All Chapters of After Betrayal, I Married The Cursed Alpha King: Chapter 171 - Chapter 177

By the next evening, the entire supernatural world was watching. The Werewolf Council Hall had never looked so cold. Tall black pillars lined the circular chamber like silent judges. Silver wolf crests gleamed beneath torchlight. Rows of elevated seats curved around the center floor where the accused stood beneath everyone’s gaze. It was built to intimidate. To expose weakness. To crush scandal. To remind even the strongest Alpha that power could still be taken away. Tonight— it was packed. Council elders. Alpha leaders. Luna consorts. Pack representatives. Political rivals pretending to be neutral. And far too many eyes hungry for blood. Violetta felt every single one of them the moment she stepped through the grand doors. A murmur swept the room instantly. Not loud. But sharp. Interested. Cruel. Because now they weren’t just looking at Draven Blackwood— they were looking at the woman who had chosen to walk in beside him. Draven’s hand settled at the small of her back

The council chamber held its breath.Gerald stood in the center like a man who had finally been handed permission to ruin someone’s life.And judging by the way Celeste’s face had gone pale—He was about to enjoy it.“Proceed,” Elder Isolde said sharply.Gerald inclined his head just enough to be respectful.Then tapped the tablet in his hand.The massive silver screen behind the council seats flickered to life.At first, it showed nothing but timestamped security footage.A hallway. A service entrance. The outer corridor of a private lounge.Then—Celeste appeared on screen.A murmur rippled through the chamber instantly.She was wearing a dark cloak, hood up, but there was no mistaking her face as she entered a restricted lower-district building three nights before Violetta’s abduction.Celeste’s expression shifted.Barely.But enough.Violetta’s pulse started pounding.Gerald’s voice cut cleanly through the silence.“This footage was recovered from a confiscated surveillance syst

The room Seraphine gave them was too small for distance.That was Violetta’s first thought the moment Draven shut the door behind them.It wasn’t a grand guest suite. It wasn’t even comfortable in the way Blackwood luxury had trained her to expect.It was old wood, candlelight, a stone fireplace, one narrow bed, one wardrobe, one washbasin, and a single tall window overlooking a forest thick with fog.One bed.Of course.Because apparently the universe, the council, and every cursed bloodline ancestor in existence had all decided she hadn’t suffered enough yet.Violetta stood in the center of the room with her bag still hanging from her shoulder and slowly turned to look at Draven.He was already looking at the bed too.Then at her.Then back at the bed.Silence.Heavy. Tense. Dangerously aware.Gerald, somewhere down the hall, chose that exact moment to say far too loudly—“I swear if they kill each other before the ritual, I’m leaving.”Dimitri muttered something back that sounde

Violetta was asleep beside him, her head resting near his arm, one hand still tangled in his shirt like even in sleep she refused to let him go too far. For a long moment, He didn’t move.Didn’t speak. Didn’t even breathe properly.He just stared at the ceiling while the first pale light of morning filtered through the witch’s crooked windows.And waited.Waited for it.For the old darkness in his blood. For the restless violence under his skin. For the constant pressure of something cursed and hungry pacing beneath his bones.But—There was nothing.No beast. No shadows. No rot curling through his instincts.Only silence.Only peace.Only the sound of Violetta breathing softly beside him.And for the first time in longer than he could remember—Draven Blackwood felt free.His throat tightened.His gaze shifted downward slowly.To her.She looked exhausted even in sleep.Beautiful. Fragile. Stronger than anyone had ever given her credit for.The bruises on her skin had faded in