All Chapters of The Alpha's Forbidden Auction Mate : Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Mira's POVThe journals eventually reached a point where I needed to stop, not because I had exhausted the collection, but because my mind had grown too crowded with accumulated fragments to properly absorb anything further without some kind of pause. Rowan noticed before I fully admitted it to myself, appearing one evening with a tray and a suggestion that carried none of his usual careful restraint."Come outside," he said. "Just for tonight. The journals will still be here tomorrow."I agreed, mostly because some part of me recognized the wisdom in the suggestion even as another part resisted leaving the work unfinished.We walked out to the same garden bench where we had once sat beneath the stars, months earlier now, back when everything between us still carried the particular uncertain charge of feelings neither of us had properly voiced yet. The night air felt considerably cooler than I remembered from that first evening, autumn settling steadily over Blackwood's grounds, thoug

Mira's POVThe messenger arrived breathless, having apparently run most of the distance from the outlying village of Thornhollow, and the urgency in his voice pulled both Elias and Rowan from their morning meeting before he had even finished delivering his message properly."Sickness," he managed, still catching his breath. "It's spreading fast. Humans and wolves both, though it seems to affect each differently. We've lost three already, and Healer Wren says she's never seen anything like it."Rowan's expression sharpened immediately, the particular focused alertness I recognized from every genuine crisis we had faced together."How many are affected in total?" he asked."At least thirty, last count. Growing by the hour."I found myself, standing nearby, already thinking through what supplies the infirmary might need to properly assist, the instinct considerably more automatic now than it would have been months earlier, before weeks spent working alongside Maren had properly grounded

Mira's POVI lost track of how many hands I held that night, how many fevers I felt cool beneath my palms, how many parents wept with relief as their children's breathing steadied under my touch.The work consumed me completely, the way it always did once I began, each patient pulling my attention entirely away from anything beyond the immediate task of easing their suffering. I moved from cot to cot, Maren directing me toward whoever needed help most urgently, and somewhere around midnight I noticed, distantly, that my hands had begun trembling slightly between patients.I ignored it. There were still too many people waiting.By the time I reached the far end of the hall, exhaustion had settled deep into my bones in a way I had never properly experienced before, not even during the accelerated bond's most demanding early weeks. Every healing drew something out of me now, a cost I had not fully appreciated until tonight, when the sheer volume of affected villagers had pushed my abilit

Mira's POVSomething felt different the moment our carriage crossed back into Blackwood territory.I noticed it first in the way people paused along the road, watching our approach with an attention that carried considerably more weight than simple curiosity about our return. A farmer near the boundary marker straightened as we passed, offering a bow so formal it startled me. Two children playing near the roadside stopped their game entirely, staring with wide, reverent eyes."Rowan," I said quietly. "Why is everyone looking at us like that?"He glanced out the window, something careful settling into his expression that immediately made me suspicious."I don't know what you mean.""You absolutely know what I mean."He did not answer immediately, and the silence stretched long enough that my suspicion sharpened considerably by the time we finally reached the pack house's main courtyard.The scene waiting for us there confirmed exactly how justified that suspicion had been.A considerab

Mira's POVThe question stayed with me for days after I first voiced it, growing heavier each time someone new looked at me differently, each time a warrior offered unfamiliar deference or a household servant hesitated before addressing me directly, uncertain now whether formal titles applied.I found Rowan in his study one evening, the accumulated weight of the past week finally pressing hard enough that I needed to voice it properly rather than continuing to carry it silently."I hate this," I said, closing the door behind me.He looked up immediately, setting aside whatever report had been occupying his attention."The attention," he said, not a question."All of it. The bowing. The careful distance some people keep now, like they're not certain how to properly address me anymore. They whisper whenever I walk through the training grounds." I sat down heavily across from him. "I healed a village because they needed help. I didn't sign up to become some symbol everyone's suddenly dec