Lahat ng Kabanata ng Vying For The Alpha's Heart: Kabanata 81 - Kabanata 90

The drums pounded a rhythm that felt like a headache made of sound. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.On the edge of the dance floor, far from the Alpha’s dais, Beta Kael was trapped in his own personal hell."Dance with me, husband," Holly cooed, pulling on his arm.Kael resisted, his boots planting firmly on the stone. "I am on duty, Holly. The crowd is too thick. Security is compromised.""Oh, hush," Holly giggled and draped her arms around his neck, forcing him to sway with her. She was radiant in a gown of pale cream, her hands resting conspicuously on her flat stomach. "You worry too much. Look at them! Everyone is happy. We should be happy too."She pressed her body against his rigid armor."I was thinking about the nursery today," Holly rambled loud enough to be heard over the music. "Blu drapes, I think. To match your eyes. And a cradle of oak. Nothing but the best for the future Beta."Kael looked over her head. He felt like he was suffocating in rosewater."And the wedding," Holly continue

The Pack Infirmary was usually a place of quiet healing, smelling of dried sage, lemon balm, and clean linens.Tonight, it smelled of iron.The copper tang of fresh blood permeated the air, choking out the herbs. The white sheets of the examination table were stained a deep, spreading red that looked black in the dim light of the oil lamps.Eltonia lay in the center of the chaos.The blue dress she had worn to the festival, the dress Oreon had danced with, was ruined. It had been cut away at the shoulder, revealing the ugly, puckered wound where the crossbow bolt had struck.The bolt was gone, removed by the Pack Healer’s steady hands, but the damage remained.Black veins were spiderwebbing out from the puncture wound, crawling up her neck and down her arm like ink spilled on parchment."Stay with me, 'Tonia," Lyra whispered, her voice tight and high. "Don't you dare close your eyes. If you fall asleep, I’m telling Matron Henga you stole the extra cinnamon."Lyra sat on a stool by the

Abram sat in his high-backed armchair with a glass of amber brandy warming in his hand. The fire crackled cheerfully in the hearth, illuminating his private library. He looked for all the world like a man enjoying a quiet evening after a long day of "serving" the realm.He looked up as the door exploded inward, as splinters of oak rained down onto his expensive Persian rug.Oreon stood in the wreckage of the doorframe. He was panting, and his tunic was soaked with the blood of the woman he cherished. His eyes were not the eyes of a nephew looking at his uncle. They were the eyes of a wolf looking at a disease."Oreon?" Abram gasped, standing up so quickly his brandy sloshed over the rim. "My boy! What is the meaning of this? Has there been an attack?""The book," Oreon snarled as he stepped into the room."Book?" Abram blinked, feigning utter confusion. "What book? You are covered in blood! Are you hurt? Is it... is it the girl?""Don't say her name," Oreon warned with a growl.He cro

The morning sun streamed through the high windows of the infirmary, turning the dust motes into dancing gold.It had been twenty-four hours since the antidote had done its work. The black veins on Eltonia’s neck had faded to bruising shadows. Her breathing was no longer a rattle, but had softened into a rhythmic sigh.Oreon sat on the edge of the bed. He hadn't shaved in four days. His black tunic was wrinkled. He looked like a man who had walked through a hurricane, but his hands, holding a small bowl of bone broth, were steady."Open," Oreon murmured.Eltonia fluttered her eyelashes against her pale cheeks. She felt heavy, as if her limbs were made of lead, but the pain in her shoulder had dulled to a throbbing ache."I can hold the spoon, Alpha," she whispered, raspily."No," Oreon said simply. "You cannot. Your arm is bound. And I am enjoying this."He lifted the spoon to her lips. She opened her mouth, swallowing the warm, salty broth. It tasted like life."You have been here...

The Great Hall was suspended in a fragile silence.The priest had stopped chanting. The musicians had stopped playing.In the center of the aisle, Beta Kael and Lyra knelt facing each other with their hands tangled over the fallen wedding ring. They weren't moving. They weren't breathing. They were just staring, like two planets caught in a gravitational pull that threatened to tear the roof off the castle."Kael!" Holly’s voice cracked like a whip from the altar.She stood alone under the arch of white roses. Her face held incredulous fury. Her groom—her husband-to-be—was on his knees in the dirt, worshiping a kitchen maid while she stood waiting to be crowned."Pick up the ring!" Holly shrieked, her poise shattering. "Pick it up and get back here!"Kael blinked. The spell broke, but the reality didn't change. He looked at Lyra’s tear-filled eyes one last time, then slowly reached down to grasp the heavy gold band.He stood up. He helped Lyra to her feet. He didn't let go of her hand