All Chapters of Mated To My Alpha Prince Stepbrother: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The moon had risen higher by the time Skylar found her. Amanda stood at the far end of the balcony, her figure carved in silver light, her arms folded around herself as if to hold something in. The air was cool and restless, wind brushing through her hair, carrying the faint hum of voices from below where the conference was finally dispersing for the night. For a long moment, he simply stood in the doorway, watching her. She looked distant, unreachable, simply a fragment of light and shadow against the night. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, cautious. "You shouldn’t be out here alone." Amanda didn’t turn. "You shouldn’t be here at all", she replied. Skylar swallowed, stepping closer. The marble floor creaked beneath his boots. "I heard about what Cedric did in there. He was pushing my father again", he said quietly. She said nothing. The silence stretched between them, full of all the things neither of them knew how to say. "I’m sorry", he said at last. The words came

Morning descended on Moonridge with the muted gray of exhaustion. The grand hall, which for the past week had been filled with arguments, boasts, and political posturing, now hummed with the brittle calm that comes before a storm finally breaks. The final session of the Alpha Conference had begun. The air was thick with formality and tension. Every Alpha sat in their designated place around the long crescent table, the carved emblem of the Moonridge wolf glinting in silver at its center. But the grandeur did nothing to hide the strain in their eyes, the quiet friction still simmering beneath forced civility. Alpha Cedric Moonslayer lounged in his chair like someone who’d already won a battle no one else had realized was being fought. His smirk was small, polite, but edged like a blade. The faintest shadow of amusement touched his sharp features as he studied Samuel Blackwood from across the room. Samuel sat at the head of the table, flanked by his Beta, Marco, and Skylar, who remaine

"Has anyone seen my necklace?", Tessa asked suddenly. The room paused. Celeste who had been chatting quietly with one of the housemaids at the far end of the table stopped. Samuel looked up from the stack of papers he had been reading. Skylar hadn’t come down yet, and Cassian looked over from where he was leaning lazily against the wall near the window. Amanda looked up instinctively, catching the false panic in her tone before anyone else did. Celeste frowned gently. "What necklace, dear?" Tessa pressed her hand to her throat as though realizing it was bare. "The diamond one you saw on me last week, Mrs. Blackwood, the heirloom piece. You said it was remarkable and even said how much you wished you could have it. But I told you it was passed down from my grandmother." Celeste blinked, confused. "I said that?" Tessa’s cheeks flushed delicately. "Well– yes, you did at the charity dinner. You said it would look perfect with one of your gowns." Celeste hesitated. That didn’t sound

Tessa had a talent for appearances. By the time the sun sank behind the pines, the Moonridge estate had been transformed into a vision of charm and civility. Candles burned in tall glass vases along the dining table, their light glimmering off polished silverware and crystal goblets. The air smelled of roasted herbs and honeyed wine. Soft music drifted from a corner where a young pack member played the violin, his bow trembling slightly under the heavy tension cloaked in beauty. Tessa had organized a "small dinner" she had called it. And now she stood at the center of it all, radiant in pale gold silk, her smile glowing as though nothing dark had ever passed between her and anyone in the room. "Thank you all for coming", she said brightly, her voice carrying across the table. “After such a long and… intense conference, I thought it would be nice for us all to share a peaceful meal. No politics, no tension. Just family and friends." Family and friends, the words sounded bitter in Ama

Skylar was gone, handling training drills for the younger pack members somewhere in the woods. Celeste was in town for a gathering with some of the women of the pack. Amanda stayed behind, tucked away in the library, the one place in the mansion that still felt safe. Samuel was in his study. The council had gathered, six of them, all older wolves, men and women whose loyalty to Moonridge stretched back decades. The meeting had been called quietly, with no announcement. Marco, Samuel’s right hand, stood by the fireplace, arms folded. Councilor Darius, the eldest, gray-haired and sharp-eyed, sat opposite Samuel, his voice steady but probing. "With respect, Alpha many of us are still… unsettled by your decision regarding Alpha Rufus’s daughter", Darius said. Samuel didn’t look up from the papers he was signing. "Unsettled?" "Alpha, we had an alliance", Darius continued carefully. "A strong one. Rufus’s army was our assurance should rogue attacks increase. Now, that bridge—" "—isn’t b