All Chapters of The Maid the Alphas Couldn't Forget: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The forest swallowed us whole.The trees closed in behind us, blocking out the village, blocking out the last traces of warmth. The air turned cold and damp, heavy with the smell of wet earth and rotting leaves, the kind of cold that seeped into your bones and stayed there. The path narrowed, twisting between ancient oaks whose branches reached across the trail like grasping fingers, their bark rough and slick with moss.I walked at the front. The crown burned on my brow, casting a faint silver glow that pushed back the shadows just enough to see the ground ahead. Kael was a step behind me, his blade drawn, his obsidian eyes scanning the treeline. He moved like a shadow, his footsteps nearly silent, his breath slow and controlled.Ronan brought up the rear, his massive frame blocking the path, his grey eyes fixed on our backs. He didn't look at the trees. He looked at the ground, the tracks, the disturbed leaves. He was watching for signs that we were being followed.Zephyr moved thro

We didn't run.The old wolf's words hung in the air long after he was gone, curling around my thoughts like smoke. Run, Queen of Ashes. Run fast. They echoed in my skull, settling into the spaces between my breaths. I didn't know who he was. I didn't know what he wanted. But I knew he wasn't the last shadow. He was just the one who had been chosen to show himself.We walked back through the valley. The bodies of the archers lay where they had fallen, dark shapes on the pale stone, their limbs twisted at odd angles. The arrows were scattered across the ground, their shafts broken, their tips embedded in rock and earth. The air was still heavy, still carrying that metallic tang, like old copper left to rust in the rain.No one spoke.Kael stayed close, his shoulder brushing mine with every step. He didn't look at me, but I could feel his presence—steady, grounding. Ronan walked ahead, his grey eyes fixed on the path, his massive frame blocking

The days after the old wolf's appearance settled into a strange, heavy quiet.The village continued its rhythm. The farmers worked the fields, their backs bent, their hands moving through the soil. The northern wolves drilled in the yard, their movements sharp and precise. The children played near the well, their laughter bright and sharp against the stillness of the afternoon. But there was something different in the air now. Something that hadn't been there before.A tension that vibrated just beneath the surface, like the hum of a blade being drawn. It wasn't loud. It wasn't obvious. But it was there, pressing against the edges of every conversation, every glance, every silence.I spent the mornings walking the perimeter. The crown stayed on the table most days. I needed to feel the wind on my face without the weight of the silver pressing into my skull. I needed to remember that I was still Mira, not just the Queen. I needed to ground myself in th

The fortress didn't wait for us to attack.It struck first. The moment my dagger cleared the sheath, the gates swung open. Not a trickle, not a skirmish line—a flood. Wolves poured out like water breaking through a dam, their blades gleaming in the pale morning light, their faces hidden behind iron masks. They hit our front line before we could even form a shield wall.The column shattered.I heard the screams before I saw the blood. Wolves I had marched with, eaten with, trained with—they were falling. The ground turned dark, soaked with red. The air filled with the clash of steel and the wet thud of bodies hitting the earth. The smell of iron and sweat and something else—something coppery, fresh.Kael grabbed my arm, yanking me sideways as a blade whistled past my head. "Mira! Move!"I moved. The crown burned hot on my brow, silver light spilling from my chest. The dagger found a throat—a quick, clean cut. The wolf folded without a

The night dragged.I sat by the fire, watching the flames consume the logs. The wood popped and crackled, sending sparks spiraling into the dark sky. The fortress loomed ahead, dark and silent, its walls reflecting the faint glow of our camp. The old wolf's words hung in the air, curling around my thoughts like smoke. I will consider your offer. But consider didn't mean accept. And accept didn't mean trust. It meant he was thinking, weighing, measuring the distance between what he had built and what I was offering.The hours passed.Kael was asleep beside me, his arm wrapped in a sling, his breathing slow and steady. His face had softened in sleep, the tension of the day finally easing. He had stopped arguing. Stopped trying to convince me to kill the old wolf. He had just watched, waited, trusted.I didn't sleep.The moon climbed, then fell, its light shifting across the camp. The stars wheeled overhead, cold and indifferent, scatte