All Chapters of The Alpha’s Scarred Healer: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The blow landed across my cheek with a crack that split through my skull.I hit the floor hard, and my body folded in on itself. My mouth wouldn’t give room for any screams. My hands wouldn’t lift to fight. I had learned to become his silent punching bag a long time ago. My cheek throbbed against the hardwood. Copper flooded my mouth, and yet I didn’t move. I could only focus on my breathing.As long as I continued breathing, I would be fine.Lucan stood over me for a second. Maybe two, I couldn’t tell what was what anymore.He didn’t offer me any words; he had stopped doing that a long time ago. He straightened the cuff of his shirt, exhaled once through his nose like I was an inconvenience finally handled, and turned away. The door clicked shut quietly behind him. My body still refused to move.The pain started slowly at first and then festered until I could feel it everywhere. I lifted a finger to my face. The heat from the contact made me hiss, and the familiar swelling made me

My fingers froze on the edge of the scarf. One heartbeat. Two. I lifted my gaze to his slowly, hoping that permanently scarring my skin was enough for me not to end up in my own pool of blood beside the last person. The guard didn’t even flinch.With surprisingly steady hands, I unwrapped the scarf.Cool air hit the ruined skin on my neck. The guard’s eyes dropped to it fast. He stared at the blistered mess, the uneven texture, and the angry red that still wept in places. His jaw tightened, and then his brows pulled together. I could read the pity in his eyes.He didn’t speak.Xena stepped beside me, her shoulders brushing mine. Her hands trembled once at her sides before she clenched them. Tears welled in her blue eyes, but she blinked hard, fighting them back. Her voice came out ragged.“My sister… she was attacked on the road here. We barely made it. The journey was long and cruel, but we chose Bloodfang because we heard this pack was strong, ordered, and safe.” She swallowed har

The square still felt unreal.One second, I had been standing on the edge of death, hand pressed to my stomach, Xena’s blue eyes locked on mine like she could will me back from the blade. The next, Alpha Dimitri’s voice had cut through everything.And now the guards had let me go.My arms felt strangely light without their grip. My knees wanted to buckle, but I locked them. I was still breathing and still standing. The crowd murmured around me, shifting, uncertain what to do with the woman who should have died but hadn’t.Then Xena was running.She pushed past the guards who had held her moments ago, shoving bodies out of her way without apology. She reached me in seconds and crashed into me, arms wrapping so tight I felt the air leave my lungs. Her heart hammered against mine. Her hands moved frantically — over my shoulders, my arms, my face — checking for damage like a warrior assessing a battlefield.“Are you hurt?” The words tumbled out fast, overlapping each other. “Did they touc

The connecting door stayed open.I lay in bed, staring at the dark gap between my room and his, and every muscle in my body went tight. I had tried to sleep, and I had failed.My mind kept circling back to the same images: his green eyes in the doorway, the calm way he had threatened to execute me, the feel of his fingers brushing my hair like it was the most natural thing in the world. My body refused to relax. Every small sound in the castle — a distant footstep, the low hum of the ventilation system running through the walls, the faint click of something electronic somewhere down the corridor — made my heart jump.I kept one hand on my stomach. The baby had been quiet all day. I didn't know if that was normal or if the exhaustion and fear were affecting it. I rubbed slow circles over the small swell, whispering silent prayers to the goddess. Keep my child safe. Just keep us both safe.Studying the room without meaning to, I noted the window, the main door, and the connecting door I

“The name. Do you have it?”The words echoed in my ears as I struggled to find an appropriate response.Alpha Dimitri stood framed in the connecting doorway, green eyes fixed on me. My heart slammed against my ribs, each beat loud enough that I was certain he could hear it. I had nothing, no name, no diagnosis, only the echo of his earlier threats still ringing in my ears.I swallowed hard, forcing my mind to move faster than my fear. “When did the sickness start?” I asked, my voice coming out steadier than I felt. “What does it feel like, exactly? And how have you been treating it until now?”I didn’t dare look away from my own fingers, twisting together in front of me. Although I was stalling, I still needed the answers. I couldn’t start any concrete research without knowing these things yet, right? My gift had shown me fragments on the floor of his chambers. I knew of the corruption in his blood and about his organs fighting a slow war, but without context, those fragments were