Beranda / He Thought I Betrayed Him, but I Was Kneeling at His Gates / Bab 1 - Bab 10

Semua Bab He Thought I Betrayed Him, but I Was Kneeling at His Gates: Bab 1 - Bab 10

10 Bab

Chapter 1

In the grand banquet hall of the Gray Wolf Pack, Alpha Atticus Blackwood was hosting a lavish feast for his fellow pack members.When Gerald Mercer, the pack's steward, handed me the guest list, his clouded eyes carried a trace of pity."Alice, if you don't want this assignment tonight, I can have someone else cover for you."I looked down and smoothed my clothes, faded almost white from years of washing. The coarse fabric scraped my neck as I forced a faint smile."No need, thank you. These big banquets pay the best, and I need the money."I needed money, a lot of it, to buy medicine for my younger brother, Theo, who lay bedridden and gravely ill in our rundown shack.Gerald sighed, said nothing more, gave my shoulder a pat, and turned to leave.I picked up the wine pitcher and pushed open the door to the grandest private dining room in the hall.The clamor inside hit me all at once, and the man seated at the head of the table seized my attention at once.It was Atticus.I hadn't seen

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Chapter 2

I didn't leave.They had specifically requested me to serve the entire evening. If I left early, my wages for the whole month would be docked.My brother Theo's monthly supply of healing herbs cost a small fortune. I couldn't afford to lose that money, and I couldn't risk it.So I swallowed the humiliation, wiped the blood from my fingertips, and brought a fresh glass.After several rounds of drinks, the pack members at the feast had shed all pretense of composure.They traded flattery and banter, and the conversation inevitably circled back to the long-buried history between Atticus and me.Someone, emboldened by the wine, teased Atticus about how devoted he'd been back then, only to be cruelly betrayed by the girl he loved, making him the laughingstock of the entire pack.Everyone believed I was the cold, faithless one who had walked away from the engagement and abandoned the boy who'd given me his whole heart.Christine nestled against Atticus, basking in the envious glances, lookin

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Chapter 3

Atticus seized my wrist, his grip so tight it felt like he was trying to crush my bones.The trembling in his fingers was more suffocating than the fury radiating from his body.He wouldn't let me look away. His bloodshot eyes locked onto mine, his throat working, his voice scraped raw."Look at me, Alice. Answer me. Is what she said true?"Dead silence. The pack members who had been watching the spectacle held their breath, not daring to make a sound.Christine collapsed against the sofa, white as a sheet, and crawled toward Atticus, grabbing for his sleeve, tears streaming down her face."Alpha, I didn't mean it. I just loved you too much. I didn't want her dragging you down. Her pack was nothing but a burden on you...""Get away from me!"Atticus's voice cracked like a whip. The savagery in his eyes was enough to tear Christine apart.It was a viciousness he had never shown anyone before, and it shattered the mask of innocence she wore.His gaze returned to me. The ice and hatred we

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Chapter 4

Atticus knelt on the floor, tears streaking his face. The remorse twisting his features brought the faintest sting to my eyes.I closed my eyes slowly, and my mind was swept back seven years, to that blood-soaked night.The moon had been unusually full, its cold light spilling across the hillside.Atticus and I sat side by side on the grass. He was still that bright-eyed boy.He gripped my hand, his fingertips carrying the warmth that belonged only to youth, and looked at me with utter sincerity, his voice unwavering."Alice, when I'm stronger, when I become Alpha, I'll never let anyone hurt you again."He reached up and unclasped the wolf fang pendant from around his neck, his only personal belonging, left to him by his late mother.He draped it carefully over my neck and made the most solemn promise of his life."This is yours now. When I become Alpha, I'll swear a blood oath and make you my Luna."I touched the warm fang, my heart full of joy.The way he looked at me was brimming wi

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Chapter 5

The words left my mouth, and I tightened my fingers. The wolf fang pendant that had hung at my neck for seven years snapped apart.Atticus's gaze locked onto the fang as it tumbled to the floor. His whole body shook.He lurched forward, reaching to pick it up, but I shifted sideways and blocked his path.I looked down at the scuffed, worn fang on the ground. Not a trace of longing in my eyes."There's no point. The promise you made seven years ago became worthless the moment I knelt outside your gates and begged all night."He froze in place, his outstretched hand suspended in midair.Tears rolled from his bloodshot eyes, mixing with the still-fresh blood on his palms, dripping one by one onto the floor.Seven years of regret and self-blame surged up all at once. He bit down hard on his lower lip until the taste of iron filled his mouth, just enough to keep from falling apart completely.Christine, slumped on the floor nearby, scrambled over and grabbed at the hem of Atticus's clothes,

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Chapter 6

The second half of the banquet lost every trace of its earlier revelry. The guests shifted in their seats, unable to settle.They stole glances at me and Atticus, none of them daring to joke or bring up the past.Atticus dismissed the other attendants and stayed at my side, his eyes following my every move.The moment I so much as reached for something, he would step forward to help.Each time, I sidestepped without a word, deliberate and distant, giving him no room to close the gap."The pitcher's heavy. Let me take it."He reached for the handle, his fingertips barely grazing the back of my hand.I took a half-step back immediately."Alpha, this is my job. I can manage."I wiped the rim of a glass with my eyes lowered, without a trace of emotion."You hold too high a position to trouble yourself with this. If anyone saw, it would only be held against me."Atticus's throat tightened. His chest felt like it was filled with lead.He didn't care about his standing anymore, not even a lit

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Chapter 7

I didn't need to turn around to picture what Atticus looked like in that moment.The Alpha who commanded the entire Gray Wolf Pack now looked like a lone, abandoned wolf, humble and helpless."It's not safe at night. Let me walk you home."My pace didn't change. My voice was flat and lifeless."No need. I've walked this road for seven years. I could do it with my eyes closed."For seven years, I'd taken the late-night route to and from the Gray Wolf grounds to earn whatever I could.Once, every step along this path had been full of excitement at the thought of seeing him.Now it was nothing but the numb routine of getting by, day after day.Atticus stopped dead. A suffocating ache swept through him.He had lived inside Christine's web of lies for seven full years.Hating me for breaking the engagement. Resenting me for chasing power and throwing him away.And then reality slapped him across the face.He sat at the summit of power while I dragged my crippled brother through life at the

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Chapter 8

The next day, at first light, I chewed a few bites of coarse bread and set out for the Gray Wolf Pack to collect the rest of my pay from the banquet.Gerald was already waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. He pulled me aside, wearing a resigned expression, and told me what had come out of the overnight interrogation.Atticus had questioned Christine in the dungeons through the night. What he'd uncovered was devastating: the attack on my pack had been no random skirmish.Christine had gone to the Red Wolf Pack of her own accord and handed over the complete defense map. That was why my kin had been caught completely off guard and slaughtered.In three days, the pack would build a public ceremonial platform and carry out her punishment in front of everyone.Gerald started to say more, but rapid footsteps behind us cut him short.Atticus strode toward me. He had been up all night; his eyes were bloodshot, and his hands bore fresh wounds from the interrogation.He pulled a perfectly p

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Chapter 9

By the time the group got Atticus back to the cabin, Theo had heard the commotion and braced himself against the wall to stand.When he saw the blackened bloodstain spreading across Atticus's lower back, the color drained from his face and he shuffled aside, not knowing what to do.Atticus was trembling with pain, but he kept his head turned, his eyes fixed on me.If I moved even a few steps away, his fingers would instinctively close around the edge of my sleeve.I pulled up a small stool and sat beside the bed, wringing out a damp cloth over and over and using it to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.Before, I had shut out every gesture he made. The pain of my people's deaths had built a wall across my heart, making every attempt at amends feel hollow.But the image of him throwing himself in front of me in the forest kept playing behind my eyes.That blade had been inches from my heart. He had taken every bit of it, without hesitation.After treating the wound, the pack's chief

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Chapter 10

Atticus spent a full two weeks recovering.The virulent wolfsbane had damaged his wolf power at its source. Even the slightest exertion would tear the wound at his lower back open, fresh blood seeping through.The distance between us was no longer the frozen silence it had been.Word of the pack's decree had spread across the mountain range three days prior. Each time Elias came for a follow-up, he brought news.Christine's fate was far worse than anyone had imagined.She had conspired with the Red Wolves and driven a poisoned blade into her own Alpha. The offenses compounded, and the Gray Wolf Elders' Council ruled unanimously to exile her.On the day the sentence was carried out, the entire pack gathered. The agony left her convulsing and screaming on the ceremonial platform.Stripped of her bloodline power, Christine lost even the basic ability to heal.When it was over, the guards dragged her beyond the pack's borders and cast her out into the most desolate stretch of wasteland.Th

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