Lahat ng Kabanata ng Vying For The Alpha's Heart: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

The morning sun was pale and watery, filtering through the high windows of the servant quarters.Lyra sat on the edge of her cot, staring at a basket of warm, fresh-baked sweet buns. They were Kael’s favorite—or at least, the ones he stole the most often when he thought she wasn't looking.She hadn't slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt the pressure of his mouth on hers. She felt his hands on her waist. She heard him say, “I want to break all of them for you.”"I ran away," Lyra whispered to the empty room. "Like a coward."Her mind drifted back to the conversation she’d had with Eltonia just a few hours ago, in the dead of night, huddled under a blanket while the castle slept.“You are an idiot,” Eltonia had whispered, though she was smiling.“I am practical!” Lyra had argued, hugging her knees. “Eltonia, look at me. I am mateless. I am a genetic dead end. Kael is the Beta. He needs an heir. He needs a bond. If I let him... if I let him choose me... he will regret it in fi

The door to the armory slammed shut with a force that rattled the swords on the racks.Gamma Kornel didn't stop there. He dragged Untha deeper into the room, past the polishing wheels and the stacks of shields, until he slammed her back against a stone pillar."You threw a plate!" Untha laughed, breathlessly, making her hood fall back to reveal her messy dark hair and that beautiful scar. "Subtle, Kornel. Very subtle.""Shut up!" Kornel roared, pinning her shoulders to the stone. "You poisoned his wine! Right in front of me!""I did," Untha agreed, her green eyes dancing with adrenaline. "And you saved him. Good reflexes, Gamma. You haven't gone soft living in this palace.""Stop trying to kill my Alpha!" Kornel shouted, shaking her. "I told you to leave! I told you to stay away!""And I told you I have a job!" Untha snapped back, her humor vanishing. She shoved him, hard. "Get your hands off me, you lumbering bear!""Make me!"They stood chest to chest, breathing hard. The air betwee

The Alpha’s study felt like a funeral parlor.Beta Kael sat on the edge of the leather couch with his head in his hands and his elbows resting on his knees. He looked like a man who had marched halfway across the world only to find his home burned to the ground.Oreon stood by the fireplace, staring at the flames. He gripped a goblet of wine so hard the silver stem was bending."You did what?" Oreon asked, dangerously quiet."I..." Kael made a sound that was half-groan, half-sob. He ran his hands over his face, dragging his fingers through his short hair until he was gripping his own skull. "I slept with her, Oreon. That night. After the larder.""She drugged you, Kael," Oreon turned, his eyes blazing. "You told me yourself! You said the room was spinning! You said she looked like Lyra!""I cannot prove it," Kael whispered, staring at the floor. "I drank the wine. I walked to her room. I... participated."He looked up, his grey eyes dead."And now there is a child."Oreon slammed his

The dagger descended.It moved through the darkness like ice, aiming perfectly for the jugular vein.But Oreon was not asleep.The pressure of the deadline, the memory of Eltonia in the cage, and the lasting unease of the saddle incident had kept his mind racing. He was lying still with his eyes closed, listening to the wind… until the wind stopped blowing.His eyes snapped open.In the fraction of a second before the steel touched his skin, Oreon’s hand shot up.His fingers clamped around Untha’s wrist.It was a grip of iron. The momentum of the strike jerked his arm, but he held fast. The poisoned blade hovered an inch from his throat."You missed," Oreon snarled.Untha didn't gasp or even panic. Her green eyes narrowed in the gloom."Not yet," she whispered.She dropped her weight. Instead of pulling away, she drove her knee into Oreon’s ribs.CRACK.Oreon grunted as the air left his lungs. The pain was blinding, but he didn't let go. He twisted his hips, using his Alpha strength t

The drums began at sunset.BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.They were massive war drums, usually reserved for marching armies, but tonight they beat a rhythm of forced celebration. The courtyard of Ashwood Castle had been transformed into a carnival of colours and fire.Torches lined the walls, their flames rising to the night sky. Fire-breathers—performers hired from the village—spat plumes of orange dragon-fire into the air, illuminating the stone in sudden bursts.The pack was there. Everyone. It was mandatory.But they weren't just wolves tonight. They were strangers."Masks," Oreon had decreed, following Abram’s suggestion for 'unity.' "We will wear masks. Tonight, there is no rank. No Alpha, no Beta, no servant. Just the pack."It was a beautiful lie.The courtyard was a sea of painted wood and porcelain faces. Wolves mingled with foxes, stags mingled with bears. The noise was deafening; laughter, music, the roar of the fire, the thud of the drums. It was chaotic. It was disorienting.And it w