Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Alpha's Reluctant Temptation: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

Hours later, we were still talking. Well, mostly she talked, and I stuffed very tiny honey biscuits into my face like a starved cavewoman. (No sass here. Just crumbs. So many crumbs.)Barbie—thirteen thousand freakin’ years old—sat on a branch like some ancient history professor in sequins and gave me the crash course of my nightmares.She told me about the ASA—Anti-Supernatural Agency. Humans with labs, syringes, and no chill. People who kidnapped supernaturals, drained their blood, and experimented to get powers, immortality, or whatever else their fragile egos demanded.“They dissect us like animals,” Barbie said softly, her tiny hands curling. “They call it research. They call it progress. But it is only greed.”I stopped mid-bite of my biscuit. “Wait. Hold up. ASA. That’s real?”Barbie’s glitter dimmed. “All too real.”My stomach dropped. I’d heard whispers, rumors in packs and back alleys, but never anything solid.“They’ve been at war with us since before your grandmother’s gra

Lightning split the sky, and before I could stop myself, I grabbed his shirt and kissed him.Hard. Desperate. Like the world was collapsing and he was the only thing holding it up.He kissed me back like he’d been waiting his whole damn life — hands gripping my waist, pulling me flush against him, heat and rain and blood mixing between us. I moaned into his mouth, claws scraping his shoulder as thunder cracked.Then he pulled back, forehead pressed to mine. His eyes burned. “If I mark you now, I won’t be able to stop.”I breathed, trembling. “Then don’t.”He growled low in his throat, his control fracturing — his fangs grazed my neck, hot breath against my skin. Every nerve screamed yes.But the world had other plans.Barbie shrieked from behind us, “Incoming! Like, twenty drones and thirty fang faces!”Gregor hissed, jerking back, scanning the ridge. “We need to jump.”“Jump? As in down there?” I gawked at the roaring ravine below. “Are you out of your—”“Now!”He grabbed my hand.“O

Marigold POVA few kisses later.By the time the fire settled into lazy orange coals, I’d stopped shaking. My body still ached like I’d been thrown through a blender, but the warmth helped. Gregor sat across from me, arms on his knees, staring at the flames like they personally offended him. Barbie, of course, was hovering above a puddle, using a leaf as a mirror to fix her soggy hair.I poked the fire with a stick, trying to ignore how quiet it got. Quiet always meant something bad was coming—or Gregor was about to say something important.“Marigold,” he said finally, voice low, serious.Oh no. That tone. That plot-reveal tone.“Before we go after the Queen,” he continued, “you need to understand something about the curse.”Yeah, I kept thinking about that.I frowned. “You mean the one making Black Fang psychos scream Latin during full moons?”“Not just them.” His eyes lifted, and the firelight caught the scar at his jaw. “It’s her, too. The Queen. The curse binds her and the Fang to

Gregor’s POVDawn came slow — the kind of gray, shivering light that doesn’t warm you, only reminds you you’re still alive. The storm had passed, but its memory lingered in the trees. The forest breathed around us — damp, heavy with mist, the scent of moss and wet bark thick in the air. Water dripped from the cliffs, trickling into the ravine below where the river still hissed from last night’s flood.Marigold walked ahead of me, her hair still damp, her scent tangled with earth, rain, and something faintly electric — fae magic. She was different now. I could feel it. The forest bent around her, subtle, as if recognizing her presence. She didn’t notice, but I did. The ancient fae’s touch was on her now — her aura sharper, wilder, dangerous in a way that wasn’t purely wolf anymore.Barbie, the ancient fae herself, fluttered beside Marigold’s shoulder, complaining about mud, humidity, and the injustice of morning air. “If I get fungus in my wings,” she said, “I’m suing the weather.”I b

“Not just weapons,” Barbie whispered. “Hybrids. The curse is mutating.”The footage glitched again — one of the scientists turned, his face pale under the flickering light.I recognized him.“Wait,” I hissed. “That’s— That’s Dr. Harlan.”“The ASA lead?” Gregor asked sharply.“Yes,” Barbie’s voice was small, but steady. “They’re building something. You can feel it. The energy.”Gregor nodded grimly. “A hybrid army. Cursed wolves merged with human tech.”The image zoomed — Sugar was shouting something at a guard, furious, fiery as always. The sound didn’t come through, but I didn’t need to hear it. I knew that look.She was stalling.She was protecting Leon.My throat tightened. “We have to go. Now. They’ll kill them.”Gregor turned toward me — that fierce, protective fire back in his eyes. “We can’t storm an ASA-Black Fang base blind. We need a plan.”I glared right back. “You’re not leaving them.”The name hung in the air like a curse.They knew what was hanging in the air, they kille