บททั้งหมดของ Alpha Marcel: บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Elara:I didn’t breathe properly until I was back in my room… until the doors were closed where no one could see me falter.Then everything shattered.My hands trembled as I paced the length of the room, fury burning so hot it made my vision blur. I’m not you. The audacity of it. The certainty. The way she’d said it, as if she already believed she’d won. As if she thought that this was the end of how things were going to be… as if she knew that she had claimed something that she shouldn’t.And the worst part… she didn’t even look scared!Lia didn’t understand what this world did to women like us.What it took.I knew one thing with absolute clarity now: Luna Isobel would not help me. Not anymore. She had sent Lia to Marcel’s bed herself, wrapped the act in duty and tradition, and called it order. That door was closed. And I knew better than to try and open it. I knew better than to show her a weakness that she clearly wanted to see.And now, time was running out. And that bitch had al

Lia:“I am Aria, and this is my husband, Alpha Dominic.” She introduced calmly. I frowned the moment she stepped forward, extending her hand like this was some polite meeting, some civilized exchange. Instinct took over before thought, I stepped back, breaking the space between us.My eyes flicked to Marcel. “I am sorry, but I don’t even understand what this is?” I asked flatly. “I didn’t ask for her help. And I certainly wouldn’t need it from you.”Aria didn’t withdraw her hand immediately. “I understand what it is to be a consort, Lia. I understand the pain of it, and I understand what you are going through.”“No,” I snapped, sharper than I intended. “You don’t. And neither one of you will.”Her hand fell slowly to her side.“My father sold me as a slave,” Aria said quietly, trying again. “He was in debt. And when he sold me, I was angry, upset, and I was willing to fight anyone and anything that stood around me.”I laughed.The sound surprised even me, short, hollow, carrying too m

Lia:“You should give him a chance, Lia.” Dominic said, and I sighed, wrapping my arm around myself. “It is not going to be easy, but it is not something that is impossible either.”“Trust needs to be earned. And I find it difficult to try and give it to the man who should have killed me.” I said, and he chuckled.“When I first heard that Marcel let a rogue live, I wondered if was one of those rumors.” He said calmly. “I asked himself, and I realized that you held a little more fire in you. And I saw that he was more than willing to do what it took to keep you safe. Even if it meant giving up what he knew for your sake.”“Him not killing me is hardly him giving up what he knows for me.” I said, and Alpha Dominic smiled.“You have a lot to learn about how our world works.” He said, his voice calm. “And I know that you have seen more than most. But it doesn’t mean that you know what it took him to let it go.”“What if I trust him and he turns on me?” I asked, ignoring the clench that I

Lia:I woke to unfamiliar quiet.Not the tense kind. Not the kind that warned me to run.Just… stillness.A stillness that I almost forgot even existed.For a moment, I didn’t remember falling asleep at all, let alone being on a bed. I frowned, pushing myself up on the bed, the sheets cool beneath my fingers. My gaze drifted, and stopped.Marcel was asleep on the couch.The couch that I was initially sitting on, reading through the book that he was keeping for me to read.The realization hit slowly. He was stretched out awkwardly, one arm draped over his eyes, the other hanging off the edge, the blanket half-slipped to the floor like he’d lost a fight with it sometime during the night.Confusion tightened my chest.I slipped off the bed and crossed the room quietly, lifting the blanket and draping it over him more properly.The movement triggered him instantly.His hand shot out and closed around my wrist, his grip tight.I gasped, heart leaping into my throat.“It’s me,” I blurted. “

Lia:“I will call for you later today.”“I believe that it is going to be a habit then?” I asked, making him smile.He cupped my cheeks and connected his lips with mine, making me smile. I put my hands on his torso, as he deepened the kiss for just one more second before pulling away to look at me.“I would ask you to settle in my room, but I know that we are still too far away for that to happen.” He teased, making my chest swell with an emotion that I didn’t even think could exist. He ran his finger over my jawline before pecking my lips one more time. I took a step back as he opened the door, allowing me to leave.I left quietly, a small smile on my face which I couldn’t deny or hide no matter how hard I tried.My steps were steady, my shoulders relaxed, my breath even. I didn’t feel like I was running from a battlefield or bracing for an attack. And apparently, that difference showed.Theia noticed it immediately as I approached her.She was waiting just outside the corridor, her