All Chapters of Accidental: Alpha's Surrogate Bride: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

Ilaria’s povPain tears through me, but it's different from the failed transformation attempts. This time, my body doesn't fight the change. It welcomes it, craves it, needs it with desperate urgency.My bones crack and reshape. Fur erupts across my skin in a wave of gold. My hands twist into paws, claws extending long and deadly. My face elongates, teeth sharpening into fangs.The assassin raising his blade toward my mother sees me change and freezes, shock flickering across his professional mask.I move.Faster than I've ever moved in my life, driven by pure instinct. My partially-formed wolf body launches across the room, and I slam into him with enough force to knock him away from my mother.We hit the floor hard. His silver blade skitters across the wooden planks, out of reach.He recovers quickly, rolling away and coming up in a crouch. "What the hell—"I don't let him finish. I'm on him again, claws raking across his arm. He shouts in pain, jerking back.The other assassin, the

Ilaria’s povI wake to the sensation of movement.Arms. Someone's holding me.I try to open my eyes, but my eyelids feel like they're made of lead. "Easy." A familiar voice said. "Don't try to move yet."Reed?His name is a lifeline in this fog of pain and confusion. I force my eyes open, blinking against light that seems too bright.His face comes into focus above me. "There you are," he says quietly.I'm in his arms, I realize. Being carried somewhere. Around us, I hear the sounds of a medical facility—beeping monitors, hushed voices, the squeak of wheels on linoleum."Mom?" I manage, my voice barely a whisper."She's safe. Right behind us." Reed adjusts his hold on me, careful of what I now realize are bandages covering most of my torso. "You're both safe now."Safe. The word doesn't quite register. The last thing I remember is blood—so much blood—and pain, and the terrible weight of what I'd done.I killed someone.The memory crashes over me, and I gasp. "Reed, I—there was a man

George stared at the bottom of his empty glass, the amber residue catching the dim light of his home office. Three in the morning, and he was still awake, still drinking, still trying to silence the voice in his head that kept screaming the same truth over and over:He'd lost.The bottle of scotch sat within reach, his third tonight, or was it his fourth? He'd stopped counting days ago. Reed was still the Alpha. Stronger than before, if the intelligence reports were accurate. The pack had rallied around him after the assassination attempts, seeing him as a leader who'd survived multiple threats and emerged unshaken.And Ilaria, that wolfless Omega who should have been easy to eliminate. She'd not only survived but thrived. Given birth to Reed's heir and had been accepted by the pack despite her status, despite everything George had done to expose her.The medical documentation he'd paid so much for? Worthless. Dr. Thornton had been exposed as corrupt, her testimony inadmissible. The

Ilaria’s povThree days after returning the phone, I was at the train station picking up a package Reed had ordered for Luna, some fancy imported baby clothes his mother insisted we needed.The station was busy, people rushing in every direction, the metallic voice over the intercom announcing arrivals and departures. I'd just collected the package from the shipping office when I saw an elderly woman, maybe seventy, struggling with a massive suitcase near the taxi stand. She'd get it a few feet, stop to catch her breath, then try again. No one was helping her, everyone too absorbed in their own travels to notice.I hesitated. Luna was with my mother, and I had time before I needed to be home. And the woman looked genuinely distressed, her face flushed with effort.I approached her, adjusting Reed's package under my arm. "Excuse me, do you need help?"She looked up, relief flooding her weathered features. "Oh, bless you, dear. Yes, I—I'm visiting my daughter, but this suitcase is so h

Ilaria’s povLuna's first birthday party was everything I'd hoped it would be.The pack house's main hall was decorated with soft pinks and golds, balloons clustered in corners, a small cake shaped like a crescent moon sitting on the center table. Nothing too extravagant, Reed and I had agreed we wanted this to be warm and intimate, not a political statement.But it was still beautiful.Luna wore a tiny dress my mother had made, white with golden embroidery. She was walking now, wobbly, uncertain steps that made everyone coo with delight. Reed followed her everywhere, ready to catch her when she stumbled, his expression so full of love it made my chest ache.I wore a deep blue gown that Reed had picked out, something elegant but comfortable. After a year of motherhood, of sleepless nights and constant worry, it felt good to dress up, to feel beautiful again.The guests were a mix of pack members, allied leaders, and dignitaries from across the territory. My mother, beaming as she watc