All Chapters of Claimed and Sold at the Lycan King's Ball: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

CHAPTER 51AVA'S POVThe bronze handle felt like a block of heavy winter ice beneath my fingers.I stood still in the dim, silent corridor, my breathing uneven as the mahogany door loomed before me. My hand trembled, hovering just an inch from the cold metal, completely unable to force the handle down. The scent of Southern jasmine, and the heavy ache of betrayal pinned my boots firmly to the floorboards. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.A soft, warm pressure settled against my shoulder. I didn't have to look up to know it was Maya. She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, her voice dropping into a quiet, understanding murmur.“You don't have to forgive him today, Luna,” she whispered. “You just have to walk through the door.”Her words gave me the sudden courage I needed. I swallowed the lump in my throat, pressed my palm firmly against the handle, and pushed the door open.The thick scent of medicinal herbs, stale linen, and fading life rushed out to greet me, making my stomach dr

CHAPTER 53AVA'S POV The steady movement of the carriage wheels against the frozen dirt road was the only sound breaking the stillness inside the cabin. For hours, the landscape had been blurring outside my frost-rimed window. The comforting greens of the South were officially gone, completely swallowed by the Northern territories. The biting cold was creeping back. But the real ice was settled deep inside my chest. Ash had curled into a fur ball the moment we left the Southern borders. Maya sat opposite me, her gaze heavy with an anxious, protective warmth. She had tried to offer me tea twice, but I hadn't moved. I hadn't spoken. I just stared out into the valley, watching the frost feather across the thick glass. Beside her sat Selene. My stepsister or whatever we were supposed to be now. She clutched her hands tightly in her lap, keeping her head lowered. Her presence created a thick, prickling tension that made the air feel thin. Every breath in that carriage felt like drawing in

CHAPTER 55AVA'S POVThe human mind forgets, but the blood remembers. That night, after that message from Madame Lira and the comfort of Draken’s embrace, sleep did not bring peace. It brought a darkness that pulled me under like a tide.I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t Ava anymore. I wasn't the stubborn southern wolf I used to be. The dream came, It did not flow like a story. It struck my consciousness in terrifying fragments. First came the snow, an endless, blinding white desert falling from a choked sky. Then came the crimson, a spray of fresh blood staining the snow like spilled ink. Somewhere far away, echoing off the mountains, wolves were howling. Not a mourning howl. A hunting howl. A sound of slaughter.A woman's ragged breathing filled my ears, vibrating right inside my own chest. She was running. Every step she took felt hard, her boots sinking deep into the frost. Clutched tightly against her chest was a crying infant wrapped in a thick white cloth. As the wind whipped the fabr

CHAPTER 57AVA’S POVThe palace awoke to a sharp, hum of excitement that seemed to crackle right through the frost. For the first time since the attack, the stone walls didn't feel like a fortress waiting for a siege; they felt like a home preparing for a miracle. Thousands of servants flooded the courtyards, hanging white banners stitched with silver thread, wrapping garlands around the stone pillars, and lighting rows of silver lanterns. Overhead, glowing moon crystals were suspended from the battlements, casting a brilliant, luminescence across the packed snow.Inside my chambers, Maya was bustling with energy as she combed through my hair. Instead of pulling out the stifling ceremonial Luna robes that usually weighed down my shoulders, she bypassed the wardrobe and laid out a breathtaking sky blue gown lined with soft white fur along the collar.“Tonight is about celebrating life. You deserve to live it.my lady,” Maya murmured, a soft, genuine smile gracing her lips as she pinned

CHAPTER 59KAEL’S POVI stood alone, the mountain wind biting into my skin, but my focus was locked entirely on the courtyard below.She was down there. Ava was walking alongside Maya, her head tilted back as a soft, musical laugh drifted up through the crisp morning. She looked lighter than she had in weeks, the grief of her trip to the South seemingly lifting from her shoulders.The sight twisted something ugly and wretched deep inside my chest.My fingers tightened around the heavy stone railing of the balcony. Images from the night before flashed across my mind—the opened curtains, the soft glow of the royal runes, the discarded outfits, and the power of the kiss they had shared. I had watched her smile at Draken with vulnerability. It was a look she had never given to me, no matter how gentle or understanding I had been.She was never supposed to look at him like that... I thought, my jaw locking.With a snap, the stone beneath my palms cracked under the sudden surge of my Lycan