Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound to Four Alphas : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 6

"I don't know what you're talking about." My voice comes out calm, even though my heart is racing. I keep my shoulders straight. I don't step back. I refuse to look weak, even though my palms are damp and my pulse won't slow, even though the alarm bell from moments ago still seems to echo somewhere deep in my bones, and half the lecture hall is still staring at the sleeve now covering my wrist. Jodan is still standing at the front of the lecture hall. His eyes don't leave me. Not for a second. It feels like he's peeling layers off my skin without touching me, like he already knows every lie I've ever told, and is simply waiting to see how long I'll keep telling them. Lucien is the first to break the silence. He lets out a soft laugh, smooth and careless, like nothing here matters. "Wow. Straight denial. I like her already." Riven doesn't laugh. His lips curl back slightly, like he's holding in a snarl. His eyes are sharp, focused, and dangerous. "She's lying." "I'm not," I snap,

I wake up gasping, my chest heaving like I've been drowning. Light burns my eyes. White. Too white. The smell of herbs and metal fills my nose. My head throbs, sharp and deep, like something is drilling into my skull. For a moment I can't remember where I am, can't remember anything except the arena, the moon, the pain tearing through my skin, and then it all comes rushing back at once, heavy enough to knock the breath out of me all over again. Voices crash over me before I can even move. "She shouldn't be awake." "You saw the markings!" "This is beyond protocol." I blink hard and turn my head, and every small movement feels like it costs something, like my body is running on borrowed time it hasn't agreed to lend. The infirmary. Mooncrest's medical wing is cold and quiet in a way that feels wrong. Glowing wards line the walls, humming softly, pale blue light pulsing in slow, deliberate rhythm, like the whole room is breathing along with some rule I don't understand. Shelves of

The silence after the roar is the worst part. Four alphas kneel in front of me, in front of the entire hall, and no one moves. No one breathes. It's like the whole world is waiting to see what I do next, and I don't have an answer. My arms still burn where the marks flared. My chest still hums with four heartbeats that aren't mine. Jodan is the first to rise. He doesn't stumble. He doesn't stagger like the others. He plants one hand on the marble, pushes himself upright, and forces his spine straight even though I can see the tremor in his jaw. His eyes find mine, and for the first time since I met him, he doesn't look calculating. He looks afraid. "April," he says, low enough that only I can hear it. "What did you do?" "I don't know," I whisper back. "I didn't do anything. It did this." Riven is next, and he doesn't rise gracefully. He surges up with a snarl, shoving off the floor like the ground insulted him, fists clenched so tight his knuckles have gone white. His eyes are