Alle Kapitel von Please fuck me, Mr.Alpha: Kapitel 31 – Kapitel 40

DRAVEN'S POV I didn't tell Father about the message. I didn't tell Selene either. For once, keeping a secret felt safer than sharing one. The parchment remained hidden beneath the loose floorboard beneath my desk, exactly where nobody would think to look. Your brother is alive. Those four words had changed everything. I should have felt relieved. Instead, I felt trapped. If Damien was alive, then eventually he'd return. And when he did, everyone would have to answer questions. Especially Father. Especially Selene. And possibly me. I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. For years, I'd wanted Damien gone. Not dead. Not really. Just... removed. I wanted the position he'd been given. The respect. The authority. The certainty that everyone would eventually have to look at me and say: There is the future Alpha. Now that possibility was closer than ever. And somehow, Damien was still in the way. A knock sounded. I immediately sat upright. "Come in."

MARIA'S POVI woke up the next morning with one thought already weighing on my mind.I had heard from the maids.Damien hadn't returned.I lay there staring at the ceiling.Maybe he'd come back late.Maybe I simply hadn't heard anything.I pushed the blanket aside and walked toward the window.Outside, the house was already awake.I could hear footsteps downstairs.Cabinet doors opening.Mom talking to one of the servants.Andrew complaining about something.Everything sounded normal.Too normal.I pressed my fingers against the windowsill.Black Ridge wasn't that far away.At least...it shouldn't have taken this long.I remembered the last thing I'd heard about Damien.He was supposed to be leaving with Draven.That alone had worried me.But now nobody seemed willing to explain what was happening.I changed quickly and went downstairs.The moment I entered the dining room, I noticed Dad was already there.He was reading a letter.Mom sat across from him.Andrew was eating breakfast.

I remained outside the fortress for several minutes. The letter was still in my hand. My mother's handwriting. The symbol. The witch. The curse. Too many questions. But for the first time, I realized something. I didn't need every answer tonight. Whatever my father had done, whatever the witch wanted, and whatever secret my mother had been trying to lead me toward... I would uncover it. Eventually. But I couldn't allow it to consume me. I had spent enough of my life carrying responsibilities that weren't mine. I wasn't going to let my father's choices become another chain around my neck. I folded the letter carefully and placed it inside my coat. Then I turned toward the fortress. I had one more thing to do. Find the witch. Not to demand answers. Not to fight her. To ask one question. I entered the forest alone. The path was almost impossible to see beneath the trees, but somehow my feet remembered where she'd taken me. After several min

Catherine's POVI took a deep breath and got ready.I walked toward the sitting room slowly.The sound of water running followed me from the servants' corridor.Maria was still working.I could hear the occasional clink of dishes and the soft movement of someone trying not to make noise.For some reason, that sound irritated me.She was always so quiet.Always trying to disappear.And yet somehow...she was becoming impossible to ignore.When I entered the sitting room, Mother was already waiting.Father sat across from her, one hand resting against the arm of his chair.Mother looked up."There you are."I closed the door behind me."You wanted to see me?""Yes."Her eyes moved over me."Sit."I took the chair beside her.Father remained silent for a moment.Then he spoke."Damien has returned.""I know.""And he came here looking for Maria."I clenched my jaw."Yes."Mother exchanged a glance with Father."What did you tell him?""That she wasn't here."Father nodded approvingly."G

Maria's POVThe garden was quieter than usual after class.Most of the students had already gone home, leaving only the distant sounds of footsteps and the occasional voice drifting from the academy buildings.I found Damien sitting on the lowest wooden bench beneath the old tree.When he noticed me, he straightened."You're here."I nodded."You told me to come."A small smile crossed his face."I did."I approached slowly.He moved slightly to one side, leaving plenty of room.I sat down at the opposite end of the bench.There was a wide gap between us.I stared at my sneakers.My hands were wrapped tightly around my notebook.For several seconds, neither of us spoke.Then Damien said quietly,"You look terrified."I immediately looked up."I'm not."He raised an eyebrow.I sighed."Okay. Maybe a little.""A little?"I looked away."Fine. A lot."He laughed softly."That's better."I frowned."What?""Honesty."He rested his arms against the back of the bench."If we're going to wor