Hiding The Alpha's Son のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

SarahThe morning light was a cold, unforgiving grey as it filtered through my bedroom window. My first instinct was to reach for my neck, my fingertips searching for the heat and the raised skin Jareth had left there only hours before.I stumbled to the small, silvered mirror on my washstand. My heart sank.The dark, violent plum color was gone. In its place was a faint, yellowish shadow—the last, stubborn ghost of a bruise that would be completely swallowed by my wolf’s healing within the hour.It shouldn't have mattered. It was a fake mark, a tactical lie meant to shield me for a single night. But as I stared at my reflection, a hollow ache opened up in my chest.I felt abandoned. Not by Jareth—he was in the kitchen, I could hear the low thrum of him talking to Kevin—but by the reality of the night before. The silk was gone, the "better than sex" kiss was over, and my body was already betraying me by scrubbing away the only proof that I had been, for a few hours, his.I dressed in

SarahThe silence following the swing of the kitchen door as Jasper exited the kitchen was heavier than the noise that had preceded it. Poppy didn't linger; she gave me a look that was one part worry and two parts awe, then retreated to the main bar to deal with the scattered patrons and the wreckage of the front door.That left me alone with Jareth.The heat from the oven was nothing compared to the warmth radiating off Jareth. He didn't move for a long time. He stood with his back to me, his shoulders broad enough to block out the rest of the world. He was still wearing that dark gear—not the worn flannels of a hunter, but something sleek and tactical that clung to the hard lines of his muscles."You knew," I whispered. My voice sounded thin to my own ears.He turned slowly. His face was a mask of cold discipline, but his eyes were fixed on my hands. I looked down. My fingertips were still humming with a faint, dying blue light, and the scent of ozone was thick enough to taste."I w

SarahThe cottage felt different tonight. Usually, it was a sanctuary of rough-hewn wood and mountain silence, but tonight the walls seemed to pulse with the echo of the tavern. The air was charged, thick with the scent of rain Jareth had mentioned—a storm was coming, both outside and within those four walls.Jareth moved with practiced, silent grace, carrying Kevin into the bedroom. I stood by the kitchen table, my hands still tingling with the ghost of the energy I’d unleashed on Jasper. My fingertips felt raw, the skin overly sensitive as I watched Jareth through the open doorway. In the dim, silver moonlight, the warrior was gone, replaced by a man whose heart was clearly pinned to that sleeping child. He laid the boy down and pulled the heavy wool blanket to his chin with a tenderness that made my throat ache. It was a side of him he only showed in the quiet, a side that made the "Hunter" seem like a mask he wore for a world that didn’t deserve his kindness.When he emerged, he d

SarahThe whetstone sat on the wooden table, a heavy slab of grey rock that felt like a secret. I didn't touch it. I just stared at the spot where the sword had been—the dark, runic blade.Hunters carry knives. But that... that was a weapon meant for a battlefield.I was halfway to the sink when the air in the kitchen changed. It wasn't the sharp, ozone smell of my lightning, but a sudden shift in pressure. Kevin went perfectly still. He didn't look toward the back door where Jareth had exited. He looked toward the front."Someone’s here," Kevin whispered.I reached for the nearest weapon, and my fingers wrapped around the handle of the heavy iron skillet. My first thought was Jasper. My second was Silas Osborne. But there was no knock. Instead, a voice drifted through the heavy oak door, casual and mocking."You really should work on the perimeter, Boss. I walked right through the trip-wire in the ravine."The back door slammed open. Jareth was back in the room in a blur of motion, h

SarahThe heat in the Great Hall hit like a physical blow, thick with the scent of pine pitch and the musk of too many wolves in a confined space. Usually, the silence that followed my entrance was filled with whispers of witch or bastard. Today, the silence was absolute.Jareth didn’t let go of my hand. He led me down the center aisle toward the dais, our boots thudding against the heavy timber floorboards. Malachi peeled off at the entrance, leaning against the massive oak doors with a casualness that was entirely deceptive. He looked like he was just drying off; I knew he was making sure the exits were his.Alpha Felix sat in his high-backed chair, his fingers drumming nervously on the armrests. Beside him, Silas Osborne looked like a man who had already tasted victory. And then there was Scarlet. She had changed into a dry silk dress, her face blotchy from crying, standing near her father like a jagged piece of glass."You're late," Silas Osborne hissed, his voice cutting through