Semua Bab BOUND TO THE ALPHA KING: Bab 51 - Bab 53

KATHERINEThe door opened without a knock.I didn’t need to look up to know it was Stephen. I felt him the moment he walked in, the air shifting, my wolf reacting, my heart picking up speed even before he said a word.He shut the door behind him and stood there, arms crossed, jaw tight, eyes cold.“Where were you,” he asked.I swallowed and lifted my chin. “You already know.”His eyes darkened. He took a step forward. “Don’t play with me, Katherine.”My heart started racing harder. He wasn’t shouting, and that scared me more than if he was. His voice was calm, controlled, the kind that meant he was already angry and deciding how far he was willing to go.“What were you doing there,” he asked.I shrugged lightly, pretending I wasn’t nervous. “Looking.”His hand was around my neck before I could react.Not tight, not choking, but firm enough that I froze instantly. His thumb pressed under my jaw, forcing my head up so I had no choice but to look at him.“Enough,” he said quietly, and th

CHAPTER 53KATHERINEThe car slowed as we approached the academy, and my eyes were already scanning the grounds. I looked for Alex without making it obvious, checking the walkway, the entrance, the side road where students sometimes cut through. I didn’t see him, and that didn’t relax me the way it should have.I stepped out and adjusted my bag, keeping my posture easy, my face neutral. I’d been careful in the palace, quiet, subdued, letting them think the backlash had broken me. Stephen needed to believe that. Everyone did. If they thought I was done planning, they’d stop watching so closely.The truth was, I’d done more thinking in the last day than I had in weeks.The rebels weren’t the way forward.I’d wanted them to be, because they were loud and angry and visible, and it felt good to imagine Stephen losing everything the same way I had. But even if they succeeded one day, it wouldn’t be because of me. I’d just be another name on the list of people they used and discarded, and th