escape, I felt… still. Not healed, not whole — but still.The air smelled of pine and smoked meat drifting from the campfires. Warriors murmured outside, footsteps thudding, children crying, elders whispering. There was urgency everywhere. War was coming.But for now, I had a few breaths of quiet.I stretched slowly, wincing at the soreness that rippled down my spine. Matilda’s healing salves had worked wonders, but exhaustion had settled into my bones like frost. If I stayed still too long, I might fall apart. If I moved too fast, I’d crumble.Kaelen slipped into the tent just as I pulled on a clean tunic. His hair was damp, jaw clenched, eyes shadowed by the weight of the morning.“You’re awake,” he said softly, but the concern in his voice was sharp.“Yes,” I breathed.He crossed to me in two strides, his hands warm a

Aria……I smiled softly and nicked Kaelen's ear teasing him,“Catch me if you can, big guy.”He growled and I ran as fast as I could,head down, legs pumping. Instead of running down the pack house I decided to run toward the forest. I'll have an easier time losing him in there.I heard an ear-splitting roar sound from behind me and grinned, knowing his control had finally snapped. Ahead of me there was a grassy field, the border of the forest on the other side.I glanced behind and spotted Kaelen at the edge of the Forest standing, watching me with eyes that had turned black. I definitely didn’t imagine that, then. Every muscle was bulging, and he had an eerily calm expression on his face.Fear and anticipation clenched my gut as I realized he wastoying with me. Letting me get farther away before hunting me down. I had just unleashed a predator. Was i ready for this?Too late to turn back now.I ran faster toward the forest, scanning the trees for a low branch. He might be big an