บททั้งหมดของ THE ALPHA'S MISTRESS : บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 19

(Séraphine’s POV)I noticed something was off the moment I stepped into the west hallway with Cullen dragging me with him as if I stole something precious to him.The air felt tight, like everyone was holding their breath. Guards were moving fast, whispering into their earpieces. Boots hitting the floor. Doors opening and closing with force.Chaos was all around.Something was happening outside and It wasn't the good type, everyone around was tensed.I drifted closer to the balcony rail, staying where the shadows covered me and couldn't be easily seen,as Cullen instructed me to.A cluster of guards were dragging a man across the yard. He was filthy, scraped up, and breathing like he had been running for hours.He was like an escaped prisoner or something.A rogue probably.My stomach flipped when I saw the familiar tattoo stretched across his arm.He wasn’t just any rogue. He belonged to my father’s old pack.He jerked against the guards and lifted his head.His eyes locked onto the b

Séraphine’s POVMy legs felt like they didn’t belong to me anymore. Everything was blurry—walls, faces, the ceiling light sliding across my vision as Cullen pulled me through the hallway. His grip was firm, almost bruising, but there was something shaky underneath it. Like he was holding onto me because letting go would break something inside him.He didn’t speak.He didn’t even look back at me.His shoulders were stiff, his breath sharp, and every guard we passed stepped out of the way immediately. The air around him was heavy—Alpha-heavy—the kind that made your instincts bow even if you didn’t want to.He pushed the infirmary door open with too much force and shut it behind us.“Sit down.”His voice carried a low growl beneath it.I stayed standing. “Cullen, I can walk. I’m fine.”He turned slowly. His eyes weren’t calm. They were storm-dark, the kind that warned you to tread softly.“You’re bleeding,” he said. “And shaking.”I swallowed. “I’m not.”He moved closer. His fingers brus

Cullen's povI kept replaying her words long after the environment went silent.“He’s alive.”That was all she gave me. Nothing more. No explanation. No name. No clue. She just shut down, locked herself behind that cold stubborn mask she wears when she wants to torture me.I tried to ask again on the walk back inside.What is alive, Séraphine? Who?But she didn’t look at me. It was like she’d folded into herself, protecting something I wasn’t allowed to see.By the time we reached the room, her silence was a wall I couldn’t break.I cleaned the cut on her hand even though she kept mumbling she was fine. Her eyes were distant, unfocused, like she was somewhere else. Somewhere dark.“Séraphine,” I tried again, softer this time. “Talk to me.”Nothing.Only the rise and fall of her breath.When I finished bandaging her, I told her to rest and started toward the door. That was when her fingers shot out and grabbed my wrist.“Don’t… leave.”Her voice cracked in a way that punched straight t

(Cullen’s POV)Pain was the first thing I felt piercing right though me.It burned through my side like a blazing fire, sharp and painful , dragging me out of the dark. I groaned and tried to move, only for the pain to spike harder, forcing the breath from my lungs.An arrow.Memory slammed into me all at once—Salvatore’s voice, the forest, the sound of it cutting through the air before it pierced me.I pushed myself up slowly, teeth clenched, and snapped the arrow shaft. Blood soaked my side, but the wound wasn’t fatal. He hadn’t meant to kill me.That realization unsettled me more than the pain.I staggered back toward my territory, using the trees for balance, forcing myself forward until the familiar scents of my pack wrapped around me. Torches were lit. Voices were raised. Panic was thick in the air.Something was wrong.Very wrong.I straightened despite the pain and took in the scene. Two guards were on the ground near the inner fence—alive, but unconscious. Another stood shaki

(Cullen’s POV)The council hall was already full when I entered.No one had been told why they were summoned. That was intentional. Confusion keeps people honest.Stone pillars lined the chamber, torches burning low against the grey morning light. Elders stood in a semicircle, warriors stationed along the walls. Darius lingered near the entrance, eyes sharp, reading the room the way he always did.I didn’t acknowledge anyone.I walked straight to the central table.And dropped the document onto the stone.The crack of parchment against rock echoed harder than it should have.“Read it,” I said.Silence stretched.Then Elder Maren stepped forward. Her fingers brushed the seal.She froze.Just for a second.That was enough.“Alpha…” she began.“Read it,” I repeated.Her throat moved as she swallowed. She broke the seal. Her eyes scanned the lines.The air in the hall changed.Heavy.Charged.The ancestral crest of Phoenix was unmistakable at the top. Beneath it—bloodline records. Private