Lahat ng Kabanata ng Too Curvy To Be Luna, Too Strong To Break : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

ARIAI had already decided I wasn't going to watch.Whatever farewell ceremony Blackwood planned before leaving Hawthorne had absolutely nothing to do with me. Xavier had made his decision years ago, and as far as I was concerned, he had reminded me of it yesterday without saying a single word.There was someone he needed to take back to Blackwood.I had been foolish enough to let my heart skip over a few possibilities before my brain dragged it back to reality. Liora was his chosen Luna. She always had been. The only difference now was that the mating ceremony had been interrupted by a spectacular disaster instead of ending with everyone smiling for a family portrait.Honestly, our pack specialized in disasters. If embarrassment were a competitive sport, Hawthorne would win every year.Vin stirred quietly inside me. "You don't believe that."I buttoned the sleeve of my dress with more force than necessary. "Believe what?""That he meant Liora."I snorted. "Vin, the man spent five yea

XAVIERThe journey back to Blackwood was quieter than I remembered.Years ago, returning home after a successful treaty or a victorious hunt usually filled the convoy with conversation. Warriors would exchange stories, horses would grow restless beneath the weight of excitement, and Ronan would pretend he wasn't listening while secretly correcting everyone's exaggerated versions of events.Today, none of that happened.The only sounds were the steady rhythm of hooves against the road and the wind weaving through the towering pines that marked the northern border. Even the birds seemed to understand that this wasn't a journey worth singing about.I rode at the front of the convoy.Not because I wanted to lead, but because I needed to keep moving. If I allowed myself too much time to think, I'd remember the look on Aria's face when I carried her away from Hawthorne.She hadn't looked relieved or happy, but dhe had looked... resigned.Sky shifted uneasily beneath my skin. "You carried he

ARIAI stood in the middle of the room for another minute, wondering whether pacing would count as exercise or just another symptom of slowly losing my mind."I vote pacing," I muttered.Nobody answered.I looked inward, expecting Vin to make one of her dramatic comments about how I was wearing a hole into the expensive floor.She was actually asleep. I frowned. "Vin?"Silence.That wasn't normal.She slept a lot, yes, but never this deeply. Usually, the moment I called her name, she would wake up just to complain that I had interrupted her beauty sleep.I sighed quietly. "Traitor."Apparently, she had abandoned me to deal with Blackwood on my own.Wonderful.I wandered toward one of the bookshelves, running my fingers across rows of neatly arranged books. Every single one looked untouched, as though they had been placed there because wealthy people believed every room should

XAVIERThe chamber dissolved into noise.I only tapped lightly on my desk as I watched their arguments until it became impossible to separate accusation from outrage. Some elders rose to their feet, others pounded their fists against the long oak table, while the nobles argued among themselves as though my mate's future had become nothing more than another matter to be settled through politics. They spoke about alliances, trade routes, military strength and public opinion, yet not a single person in that room spoke about Aria herself. She had become a bargaining chip in their mouths, reduced to numbers and negotiations, and I realized with a dull ache that I had once been guilty of the very same thing.Sky paced restlessly inside me. "Listen to them, he growled. They still speak about her as though she isn't a person. Five years have passed, and they have learned nothing."Neither had I, until it was almost too late.Elder Marek

XAVIERHer fingers had barely reached the edge of my cloak when I caught the fabric and held it between us, stopping her before she could pull it away. “Leave it,” I said quietly, watching the confusion settle across her face as her brows drew together.“I don't need it,” she argued, looking from the cloak to me.“I know you don't need it, but you're cold, and I'm not going to stand here and watch you pretend otherwise.”She was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, and the fabric gathered softly around her waist and hips, following the curves she had spent years trying to make smaller because people had convinced her they were something shameful. I looked at her now and couldn't understand how I had ever allowed their voices to become louder than my own eyes.The fullness of her arms, the gentle curve of her waist, the softness around her hips and thighs were not imperfections I needed to overlook. They were simply par