บททั้งหมดของ The Moon Witch Who Chose the Cursed Alpha: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

**Chapter Twenty-One**Three months into their marriage, Ronan learned that peace, however hard-won, rarely lasted long in Blackthorn territory.The morning had started ordinarily enough — the kind of ordinary he'd only recently allowed himself to trust. He'd woken before dawn out of old habit, though there was no longer a curse forcing him upright with the pull of an oncoming moon, no tremor in his hands, no wolf clawing at the inside of his ribs demanding release. He'd simply woken because the light through the manor windows had turned that particular pale gold that meant spring was fully settling into summer, and because Lyra was still asleep beside him, one hand curled loosely against his chest, and he'd wanted a few quiet minutes to simply watch her breathe before the day demanded anything of either of them.It was a luxury he hadn't let himself imagine, back when three moons had stood between him and losing himself entirely. He still caught himself, some mornings, marveling at t

**Chapter Twenty-Three**The formal petition arrived four days later, exactly as Draven had promised, delivered not by a lone rider this time but by a small formal delegation — three Ashgrove pack officials in ceremonial dress, escorted to the Blackthorn council chamber with all the careful courtesy of a diplomatic visit rather than a threat.Ronan had spent the four days in between preparing as thoroughly as the short notice allowed. Corwin had spent two full days combing through the manor's oldest records, searching for any copy of the original pack accords Draven had referenced, finally unearthing a brittle, half-legible document in the deepest archive that confirmed at least the broad shape of what Draven claimed — a two-century-old treaty between Blackthorn and Ashgrove's founding Alphas, governing succession disputes and, buried in a clause near the document's end, a provision for "formal reparation in the event any binding action from the succession dispute is resolved, altered

**Chapter Twenty-Five**They found it on the evening of the third day, buried in a water-damaged ledger so old its binding had nearly disintegrated entirely, kept safe only by the dry, sealed air of the deepest archive chamber."Ronan." Lyra's voice carried an urgency that had him crossing the room before she'd even finished saying his name, Corwin close behind. "Look at this."The entry was brief, written in a cramped, hurried hand that suggested whoever had recorded it had done so quickly, perhaps fearfully. Lyra translated it aloud, her voice tightening with each line."*Witch Maren of the Twin Rivers coven, formally censured this date for casting a binding curse in service of Ashgrove's succession claim, in direct violation of the coven's neutrality statute regarding pack political disputes. Censure includes formal coven acknowledgment that the curse in question was cast without sanction, and is hereby declared void under coven law, regardless of its continued effect on the physic

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**The night before Alpha Ysolde's ruling passed slowly, neither Ronan nor Lyra finding much rest in the modest tent Blackthorn's party had been assigned at the edge of the tribunal grounds."You should sleep," Ronan murmured, though he made no move to close his own eyes, lying beside her in the narrow cot with her head resting against his chest, both of them listening to the quiet sounds of the camp settling for the night around them."I keep going over the argument. Wondering what I missed." Lyra's fingers traced an absent pattern against his shirt, old anxious habit resurfacing despite months of hard-won calm. "Ysolde's expression gave nothing away all afternoon. I couldn't tell if she found the record as decisive as I believe it to be.""Ysolde's reputation is for fairness, not transparency. Reading nothing in her expression is precisely why both sides agreed to her in the first place." Ronan pressed a kiss to the top of her head, old comfort that had become

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**The news of Lyra's pregnancy spread through Blackthorn territory within days, carried by the particular swiftness pack gossip always seemed to manage regardless of anyone's intent toward discretion. Ronan found himself fielding congratulations from pack members he barely knew by name, each one offering some variation of the same warm, relieved joy — their Alpha's line secured, the terrible years of the curse finally, fully behind them.Corwin took the news with characteristic bluntness, cornering Ronan in the manor's training yard the morning after the announcement formally reached the council."An heir," Corwin said, grinning in a way that made him look considerably younger than his usual careful composure allowed. "After everything, Ronan. An actual heir.""Don't get ahead of things. Lyra's barely a few weeks along." Ronan couldn't quite keep the answering smile from his own face despite the caution in his words. "Plenty of time yet before we're speaking of h