All Chapters of Fated to the Alpha Stepbrother: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

72ISABELLA“What?” I whispered in disbelief. "Fired for being sick?" I repeated, the word sounding completely wrong. "How is that possible? Where is she right now?"Nella shifted her weight, nervously clutching the edges of her apron. She wouldn't meet my eyes. "She should be at home in the lower village, my lady. I believe she is still recovering."I stared at her, my mind racing. A part of me wanted to run down there and make sure she was okay. Lila was more than a maid to me and hearing she was disposable because of something she couldn’t control made me sick to my stomach.Unless whatever made her sick was severely serious and life threatening that they were doing her a favor by firing her. The thought only made my worry intensify.Still I couldn’t do something impulsive. I was pretending to be two people, and it was quite late, I couldn't go see Lila until this nightmare was done. I just had to pray that she would be fine for the next two days."My lady?" Nella asked softly, bre

74ISABELLAI took a deep breath, leaning against the doorframe of Ravena’s bedroom as a wave of intense dizziness hit me. I felt light-headed the spell was completely dead."Well, it's nice to see your actual face again," Bellamy said, letting out a breath as he leaned his shoulder against the hallway wall.I shook my head, rubbing the bridge of my nose where a massive headache was starting to form. "Never again. I mean it. If I ever suggest doing something like that again, just shoot me."He let out a low chuckle, crossing his arms. "Hey, aside from the very real threat of getting brutally murdered by Ravena’s dad if we got caught, I have to admit it was pretty cool. I’d love to see you use your powers more often.""Don't wish for that," I murmured.I tried to laugh it off, but the humor died in my throat. My left hand still felt completely wrong. It was heavy, stiff, and cold, like it didn't belong to my body anymore. Suddenly, without my permission, my left arm jerked upward.Just

76"I'm telling you, I heard them," I whispered, my hand gripping Bellamy’s forearm tightly in the dim hallway of the servants' quarters. "They're planning a full ambush. It’s going to happen during the ceremony."Bellamy didn't doubt me for a second. His face went entirely pale, his eyes shifting to the corridor behind me. "Okay. Okay, listen to me. I believe you. I’ll gather a small group of guards I know we can actually trust and position them around the perimeter. In the meantime, you lay low. Don't be a hero.""I'm not leaving, Bellamy. I need to be there," I insisted.He looked like he wanted to argue, but he knew me better than that. "Fine. If you're staying, blend in."By the next evening, I was packed into a stiff, oversized maid costume, the scratchy fabric of the collar digging into my neck. The packhouse was entirely alive with tension and expensive perfume. Unlike humans, our kind usually held weddings at night, allowing the pure moonlight to witness the binding of the so

78ISABELLAWith those last words Ravena’s dad walked out, his heavy boots echoing off the concrete, while Ravena stayed behind for a fraction of a second, her hands gripping the fabric of her stained white gown. She looked at Rohan, her eyes wild with tears. "Tell me you're lying," she begged, her voice cracking as she stepped closer to him. "Rohan, please. Just say you're lying, you would never hurt me. Say something!"Rohan didn't respond. He didn't even look at her, his face locked in a hard, unyielding stare as he focused on the exit where Bellamy had disappeared.Ravena let out a sharp, choked sob, realized it was completely hopeless, and turned around, running after her father toward the main packhouse.As the silence settled over the ruined pavilion, I took a shallow breath and realized my body no longer ached from where the arrows and the dart had hit me. The searing pain in my left hand had vanished, leaving only a faint pink mark where the flesh had been ripped open. My pow

80ISABELLA At the pack we were stopped at the main room summoned by the councilmen.The seven council members sat in their exact same positions around the massive mahogany table, their expressions carved out of stone."We have received the official reports from the hospital clinic," the lead councilman announced, his deep, as he tapped a finger against a printed medical document. He didn't look up at me. He spoke as if I were a piece of faulty machinery being discussed in a boardroom. "The biological reality is absolute. Since Isabella cannot get pregnant for Alpha Derek, she is completely incapable of providing a pure bloodline heir. Therefore, she is no longer going to be the Luna of the Blood Moon pack. The law is clear on succession."I braced myself against the back of a chair, my hands clenching until my knuckles went white. Before the raw, suffocating wave of humiliation could completely drown me, a harsh scraping sound broke the silence.Derek slammed his hands flat against