All Chapters of Vying For The Alpha's Heart: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

102 Chapters

THE WITNESS

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 WALL OF ICE

Beta Kael woke up on the floor of his own barracks room. He had crawled there from the Guest Wing hours ago, fleeing the scent of roses like a wounded animal escaping a fire.He vomited into a bucket.His head felt like it had been split open with an axe. His skin felt too tight, hot and prickling with the aftershocks of the Siren’s Tear. But the physical sickness was nothing compared to the rot in his chest.He remembered.The drug had faded enough for the memories to sharpen. He remembered the overwhelming heat. He remembered looking into Holly’s face and seeing Lyra’s brown eyes. He remembered confessing his love, pouring out his soul, to the wrong woman."I said... I loved her," Kael rasped as he held his head.And Lyra had seen it.She had seen him in Holly’s bed, shirtless, sleeping the sleep of the satisfied, while Holly watched over him like a triumphant queen."No," Kael groaned, staggering to his feet. He splashed cold water on his face from the basin. He didn't bother to dry

THE EX-LOVERS' QUARREL

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 ANNOUNCEMENT

Two weeks had passed since the night of the serpent.Ashwood Castle was holding its breath. The air felt thick with the static electricity of an impending storm. The Unseen Assassin—Untha—was still at large, a ghost haunting the corridors, leaving slashed tapestries and tripped guards in her trail but never striking the final blow.But the real threat wasn't in the darkness. It was sitting in the parlor of the Guest Wing, wearing a dress of soft, maternal blue."Thank you for coming," Holly said as her voice trembled slightly.She sat on a sofa with her hands resting protectively on her stomach.Beta Kael stood by the fireplace. He looked older. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his posture, usually rigid with military discipline, was slumped with exhaustion. He hadn't spoken to Lyra in fourteen days. He had barely spoken to anyone.Abram sat in the armchair opposite Holly, sipping tea. He looked bored, tapping his fingers on the armrest."Well?" Abram asked, checking his po

THE HONOR TRAP

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 SPY IN THE WALLS

The bottle was small, made of black glass, and cold to the touch.Untha sat in the narrow crawlspace between the chimneystack and the roof tiles of the East Wing. It was a space so tight a normal human would suffocate, but for Untha, it was a penthouse suite.She held the pipette up to the streak of moonlight filtering through a crack in the slate.Midnight’s Kiss.It wasn't a subtle poison. It wasn't the slow-acting sickness Holly had tried to use. This was a paralytic that stopped the heart in three beats. It was painless, odorless, and utterly final."No more accidents," Untha whispered to the glass. "No more loose saddles. No more poisoned wine. Simply a cut."She uncorked the pipette. She drew her long, slender dagger of dark steel that didn't reflect light. She tilted the bottle to let the thick liquid coat the edge of the blade.One scratch. That was all it would take.She watched the poison dry, making sure her hands were steady, but her mind was a mess. She tapped her fingers

THE MIDNIGHT STRUGGLE

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 LOCKDOWN

Ashwood Castle was a fortress under siege from within.Every gate was barred. Every window was shuttered. Guards patrolled in double shifts with their eyes scanning the shadows for a wisp of smoke or a flash of grey silk.But in the Guest Wing, a different kind of horror was unfolding."Ivory or Cream, Kael?" Holly asked as she held up two nearly identical swatches of silk. "For the tablecloths. I think Cream warms the room, don't you?"Beta Kael sat on a stiff wooden chair, staring at the wall. He was in his uniform, but his sword belt was resting on the floor. He looked like a man who had been dug out with a spoon."Whatever you want, Holly," Kael replied in a monotone drone."Oh, you're no help!" Holly giggled and tossed the swatches onto a pile of ribbons and lace. She moved to him, rustling in her "Saintly" white dress which she had now tailored to be tighter, more flattering.She sat on his lap.Kael didn't push her away. He didn't embrace her. He just sat there, rigid as a cor

THE FESTIVAL OF THE MOON

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

THE ARROW

The heavy drums slowed to a heartbeat thrum.Oreon stepped onto the raised dais in the center of the courtyard. He reached up and untied the black wolf mask, letting it fall to the stone. He wanted them to see his face. He wanted them to see the man, not the myth. The crowd hushed. Hundreds of masked faces turned toward him—servants, guards, farmers, and nobles—all united under the flickering light of the torches and the fire-breathers' plumes.Oreon took a deep breath. The night air tasted of smoke and roasted meat, but beneath it, he could smell the fear that had plagued his pack for weeks."My people," Oreon began. His deep voice deep carried easily over the silence.He didn't shout. He spoke with the quiet, unshakeable authority of the earth itself."We have endured a long winter," Oreon said, scanning the crowd. "Not of snow, but of shadows. We have opened our gates to those who would rule us, and we have closed them against those who would judge us."He looked to his left, wher

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