All Chapters of A Marriage Bound by Curse: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The Iron Citadel did not believe in quiet.Even in its calmer hours, there was always movement somewhere within its walls. Steel striking steel in the lower yards. Boots crossing stone corridors with no care for how sound carried. Voices raised not in alarm, but because no one bothered to soften them. Where Valmere seemed built to hold itself together through order and restraint, the Iron Citadel was built to endure force.Fenrir had always preferred it that way.The morning air in the training yard still held the bite of early cold, though it had already begun to burn off under the rising sun. Sweat clung to his skin beneath the collar of his shirt, and the back of his neck was damp where dark hair had begun to stick. He rolled one shoulder once, loosening it, then lifted his sword again just as the warrior across from him lunged.Fenrir sidestepped, turned, and drove the pommel of his weapon into the man’s ribs hard enough to take the breath from him without doing any real damage. Th

The road into Valmere gave way to a worn path that became more refined the further one traveled into it. The ground beneath the horses’ hooves smoothed, not polished, but maintained. The trees lined either side of the path, spaced evenly, branches arching overhead in a way that filtered the sunlight into a soft, shifting pattern rather than blocking in entirely. Warmth lingered in the air. The smell of greenery wafted through the air with a subtly floral aroma.The grass stretched evenly along the roadside, untouched by neglect but never overgrown. Low shrubs and quiet bursts of color lined the edges in careful intervals, but still felt as if they were placed that way naturally. Even the wind seemed to move differently, slipping through the trees without disrupting them.“This is nothing like the Citadel,” Elias said after a while, his gaze shifting between the land and the walls beginning to rise in the distance.“A lot of the human territories are nothing like the Citadel,” Rowan gav

The corridor did not feel the same once Aurelia left it. The corridor was silent. Fenrir remained where he stood for a moment longer than necessary, his gaze lingering toward the direction she had disappeared, as if there was something in that absence that he had not yet fully understood. It was not curiosity in the way Elias carried it, open and unfiltered, nor was it suspicion, though there was enough here to warrant it. It was something quieter, something that did not yet have a name, and because of that, it stayed with him longer than it should have.“She didn’t even hesitate to speak to an Alpha’s daughter like that,” Elias said after a moment, his voice cutting gently through the silence without disrupting it.Fenrir didn’t look at him. “No… She didn’t.”Elias pushed himself fully upright, no longer leaning against the wall, his attention still directed toward the space Aurelia had occupied. “Most people would have,” he continued. “Walking into a room like that, with all of us al

The tension that followed Aurelia’s words did not settle; it shifted, tightening just enough for Valeria to seize it.“That’s what this is, then?” she said, her gaze fixed on Aurelia before flicking briefly toward Fenrir. “You stand there, looking at him like that, and expect him to accept it without question?”No one answered immediately, but Valeria didn’t need them to.“Where we come from,” she continued, her voice sharpening as she leaned forward slightly, “that isn’t respect. You don’t hold an alpha’s gaze like that unless you’re challenging him.”The King’s voice entered the space before anyone else could respond, calm but immovable. “You are not in the Iron Citadel.”It wasn’t loud, yet it carried enough weight to still the edge of her words without raising the tension further. The reminder sat there, simple and undeniable.Aurelia followed without hesitation, her composure unchanged as she turned her attention fully to Valeria. “No, you are not,” she said evenly. “We are aware

Fenrir stumbled out into the corridor, one hand pressed tightly against his chest, his breathing still uneven and heavy. Valeria followed close behind him, her earlier confidence gone. The sound of doors opening echoed down the corridor as Rowan and Elias stepped out of their rooms at the same time, both immediately taking in Fenrir’s condition.They looked at each other for only a moment before Elias spoke first. “What was that?”Rowan’s attention shifted to Valeria, his expression sharpening. “What happened?”Valeria shook her head quickly, her frustration mixing with uncertainty. “I don’t know. One moment he was fine, and the next he was on the ground like that… and then someone screamed.”Rowan stepped forward without waiting for anything else, moving to Fenrir’s side, while Elias mirrored him on the other. “Can you walk?” Rowan asked quietly.Fenrir didn’t answer at first, his jaw set as he forced himself upright, though the tension in his body made it clear the pain hadn’t fully