Todos los capítulos de Alpha Romanov: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 5

Valeria:The contract had been signed before I met Alpha Nikolai Romanov.My name sat at the bottom of the final page in black ink beneath terms that reduced the next year of my life to numbered obligations.I would remain in Romanov territory for twelve months. I would marry Nikolai Romanov. I would carry his heir if my body allowed it and when the year ended, the Morozov name would be restored, my mother would receive the promised money, and I would be free to leave.Simple. That was what the council called it.Nothing about standing in the Romanov council chamber felt simple.The room swallowed sound. Stone walls drank the heat from the fire and left a cold that settled in my bones. People watched me as if they were weighing me on a scale. I did not belong. Everyone’s eyes said so.I held the contract to my chest like a shield. Council members whispered. Guards stood like statues along the walls. Two neighboring Alphas sat at the long table, their presence a quiet threat. At the fa

Valeria:By the time the ceremonies ended, I had been dressed, pinned, painted, and paraded through enough rooms to forget what my own reflection looked like.Five maids arrived not long after I left the council chamber. None asked if I wanted help, I doubted they cared anyway.They carried a white dress, boxes of jewelry, and the kind of practiced expression that said Alpha Romanov had already decided how the rest of my day would go.I let them, because fighting five maids over a dress felt like wasting the little energy I had left.The wedding itself had been worse. There were too many eyes, too many vows spoken beneath the weight of a rejection neither of us would name, a lie that we both knew all too well.Nikolai stood beside me with the same unreadable face he’d worn when he told me I was not wanted as his mate. Then he slid a ring onto my finger making my stomach tighten.Mate rejected. Wife accepted. Apparently Alpha Romanov saw no contradiction.Now I stood outside his bedroo

Valeria:By the time I reached the eastern wing, I had decided that if one more person looked at me with pity, curiosity, or whatever that expression was supposed to be, I would lose my mind.Three maids followed me into the room. I stopped in the middle of it and turned. They froze. One held a tray of tea, another carried folded clothes, and the third had already begun toward the wardrobe as if she planned to organize my entire existence before I could breathe.“You can leave,” I said.The youngest blinked. “Luna, we were instructed to…”“Do not call me Luna.” Her mouth snapped shut, and I rubbed my temple. It was not their fault. I knew that. But I was done being the person that everyone expected me to be.“I don’t need anything,” I said, forcing my tone low. “I want to be alone.”The maid with the tea glanced at the others. “Alpha Romanov instructed us to remain available to you.”“And I am instructing you to leave.” None of them moved. I stared until the youngest lowered her gaze.