บททั้งหมดของ The Alpha's Contract Bride : บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Seraphina ran.Her bare feet struck the cold stone as she raced down the corridor, breath burning in her throat. The scream had come from the Luna’s wing, sharp and terrified, slicing through the quiet like a blade.Darius was right behind her, fast and furious, his presence a storm she could feel without looking back.“Seraphina!” he called. “Slow down!”But she couldn’t.Maera appeared at her side, dagger in hand, her eyes alert. Behind them, Rhyden’s soldiers flooded the hallway with torches and steel, their faces hard and ready.When Seraphina reached the corridor leading to her chamber, she stopped so suddenly her breath hitched.Two maids stood outside the door, shaking like leaves. One had blood on her hands. The other’s face was wet with tears.Elowen stood between them, pale but upright, like she was forcing herself not to fall apart.“My Luna,” Elowen whispered, stepping forward quickly. “It wasn’t your chamber. It was… the room beside it.”Seraphina’s eyes narrowed. “The ro

The news came before dawn.Seraphina had barely slept. Her body was resting, but her mind refused to quiet. The council, Sarah’s words, the tightening borders, it all sat heavy in her chest. Darius lay beside her, one arm around her waist, his presence steady and grounding even as tension hummed beneath his calm exterior.A sharp knock broke the stillness.Not urgent.But deliberate.Darius opened his eyes instantly. He was on his feet in seconds, pulling on his tunic as he crossed the room. Seraphina sat up, drawing the furs around herself.“Enter,” Darius said.Rhyden stepped inside, his expression grim in a way that told Seraphina this was not a small matter.“My Alpha. My Luna,” he greeted, bowing his head briefly. “We’ve finished questioning Sarah.”Darius’s jaw tightened. “And?”Rhyden hesitated. “What she did goes deeper than we thought.”Seraphina’s pulse quickened. She rose from the bed, moving closer. “Tell us.”Rhyden exhaled slowly. “Sarah did not only invite Tefiti.”The

The news spread before sunrise.An envoy from Iron Ridge had stood at their gates and looked upon their Luna.That alone was enough to stir the pack into restless vigilance.By midmorning, another message arrived. Then another. Some came sealed with wax and formal crests. Others arrived through silent runners who did not step past the borders. Every one of them carried the same undercurrent.Interest.Seraphina stood beside Darius in the strategy chamber as Rhyden laid the scrolls across the table.“They are coming,” Rhyden said. “Not all. But enough.”Darius unfolded one of the letters, scanning it with a hard expression. “Alpha Karsyn confirms attendance. So does Alpha Varek of the Northern Cliffs. And this one.” He tapped another seal. “Alpha Theron.”A murmur rippled through the captains present.Theron was known for expansion. Ruthless but strategic.Seraphina absorbed each name carefully. She did not allow the weight of their reputations to press on her shoulders.“They will exp

The Alphas did not leave immediately.That in itself was like a threat.By tradition, once council matters were concluded, visiting leaders returned to their territories before the next sunrise. This time, several remained. Their guards lingered along the outer compounds. Their eyes observed everything.They were not simply guests.Seraphina stood on the highest balcony of the pack house, watching as Alpha Varek’s warriors trained in the open field assigned to them. Their movements were sharp and aggressive, designed to be noticed.“They want us to see,” Maera said quietly beside her.Seraphina nodded. “They want to scare us.”Below, Darius spoke with Rhyden near the gate. Their expressions were unusual, but tension lingered in their posture.Since the council, nothing overt had happened.No formal challenge.No declaration.Yet the air felt tighter.Measured.As if invisible lines were being drawn across the earth.By midday, a disturbance broke the uneasy calm.A patrol from the sou

The air in the pack house was heavy long before the council assembled.The scent of blood still lingered in the wind from the night before. It clung to the stone walls, to the guards’ armor, to the very breath of the wolves who had carried their fallen brothers home.Seraphina stood beside Darius at the head of the long council table, her fingers laced with his. Since the battle with Tefiti, something inside her had awakened fully. She no longer stood behind her Alpha.She stood beside him.Rhyden entered first, his armor scratched and stained, his expression grim.“They were rogues,” he said without preamble. “No pack mark, no allegiance, no scent of an Alpha. We tracked them past the eastern ridge. They were just… passing through.”A low growl rippled around the room.“Passing through?” one of the elders repeated.Rhyden nodded. “They caught the scent of our borders. Smelled strength. Smelled territory. And they decided to spill blood for sport.”Seraphina’s jaw tightened.“So they