Lahat ng Kabanata ng Alpha Marcel: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

Marcel:Steam still clung to the air when we stepped out of the bath, the scent of soap and warmth wrapping around us like something intimate and private. I smiled without meaning to, pulling her gently to my chest, my arms settling around her as if they had always known where to belong.I wanted more.The want was there, hot, undeniable, but I didn’t let it rule me.She was sore, still adjusting, and more than that… it was too soon. Wanting her didn’t mean taking her every time the urge surfaced. It meant knowing when to stop.And moreover, I wanted her to trust that I wouldn’t claim her whenever I wanted her. I wanted her to want me back… but that would mean that she needed to adjust to it.She relaxed against me, smiling softly, then tilted her neck just enough, an unspoken invitation.I kissed her there, slow and lingering, my lips brushing warm skin. She sighed, a sound that went straight through me, then turned to face me, her eyes searching mine.“What are you planning to do to

Elara:The consort hall felt wrong the moment I stepped inside.Too loud. Too alive.It hasn’t been in a while, and yet, it seemed to me that everything was normal. And that things were not going the way that I planned for them to go…The rebellion spark was not hitting its notch at all?My eyes swept the room out of habit, faces, posture, who stood where, who avoided whose gaze, and that was when I saw her.Tania.She was seated stiffly near the edge of the hall, her back straight but her face pale, her feet wrapped poorly beneath her skirts. She flinched when she shifted.My jaw tightened.I crossed the room in long strides. “Tania.”She looked up instantly and tried to stand, only to wince sharply.“Stay,” I ordered, lowering my voice. “What happened? Why are you in this state? The girls are enjoying themselves rather than be angry?”Her lips trembled. “I… I tried, my lady. I truly did. But Theia intervened before anything could happen. She had me whipped in front of the girls. Gav

Lia:The night had softened by the time we finished eating.The plates were cleared away without either of us noticing, conversation drifting easily, small things, harmless things. I didn’t bring up the hall. I didn’t bring up the whispers or the whip or Elara’s eyes burning into my back.I didn’t need to.I could tell he knew.It was in the way his thumb brushed slow circles against my hip, in the way his chest rose just a fraction deeper whenever the silence stretched too long. But he didn’t push. He was waiting for me to tell him.But I wasn’t planning to.We ended up on the balcony, the cool night air wrapping around us. I sat sideways on his lap, my head resting against his chest, my legs sprawled comfortably over his. His arms were around me without effort, as if this position had always existed.He was quiet for a long moment.“Why aren’t you telling me about what happened today?” He asked softly. “No matter how hard I tried to get you to talk about it, you’ve been avoiding the

Isobel:The hall was quiet in the way only mine ever was.Muted light. Heavy drapes. A space designed for control, not comfort.Katherine sat across from me, posture relaxed, her presence carefully muted, her scent masked so thoroughly that even I could barely trace it. Anyone else would have missed her entirely. That, more than anything, reminded me why she was dangerous.“I have a problem,” I said, fingers tightening around the cup in my hand.“I am well aware, you wouldn’t have called me if you didn’t.” She tilted her head slightly, encouraging. “And I am guessing that the problem has a name.”“Lia,” I continued, allowing the name to carry my irritation. “She has embedded herself deeper than anticipated. Marcel is… distracted. And Elara is growing restless. It is only a matter of time before things end up getting out of hand, and if that happens, if this keeps going… I am not going to be able to handle everything at once.”Katherine nodded slowly. “That was inevitable. I am referri

Lia:It was later in the day, when the world had gone quiet and the night wrapped around us like a secret, that I lay in his arms and finally let myself breathe.Marcel held me as if it was instinct, one arm secure around my back, the other resting warm and steady at my waist. His thumb traced slow, absent patterns against my skin, grounding, reassuring. I fit there too easily, like my body had been waiting to remember what safety felt like.I felt it in my bones.With him, I wasn’t bracing. I wasn’t counting exits. I wasn’t preparing to run.I was just… there.“Tell me something about you,” he murmured softly into my hair. “Not the pain. Not the survival. Something before. You rarely ever talk about your past. I find myself being curious.”I hesitated, then shifted slightly so I could see his face. His eyes were calm, open. Patient.“My mother,” I said quietly. “She used to braid my hair every morning. No matter how busy she was, she never let anyone else do it. She said it was her w