All Chapters of Alpha Morano’s Scarlet Bride: Chapter 11 - Chapter 17

JACKLA The bathroom steam followed me like a ghost as I stepped out, my skin bare and glistening. I never reached for a towel right away. I preferred the feeling of droplets sinking into my pores and the sharp bite of the morning air against my damp limbs. It was the only time I felt like I truly belonged to myself. But deep inside, a familiar rot was spreading. A cold warning curled in my chest, tightening around my ribs until it was hard to draw a full breath. It was that feeling again..,the echo of a nightmare I thought I had buried years ago. In those dreams, I wasn’t a girl. I was a storm of blinding light, a jagged streak of white-hot power that turned everyone who chased me into ash. The visions had been gone for a long time, but last night, they came back to life, sharper and more violent than ever. I looked at my hands and watched the slight tremor in my fingers. What am I? The question clawed at the back of my throat, demanding an answer I didn’t have. Why did this same

JACKLAThe words hung in the air, vibrating between us. I wanted to snatch them back the moment they left my lips. I didn’t even want him, yet my chest felt like it was being squeezed by hot pliers at the mere thought of another woman in his bed.Morano’s eyebrows shot up. A dark, slow chuckle rumbled in his chest, one that didn't reach his cold eyes. "Oh, so you're my wife now?" He walked to me, his massive frame casting a shadow over my plate. "A wife who is refusing to perform her marital duties?""I—that's not what I meant," I stammered. My face was burning so hot I was sure I was glowing. "I just meant... It's the principle. It’s disrespectful.""Disrespectful?" He tilted his head, his gaze dragging over the pulse jumping in my throat. "You claim you aren't mine, yet you're already staking a claim on my shadow. You want the title without the work, Jackla.""I don't want any of it!" I snapped, but the lie felt thin and brittle. "I just think you're... you're a pig.""Maybe.”“But

MORANOI knew telling her to go upstairs wouldn't be enough. She was too stubborn, too full of that fire that kept drawing me in. So I gave her a reason to run. Mentioning that Don Castellano would take her as a trophy was the only thing that worked. I walked into the living room, my wet boots heavy on the floor. Castellano was already there, making himself comfortable on my leather sofa. The air in the room instantly soured, reeking of cheap whiskey and sweat. He was in his late forties, a mountain of a man whose expensive suit struggled to contain his bloated, ugly frame. His skin was mottled from years of hard drinking, and his small, pig-like eyes watched me with a predatory gleam.Most men became sloppy when they drank, but Castellano was a different breed of animal. Alcohol didn't make him weak; it made him a monster. It fueled a dark, unnatural strength that many feared but few understood. I knew the secret behind his aggression, and I knew exactly why he had hunted me down.

JAYLA I grinned, a broken chuckle rattling in my throat even as the world blurred at the edges. I wasn't like Jackla. I wasn't soft, and I didn't want gentle. I thrived in the dark.“You know I love mine old,” I choked out, my fingers clawing at his wrist, “smart, rough, brutal... and dangerously handsome.”The pressure on my windpipe eased just enough for air to rush back into my lungs. I watched the fury in his eyes shift, turning into a smoldering, possessive heat.He hated Morano…hated the young Alpha’s strength…and comparing them was like throwing gasoline on a dying ember. I had him exactly where I wanted him.“You know I crave only you, Papi,” I purred, my voice raspy from his grip. “But I didn't dress like this to be handled lightly. I want it dark. I want it intense. I want you to be so brutal I can’t move my legs tomorrow. Can you do that for me?”“You’re dangerous, Jayla,” he growled. The sound vibrated against the sensitive skin of my neck, a low, hungry warning.“Make me