All Chapters of Destined to Save the Cursed Alpha: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ANAIYAHFor several seconds, neither of us moved. He was close enough that I could see the faint scars along his jaw. His hand lifted, hesitated, then brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face.“You’re doing that thing again,” he murmured.“What thing?”“Looking at me as though you’re deciding whether to run or attack.”“Perhaps I’m considering both.”“Which would you recommend?”“Running. You have a terrible personality.”His mouth curved. “And yet you’re still here.”The answer caught in my throat because I couldn’t deny it.I was still here because I wanted to be. Because I wanted to understand the man beneath the title and the restraint. Because his presence had become something I sought rather than merely tolerated.His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth. The air between us changed.“You’re enjoying this far too much,” I whispered.“Possibly.”“And you won’t tell me what you’re thinking?”“Not if you insist on insulting me every time I answer.”I almost laughed. The sound was

ANAIYAHThe sharp scent of herbs and clean linen filled my nose. Pale light spilled through the infirmary windows. My head throbbed, and my arms felt too heavy to lift.Then I remembered the training grounds; the pressure in the air, the force bursting from me, and Nikolai crashing backward.My stomach twisted. I looked at my hands. Nothing. No glowing skin. No strange markings. Just trembling fingers.The fear arrived before the questions. What did I do?A healer told me Nikolai brought me here after I collapsed. I immediately asked whether I hurt him.The healer hesitated. "He wasn't seriously injured."That wasn't the same as saying I didn't hurt him. I pulled the blanket tighter around myself.For the first time since coming to Silver Crest, I wondered whether everyone would be safer if I stayed away.The door opened. Nikolai stood in the doorway, black hair disheveled, his expression carved from stone. He looked unharmed, except for a fresh scrape across one knuckle.I stared at h

ANAIYAHSeveral days had passed since the training grounds.Since the force burst from me and sent Nikolai across the dirt. Since I woke in the infirmary, healed Nikolai’s wound with my hand, and watched a silver-gold symbol appear beneath my skin.My strength had returned enough that I no longer needed to stay in bed. Nikolai made sure I ate, rested, and took the healer’s remedies. He sat beside me during meals. He adjusted my blanket when I slept.But something had changed.He spoke less. His answers had become shorter. Whenever I asked about the symbol, the seal, or what he had found in the archives, his expression closed.He was still beside me.He just wasn’t with me.That evening, I tried again.“Did you learn anything about the mark on my hand?”Nikolai looked up from the papers spread across his desk. “The records remain incomplete.”“That’s what you said yesterday.”“I’m still investigating.”The tone was calm. Controlled. The same voice Crescent used when someone had decided

ANAIYAHI kept my chin lifted.From across the room, among dozens of eyes fixed on me, I caught Nikolai watching me.My thoughts scattered.When he approached, I covered my reaction with sarcasm. “Are you lost, Alpha?”“Possibly. I was looking for someone glaring at the fruit table.”“I wasn’t glaring.”“You were considering violence.”“The fruit started it.”His mouth curved. “Of course it did.”Then his gaze moved over me, slow enough that I felt it.The gown hugged my waist and fell in soft folds around my hips. It was more fitted than anything I had ever owned, and I had spent most of the evening trying not to tug at it.“You look beautiful,” Nikolai commented.Heat climbed my neck.“The gown suits you,” he added, his voice lower. “It rests close enough to your skin that I’ve spent the last ten minutes resenting every inch of fabric between us.”My breath caught.“You can’t say things like that here.”“Why not?”“Because people are watching.”“Let them.”I opened my mouth, then clo

NIKOLAIHer scent hit me, stronger than ever before. The sight of her, standing in front of me, in nothing but her underwear, her dark hair cascading in waves over her shoulder, sent a shock of desire through me.A desire to claim her as mine.Draven stirred inside, restless and satisfied all at once.Her jealousy had revealed something important. She wasn't just bonded to me. She was becoming attached.That realization should have made me feel secure. Instead, it made me determined to ensure she always had a choice."There's something you need to understand about our relationship," I told her.Anaiyah's hands paused mid-air, near her mouth. "What kind of something?""The word claim. You've heard pack members use it."Her shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly. "I have."She'd grown up with Alphas who took what they wanted. I recognized the fear behind her silence."I will never claim you without asking you first."Anaiyah studied my face, her fingers touching her bare neck. "What will