Todos os capítulos de CLAIMED BY THE CURSED ALPHA : Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

The silk of my gown felt like a second skin, a shimmering emerald fabric that cost the pack’s treasury a small fortune. I stood on the dais of the Great Hall, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Today wasn't just the pack’s anniversary; it was the day Caleb, our future Alpha, would finally claim me. We weren’t fated mates—the Moon Goddess hadn't granted us that spark—but we had been "chosen" since childhood."You look like a Queen, Elara," my handmaid, Sarah, whispered, adjusting my train."I just want to look like his," I replied, smoothing the fabric.The heavy oak doors of the hall swung open. The chatter died instantly. I braced myself for the familiar scent of cedar and rain—Caleb’s scent. But as he stepped into the light, a sickeningly sweet odor of rotten lilies and cheap perfume flooded my senses.Caleb wasn't alone. He was carrying a petite, blonde she-wolf in his arms, her head tucked into the crook of his neck."Caleb?" I stepped forward, my voice trem

The kitchen was a humid hellscape of boiling vats and clattering iron. I hadn't slept. My throat still burned from Caleb’s grip in the hallway, the bruises beginning to bloom like dark violets against my skin. I was scrubbing a scorched pot when the double doors swung open with a violent bang.It wasn't a servant. It was her.She didn't look like the trembling, "frightened" girl from the coronation. She wore a gown of crimson silk, her blonde hair pinned back with diamonds that caught the flickering torchlight. Behind her, two high-ranking warriors stood like statues."The help is lagging," she said, her voice no longer high-pitched and sweet. It was a whip—sharp and cold. "Where is my tea?"I didn't look up from the pot. "The tea service is at six. It’s barely five. Check your watch, if you know how to read one."One of the warriors stepped forward, his hand on his sword. "You will address the Luna with respect, servant.""Respect is earned," I snapped, finally standing up. I w

The kitchen air felt heavy, thick with the scent of lye and the lingering trace of Caleb’s cedar-scented warning. I stood there, my fingers still tingling from the silver vial he’d dropped, when the heavy oak doors creaked.Seraphina drifted in, her nightgown trailing like a shroud. She wasn’t wearing the diamonds now, but the predatory gleam in her eyes was brighter than any gemstone. She held a crystal goblet filled with a shimmering, amber liquid."Still scrubbing, Elara?" she cooed, her voice dripping with a sweetness that made my skin crawl. "You really are a tireless little worker. It’s almost a shame to see such dedication wasted on a floor."I tightened my grip on the scrub brush, my knuckles white. "What do you want, Seraphina? It’s three in the morning. Shouldn't you be tucked into the Alpha’s bed?"She didn't flinch. She simply walked closer, the amber liquid swirling in the glass. "I couldn't sleep. The 'misunderstanding' earlier... it sat poorly with me. I’m not a cru

The cold stone of the dungeon floor bit into my knees, but the burning in my throat from the silver collar was worse. The violet light from Seraphina’s ritual dagger was still etched into my retinas. A three-year experiment. That’s all I was.The heavy iron door groaned on its hinges. I didn't look up. I expected Marcus or one of Seraphina’s lackeys to come for another round of "harvesting.""Eat," a deep, gravelly voice commanded.I looked up. It wasn't Marcus. It was Silas.He was the pack’s lethal Enforcer—the man even the elders feared. He didn't have the sneer of the other warriors. He stood like a shadow given form, his eyes two chips of frozen obsidian. He held a wooden bowl of broth, but he didn't throw it at me. He set it down gently."I’m not hungry for your master’s leftovers, Silas," I spat, though my voice was a broken rasp."It’s not his," Silas said, leaning against the damp wall. "And he’s not my master.""Could have fooled me," I said, leaning back against the

The darkness in the Great Hall was absolute, a thick, suffocating velvet punctured only by the sounds of wet tearing and the panicked bellows of the "mighty" Alphas who had been bidding on my life seconds ago. I stood on the stage, the silver collar around my neck vibrating so hard it felt like it would shatter my collarbones."Light the torches! Someone light the damn torches!" Alpha Thorne’s voice screamed from the pit, stripped of all its previous arrogance.A spark caught, then a flame. The flickering orange light revealed a scene from a nightmare.Caleb wasn't the man who had loved me for three years. He wasn't even the cold Alpha who had collared me. He was a mass of shadow and muscle, standing over the crumpled, bleeding form of Alpha Roderick. His eyes remained pitch black—voids that swallowed the firelight."Caleb?" I whispered, my voice trembling.He didn't look at me. He turned his head toward Alpha Thorne, his upper lip pulling back to reveal teeth that had grown into