บททั้งหมดของ Alpha Asher’s Stubborn Mate: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

Elvara. I pulled my cloak tighter around me as I stepped into the bustling market. The sun sat high and warm on my shoulders, but I refused to let it lull me. Asher had let me go—more like released me—with the warning that I would return by evening. I intended to honor that… even though a flicker of unrestrained freedom hummed inside me. Just a few hours. Just enough to breathe. The air was thick with the scents of baked bread, spiced meats, and the sharper tang of herbs drying in the sun. My boots brushed past crates and stalls as merchants called out their deals, but I tuned everything out except what I needed. Healing herbs. Fresh ones. Potent ones. Tomorrow was my first practical. Moon Goddess help me. My fingertips skimmed over leaves and petals, my mind repeating every technique I had learned—what healed fevers, what soothed infection, what saved a life. Each herb held purpose, and I intended to choose perfectly. I slipped down a narrower section of the mark

Elvara. The entire hall erupted into complete chaos. Gasps, screams, and different noises filled the air. The scent of blood spread fast, sharp and metallic. Lyssandra stumbled back, clutching her wrist as the blood streamed down her arm, eyes wide in shock and fury. “Outrageous!” one of the elders thundered, his voice shaking the pack walls. “This is lunacy!” Guards rushed forward instantly, swords drawn, unsure whether to shield me or restrain me. I stood there, chest heaving, dagger still covered with blood. My pulse roared in my ears, but I didn’t flinch. I looked straight at Lyssandra as she shrieked in pain, and I didn’t regret a single thing. “The Luna has lost her wits!” another elder cried out. “To attack a noble inside the royal court—she’s unhinged!” “This is so wrong!” I shouted, my voice cracking but fierce. “You dare call her a noble? She’s a snake! A liar! She was the reason I got drugged, she humiliated me, and then dared to stand before this court as

Elvara. Streaks of red painted my backㅡ a symbol of pain and a reminder of what had happened. Tears stung my eyes as I wobbled to the royal bathing chamber, maids dressed in simple linen gowns, aprons tied at the waist and hair braided tightly and covered with a linen coif trailed behind me, everyone keeping their distance from me. “Luna, the water has been warmed with rose petals,” a timid maid with blonde hair muttered under her breath, her voice soft like a caress. Her words barely reached me as I walked into the bathing chamber, removing my robes and watching them billow and drop to the floor. All I could think about was himㅡ the way he looked away like he couldn't afford to look at me. The way he refused to believe me. Slowly, I lowered myself into the steaming water scented with myrrh and sandalwood, my gaze barely focused on the steam kissing the walls. My gaze was unfocusedㅡ dull and deadㅡ as a maid sat at the edge of the large carved stone tub, stirring the

Elvara. I raised my voice, the anger in my chest rose so violently I couldn’t contain it anymore. “Did you truly think,” I snapped, my voice cutting like a blade, “that this—this bloody sex we just had—changes anything?” The words flew out harsher than I intended, but I didn’t care. My heart was pounding too loud, too fast, too painfully. “Asher!” I shouted, my voice shaking with fury. “Answer me! Did you truly think that?” He looked at me with my name on his lips. “Elvara—” “No.” I sliced through his words like steel, stepping back, my hands trembling with rage. “Or did you think making me inflict pain on you would somehow drown out the pain I went through?” My voice wavered, but I pressed forward. “You may have endured your share of torment—I don’t care! What about the humiliation? The false accusations? The vile, disgusting acts they swore I committed?” My throat burned, but I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t. “Did you think your touch would make me forget? F

Asher. Her cries tore through me like sharpened iron, each word slicing deeper than any wound I had ever endured. Elvara’s grief was a storm—violent, merciless—and all I could do was hold her, praying she wouldn’t break completely. But she shoved at my chest with both hands, her nails digging through my tunic, scratching skin, drawing blood. She didn’t hold back. She was not meant to. “I will never forgive you, Asher!” she screamed, voice cracking with pain and hatred. “I will make sure you taste tenfold of what I’m feeling—I swear it! You… your pack… all of you!” Her words struck like arrows, each one embedding itself deep in my chest. My jaw tightened. I gritted my teeth, pulling her closer despite her thrashing. My claws flexed inside my palms, fighting the urge to unsheathe, my wolf snarling beneath my skin. “Elvara,” I rasped, voice hoarse, my lips brushing her damp hair. “Listen to me. I’m sorry… please.” “NO!” she cried, pushing, kicking, pounding her fists agai