Alle Kapitel von The Alpha's Proxy Bride : Kapitel 121 – Kapitel 130

Scout’s POV"You are wet," Nixon said, his fingers digging into the flesh of my cheeks. His skin burned like hot coals against my freezing face. "We need to get you inside before the frost settles into your chest."The Omega servant girl assigned to track my every movement materialized from the shadows of the stone pillar. She did not raise her chin. She simply held out a thick woollen towel, her knuckles white, her gaze glued strictly to the dirt path.Nixon snatched the fabric from her grip and slammed it over my trembling shoulders. He did not wait for me to adjust. He began rubbing my upper arms with brutal, heavy strokes, trying to force the blood back to the surface of my skin. The heavy silk of my ruined gown clung tightly to my hips, dripping grey pool water down to my ankles. Every step felt like dragging an anchor through liquid mud."I am fine," I spat, my jaw locking so hard my back teeth clicked."You are shaking like a leaf, Scout." His thick brows knitted together as he

Ezekiel’s POV"Sit still, Uncle, or I will leave the glass inside your meat," the medic muttered, her breath smelling of stale mints and sour tea.She did not look at my face. They never did when they were terrified. Her small, blunt fingers dug a tweezer into the split skin of my right knuckle, twisting until metal scraped against bone. A bloody sliver of the crystal tumbler I had crushed an hour ago clinked into the stainless-steel tray. Clink. It was a beautiful, rhythmic sound."You are shaking, Omega," I said, keeping my pulse flat, my voice a dry stroke of velvet against the sterile air of the study."My apologies, Alpha." She dug deeper, her shoulder muscles tightening under her grey tunic.The heavy oak door did not just open. It rattled on its brass hinges as August rammed her weight against it. My daughter stumbled into the room, her face swollen, blotchy, and stained with the dark tracking of mascara. Her breath came in wet, jagged hiccups that smelled faintly of chlorine a

Scout’s POV"That isn’t necessary, Uncle," Nixon said, his voice dropping like an iron bar between them.The words cut through the suffocating heat of the ballroom. I kept my knuckles dug into my own thighs, forcing my fingers to stay flat against my skirts so Ezekiel would not see the tremor. My breath was trapped somewhere in the base of my throat, hot and sharp. Seconds before, Ezekiel had been standing there with that soft, grandfatherly curve to his lips, offering to stay behind at the pack estate while the rest of the bloodlines travelled to Lincoln’s wedding.He wanted to be here. He wanted the halls empty. He wanted Paisley alone, unprotected, sleeping in her bed while the guards were halved.My chest felt tight, the ribs pressing hard against my lungs. I could not speak. I could not scream the truth without Ezekiel spinning it into madness. A desperate, sweating panic clawed at the inside of my ribs.Nixon, look at me.I ripped down the mental wall I kept between us. I did no

Scout’s POV"You sound like a lunatic, Scout."Christopher did not raise his voice. He did not have to. The words cut through the freezing mountain air, sharp and clean, dropping between us like a heavy stone. His boots crunched against the frosted gravel of the training yard. He stayed exactly where he was, five inches from my face, his breath blooming in pale white clouds that hit my cheeks. He was waiting. His grey eyes were wide, unblinking, and entirely too still. It was the look he gave targets right before he ran them down."Most people do when they are the only ones telling the truth," I said. My jaw ached from how hard I was clenching my teeth. I forced my hands deep into my coat pockets, burying them so he would not see the frantic twitching in my fingers.Christopher tilted his head. A single black curl fell across his forehead. "There is a fine line between a truth no one knows and a delusion you cannot escape."I turned my head away from him, tracking the line of pack sen

Scout’s POV"What do you want, August, come to drown me in my own room?"August stood on the stone threshold. Her fingers clutched the fabric of her silk gown, knuckles white against the dark weave. She swallowed hard. The skin of her throat twitched with the movement."I came to apologize," she said.Her voice lacked its usual sharp edge. It sounded flat. Dead.I did not move from the centre of the floor. My boots stayed rooted to the wood planks, my weight shifted back on my heels. I watched her face. Her eyes remained fixed on my chin, refusing to meet my direct gaze. The silence stretched between us, heavy and thick with the smell of damp stone and her expensive rose perfume."I am sorry for hitting you," August continued.She took a short, shallow breath. Her chest rose and fell rapidly under her tight bodice."It was stupid. Vain. Wrong. I ignored your station. I used classist remarks, and I ignored the privilege I had to say all that bullshit."The words tumbled out in a rhythm