All Chapters of I Woke Up Engaged To An Alpha: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

SIGRUN By four o’clock in the afternoon, the triumphant high of mastering the giant moving-picture frame had surrendered entirely to an existential crisis of the stomach. I turned off the movie playing on the large black screen. "Silence, beast," I commanded my abdomen, pressing a hand against my forest-green shirt. It growled again, louder this time. My earlier feast of cold, leftover "pizza" from the glowing ice-box had been thoroughly incinerated by six straight hours of intense mental exertion and terror-induced adrenaline. Furthermore, a dark, horrifying realization had just dawned on me: if Eva was arriving at eight o’clock for "movie night," I was expected to provide hospitality. In this realm, judging by the empty wrappers strewn across the small wooden desk, hospitality consisted of processed salty crisps, sugary elixirs, and fried dough. I had none of it. "I have to get food," I whispered to the quiet room. The thought alone sent a shockwave of cold dread straight

SIGRUNWe were walking down the grand stone staircases, leaving behind the familiar, bustling main corridors of the fortress. We kept descending.Slowly, the carved wooden arches and burning brazier torches of Pillak Towers gave way to bare, roughly hewn granite walls. The temperature plummeted with every flight of stairs we took, the crisp mountain air outside replaced by a dense, suffocating chill that smelled of old rust, forgotten dust, and centuries of damp earth.Down here, deep beneath the bedrock of the fortress, the only light came from the flickering iron lantern Varul carried in his free hand.I wrapped my thick fur mantle tighter around my shoulders, my boots clicking against the slick, uneven steps."Varul? Where are we going?""Somewhere no one comes," he replied, his deep voice echoing off the narrow walls, low and grave. "Somewhere no one can hear."There was something off in his voice—in the sharp, clipped way he was speaking. I didn't feel fear for myself because I t

SIGRUNMy training with Varul had become a daily sanctuary—hours spent honing my magic until it obeyed my call as easily as my own breath.Between the quiet nights in his arms and the growing strength in my blood, I had almost allowed myself to believe that everything was alright.I was wrong.The enemy had simply been waiting for us to lower our guard.——-One night, I lay curled against Varul’s chest, my head resting over the rhythmic thud of his heartbeat, bathed in the soft, lingering warmth of his skin. It was my favorite place. Then I felt Varul’s arm sweep over me, shoving me behind him as he threw off the heavy fur blankets. His shoulders locked tight, his head tilting toward the dark archway of the heavy double doors."Varul?" I whispered in sleepy confusion as I pushed myself up onto my elbows. He raised one large hand, signaling me to be quiet. Then I heard it, a sound so faint, it was almost swallowed by the low howl of the mountain wind outside our window: A sharp, mu

SIGRUNI lay paralyzed on the stone, the heavy metal of the choker sinking its icy, unnatural fangs into my very soul. Every pulse of my heart felt like thick lead sludge crawling through my veins. Deep inside, where the burning spark of my magic usually lived—that electric, unyielding current—there was nothing but a void. A black, suffocating emptiness.Krev stood over me, looking down at my helpless form as if I were nothing more than a stray dog waiting to be put down.He stooped down, grabbed a handful of my hair, and hauled me off the stone.A sharp gasp tore from my throat as my scalp burned, my knees buckling uselessly. Krev yanked me upright, pulling my back flush against his chest, and in a single fluid motion, drew a dagger. The silver edge pressed firmly into the skin just above the cold metal band around my neck.It bit deep enough for me to feel the razor sharpness, hovering right over my pulsing carotid artery."Look at him," Krev commanded softly into my ear. "Look at

SIGRUN My lungs exploded. I jerked upright with a violent, agonizing heave, like a drowning body breaching the surface after minutes beneath the ice. Air—thick, warm, dusty air—slammed into my chest with the force of a physical blow. I gasped, choking on it, my throat burning as if I had swallowed glass. My hands flew instantly to my neck. I expected wetness. I expected blood. There was no blood. There was no collar. My fingers scrambled frantically over smooth, unbroken skin. My pulse hammered beneath my fingertips like a frightened bird, but the flesh was whole. I tore at my collarbone, breathing in ragged, hysterical hitches, my eyes wide and unseeing as my mind scrambled to process the lack of pain. Varul. The name ripped through my soul like a jagged blade. Where was Varul? Where was the dark blood pooling on the floor? Where was Krev? My body was trembling so violently I could barely sit up. I reached out through the darkness, searching frantically for the bo