Lahat ng Kabanata ng Vying For The Alpha's Heart: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

The door to the Alpha’s study slammed shut with a force that shook the dust from the heavy drapes.Oreon didn't stop moving. He paced the length of the room like a caged wolf."You knew," Oreon snarled and spinned to face his uncle. "Do not lie to me, Abram. You knew what she was."Abram stood by the unlit fireplace, his hands clasped calmly behind his back. He looked disappointed. Like a father watching a toddler throw a tantrum."I knew she was a healer from the Shadow Creek Pack," Abram said, maddeningly smooth. "I knew she was unorthodox. But this...?"Abram gestured vaguely to the space where Oreon had been pacing. "This paranoia, nephew? This is concerning. Truly concerning.""It is not paranoia when there is a knife at my throat!" Oreon roared. He slammed his hand onto his desk. "She had a blade, Abram! A silver needle. She hunted me in the dark. She threatened me!""She had a wooden massager, Oreon," Abram corrected gently. "And she was crying because her Alpha ran away from h

The following morning, the courtyard of the Ashwood Pack was alive with the stamp of horses and the sharp bark of tracking hounds.Oreon stood by his black stallion, tightening the saddle girth with a savage yank. He was furious."This is unnecessary, Abram," Oreon growled without looking up."It is vital," Abram countered, standing safely on the stone steps with a goblet of wine in his hand despite the early hour. "Lady Holly mentioned to me that you seemed... cooped up. Distracted. And the Council agrees. They say the Alpha has not brought down a kill in months. They fear your... instincts... are dulling."Oreon’s hands paused on the leather strap. Holly.So that was her game. She hadn't accused him of sleeping with Eltonia directly; she had simply suggested that he was "distracted" and "soft," prompting Abram to force a public display of strength."My instincts are fine," Oreon snapped."Then prove it," Abram smiled. "Bring back a stag. A big one. Show the pack their Alpha can stil

The return to the packhouse was a march of shame.Oreon refused the stretcher. He refused the horse. He walked the last mile on his own two feet. His arm was draped heavily over Eltonia’s shoulders, and his face was grey with pain but set in a grim snarl of determination.Radinah walked behind them, humming a cheerful tune as she swing a dead rabbit she had caught "for the pot" as if it were a purse.When they finally entered the courtyard, Abram was waiting. He took one look at Oreon’s torn tunic, his limping gait, and the mud caked on Eltonia’s dress, and sighed."A successful hunt, I take it?" Abram asked dryly."She shot at me," Oreon said. He didn't shout. His voice was a flat statement of fact. He pointed a shaking finger at Radinah. "She loosed an arrow at my chest."The courtyard went silent. Stable hands froze.Radinah gasped. "Alpha! How can you say such a thing?""I saw it," Eltonia spoke up. She stepped out from under Oreon’s arm to stand tall. "She was on the ridge. She a

Eltonia did not wait for guards. She did not wait for permission.With a strength due to the adrenaline, she half-carried, half-dragged Lyra up the slippery stairs of the cellar. Lyra was dead weight, and her teeth were chattering so hard it sounded like dice rattling in a cup.They entered the main hallway, dripping wet, smelling of stagnant water and fear.Servants gasped and pressed themselves against the walls. Eltonia ignored them. She marched, limping under Lyra’s weight, straight toward the Alpha’s study."Eltonia!" Gamma Kornel stepped in front of her, his hand on his sword hilt. "You cannot bring... this... into the main wing. The Alpha is meeting with Lord Abram.""Let me pass," Eltonia snarled.It wasn't an Omega’s voice. It was a guttural command that made Kornel blink in shock.Before he could argue, the study door banged open.Oreon stood there. He had heard the commotion. His eyes went from Eltonia’s wet, fierce face to the shivering, blue-lipped figure in her arms. "L

For the first time in months, the Ashwood Packhouse felt... light.Three days had passed since Radinah had shattered the window and vanished into the night. The glass had been swept up. The blood had been scrubbed from the Bison Suite.And Alpha Oreon was... smiling.It was a small thing. A twitch of the lips. A softening of the eyes. But to Eltonia, who had spent eleven years watching him frown, it was like seeing the sun break through bad weather.They were in his study. The morning sun streamed through the balcony doors, warming the stone floor. Oreon sat at his desk, but for once, he wasn't buried in grim reports of treason or assassins. He was reviewing the harvest logs.Eltonia was tidying the bookshelves, her back to him."You missed a spot," Oreon’s deep voice rumbled.Eltonia turned, holding her feather duster. "I did not. I am thorough, Alpha.""Top shelf," he murmured, not looking up from his parchment, though the corner of his mouth quirked up. "Left corner. A spiderweb."