All Chapters of The Ruthless Alpha Who Bought Me Is My Mate : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

~~Imogene’s POV~~My nightmares had become worse, so I stopped trying to sleep through the nights. Instead, I always took a walk through the house. The first time I went out after midnight, the halls were quiet. The floors were still warm from earlier in the day, and the house was alive in a calmer way now. I walked without my shoes, my steps careful, memorizing the way corridors curved and opened, the direction of stairs and exits. I decided I would go to the library and learn as much as I could about Fenrir’s pack.The library was easy to find once I remembered what wing it was. Fenrir’s estate was very practical in design. Each space was laid out with purpose, but the library had been given room to be fully created. The shelves rose from floor to ceiling in long rows, you would need ladders to reach some of the books. The top part of the shelves seemed to disappear the more you looked because light could barely reach that area. It made it look like the room extended beyond what t

~~Imogene’s POV~~Over the last week, I had spent the majority of my time in the library. Knowing that nobody would stop me I felt free. In fact, Fenrir and Kiara had arranged it so that my meals would be brought to me in the library.Today was no different. The only time I left was when I needed to relieve myself. Kiara found me on my way back to the library just as the house began to get quieter as the evening came.“You’ve been inside all day,” she said, walking beside me without asking. “Come with me. The garden is calmer at this hour.”I hesitated a bit. I wanted to read more, but my legs did ache from sitting too long, maybe changing locations wouldn't be too bad.“Alright,” I said.The garden was just behind my main house, divided by low stone walls that caught the last warmth of the sun. Lanterns hung from iron pillars, unlit for now, their glass fogged with evening air. Gravel crunched softly underneath our feet as we walked along the beautiful pathway filled with so many di

~~Imogene’s POV~~The knock on my door came just after the light outside my window began to get softer as evening came. I stood up from the chair by the desk where I had been copying notes from one of the old books Fenrir kept in his library and crossed the room. When I opened the door, a young maid stood there, her posture a little stiff.“Lady Imogene,” she said, bending a little with a respectful bow. “Alpha Fenrir asked me to let you know that the pack will be gathering for the evening meal shortly. He said you are welcome to join, if you wish.”“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll come.”She looked relieved as she bowed again and left. I closed the door slowly and leaned my forehead against the door for a moment. A meal together. Not the smaller dining room. Not a private table. Not just Fenrir and me.I changed for dinner. All of the clothes Fenrir had provided were new, chosen with an attention that made me uneasy if I thought about it too long. I reached for the emerald dress that hung

~~Imogene’s POV~~In my room, another day, sunlight came in through the narrow gap between the curtains, thin and dull, but I did not stand up. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling as if it might explain why my body felt so unwilling to move.I did not go to the library.For weeks, the library had been the one place I could disappear without being alone, where silence had shape and purpose. Today, I could not imagine walking that far, lifting a book, and pretending to read words that would not stay in my head. Even the thought of ink and books made my stomach roll.A voice came from the other side of the door.“Lady Imogene,” a maid called softly. “Your breakfast.”I did not answer.There was a pause, and then the sound of footsteps leaving. I knew what that meant. The tray would be set on the table just outside my door. It would stay there until someone returned hours later to collect it and replace it with another.The lock on my door remained locked, I had locked it myself afte

~~Imogene’s POV~~Voices reached me before my consciousness did.“She should have been brought in sooner,” Maera whisper-yelled. “She went days without proper food or hydration, Fenrir. Days.”“I gave explicit instructions,” Fenrir replied. His tone was tight. “She was not to be pressured.”“There is a difference between pressure and intervention.”Silence followed, thick enough that I could feel it even through the fog in my head. “She locked the door,” Fenrir said finally. “She made it clear that she wanted to be alone.”“And her body paid the price. You are Alpha, Fenrir! You haven’t been known to wait. And now you do it when someone under your care health is failing.”He sighed. “I will not apologize for respecting her decision, but… at the same time I cannot pretend that this did not go too far.”That did it. I forced my eyes open. The ceiling of the hospital wing swayed briefly before settling into focus. Maera stood near the foot of the bed, arms folded. Fenrir was standing rig