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chapter 78
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2024-02-03 15:41:52Related chapters
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 79
I scream in frustration, my fingers twisting in the fabric beside my head. There’s a loud tear and a plume of foam beads bursts into the air.“Really?” Jonah exclaims in annoyance. “Really?”“Shut up!” Nathan shouts at him. “How long is this going to last?”“An hour or two?” When I wail in despair, he says, “Chill, I’m kidding, it’ll wear off in a minute. That’s what the caffeine was for.”“Oh, thank god!” I lock my legs behind Nathan’s back and arch up, shameless. I don’t care if someone is watching us. I don’t care if this weirdo magician guy thinks I’m the horniest, sluttiest werewolf who’s ever lived. I need to come, so desperately that I wouldn’t care if we had an audience of thousands.Knowing that the effect will wear off somehow doesn’t cut through our bodies’ desperation to try. Every brutal thrust forces a shout of pain from my throat, but Nathan doesn’t hold back. We roll from the half-empty chair and onto the painted cement floor. The rough surface scrapes my back raw as I
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We stagger back into Wyrding House just before sun-up and strip out of our “disguises.”“I need to take like four showers and burn this dress,” I say with a grimace, holding the garment up with two fingers. “I cannot believe how foul that room was.”“Blacklight is perhaps not the best choice of illumination there,” Nathan agrees. “But you should consider getting some sleep before showering.”“I just shot-gunned a Red Bull two hours ago,” I remind him. “I’m up.”He glances toward the bathroom. “What about a soak?”There’s a jacuzzi tub big enough for two in the bathroom, and just the suggestion of it is a siren call to my sore body. “You’ve convinced me.”A little while later, Nathan and I are immersed up to our necks in the ridiculously deep tub. We lean against opposite sides, his legs on either side of me, my feet on his shoulders.“Do you think the spell will still work, now that we know it’s there?” I ask, wriggling my wrinkly toes against his cheek playfully.He pushes my foot as
Last Updated : 2024-02-03Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 81
“But your security forces are thralls. Xiao is a thrall,” I remind him “And thralls might have put this spell on us.”“Xiao saved your life. And she’s the one who told us about the binding. She’s proved her loyalty.” He pauses. “She could be useful to us, in that regard.”“I’m not a fan of reducing people to their usefulness.” I suppose it’s just part of being a leader, but I don’t have to like it. “On the other hand, I suppose her telling us about the binding shows she’s loyal to the pack, not loyal to thralls who might be plotting against us.”“And we have no proof yet that they are. That’s where Xiao might be able to help us. If she’s willing to be our eyes and ears—”“Willing to snitch.”He ignores my correction. “—we might be able to discern exactly what kind of problem, and what scale, we’re dealing with.”“But I don’t have to trick her into revealing anything, right?” I’m not sure I could, anyway. “I don’t like manipulating people and I don’t want to be fake. Especially not to
Last Updated : 2024-02-03Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 82
By teatime the next day, Xiao is in our private parlor, waiting for me. She’s sitting on one of the sofas, but she stands the moment I enter, and bows deeply. “Your Majesty.”“I’m so glad to see you!” It takes everything in me not to run at her and hug her; we don’t have that kind of relationship. But seeing her is a balm that soothes homesickness I didn’t realize I felt.“I’ve done a preliminary sweep of this wing, and some of the public areas I’ve been briefed on,” she begins. “The garden is a concern to me, considering its proximity to the park—”“I’m sure you’re doing a great job,” I interrupt her. “And I’ll listen to whatever suggestions you give me with regards to security. You don’t need to explain.”That seems to take her aback. “Yes, Your Majesty.”“I’m not scolding you,” I hurry to assure her. “Please, sit down. Would you like tea?”“I…” she hesitates.I ring the bell, anyway. “I’ve got stuff I need to ask you about.”“All right.” She sounds cautious, but she takes a seat. “
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I pour a cup of tea out for myself, pretty happy with how effortlessly I maneuver the pot one-handed, but Xiao turns over her cup and glances up at me apologetically. “I’m off caffeine. Too high strung as it is.”“Right. I should have asked. Do you want something else?”She casually brushes the air with the back of her hand. “But if we could circle back to the presence of thralls in Wyrding House? Or the lack of them, I guess?”“Yeah, it’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” I put a few lumps of sugar into my tea. I don’t even like tea very much, but it seemed like a very English and queen thing to offer someone at the time. “I mean, you’re totally right, there must be a reason the former king found thralls untrustworthy. The king and I were wondering if you might be able to find some insight into that?”My miserable attempt to approach the subject tactfully sounds sleazy and manipulative to my own ears.So, it’s no wonder that Xiao is offended. “I’m not a spy, Your Majesty.”“I know,” I say qu
Last Updated : 2024-02-03Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 84
Nathan isn’t as concerned about the discovery of the secret spyhole as I am—or as concerned as Xiao wants him to be. He’s more focused on our meeting with Jonah, who’s set to arrive any minute with the outcome of the tests he ran.“Old houses like this have concealed passages all over, so that servants can move around unobtrusively,” Nathan explains, like I’ve never heard of such a concept. “And my uncle imagined malice around every corner; it’s likely he knew about the eavesdropping mechanism already. He may have had it installed for his own use.”We’re headed downstairs to the receiving room. I thought somewhere cloak and dagger like a servant’s entrance would be more fitting, but Nathan pointed out that we’re less likely to be overheard by thralls if we meet in a part of the house they’re not allowed.When he said that, I exchanged a glance with Xiao. Though we didn’t speak, I could tell she’s of the same mind as I am regarding what the servants will or won’t overhear. I plan to al
Last Updated : 2024-02-03Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 85
“Five years ago,” I finish for him, though I’m sure Jonah already got there. “Invoking the Right of Accord is what put the binding on us?”“Not necessarily.” Jonah reaches into his back pocket. Xiao makes a move toward him as he does so, and he puts his hands out. “Easy. It’s an iPhone, not an IED.” He slowly retrieves the phone, shakes it a little, then turns back to us. He scrolls his finger across the screen. “Your kind is familiar with runes, right?”“Of course,” Nathan answers for both of us.Personally, I slept through that class in school.“The spell on the queen uses runes from Tyr’s aett; you’re familiar with Tyr?” Jonah pauses to check.“The Norse god of war. He sacrificed his arm to trap Fenrir,” Nathan says.“That,” I agree quietly.“Well, Tyr’s aett is all over her.” Jonah points his finger at Nathan. “And you are bound with etheric chains.”Nathan shakes his head. “I’m unfamiliar with the term.”“I think I can get it from context.” I lift up my stump and gaze at it in hor
Last Updated : 2024-02-03Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 86
We haven’t been at Wyrding House long enough to completely unpack; Harriet offers to help but I don’t like people going through my stuff. Plus, Nathan and I barely brought anything with us in the first place.“I feel bad for Xiao,” I say, taking one of my shirts from the wardrobe and folding it over my arm. It ends up in a sloppy bundle, but it gets the job done enough that I can stuff it into my bag. “She just got here and now we’re turning right back around.”“I’m sure she prefers having you in a more secure location,” is all Nathan says, moving far faster than I am.“Do you think they’re going to be breaking down the door any second?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light.“I think the longer we stay here, the more likely that becomes a possibility.” He zips his small, wheeled carry-on. “We have a pissed off magician who could sell us out to the highest bidder and a house teeming with traitorous thralls.”“Only the below-stairs servants,” I say, mimicking Harriet’s pompous delivery.
Last Updated : 2024-02-03
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Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 100
We plan furiously, and fast. Xiao secures a location, a tiny cabin that’s way off the grid in Manitoba. We’ll be isolated from the world, but most importantly, from the pack; they don’t know that our thralls have hideouts all over Canada.Even though she only has to make a few calls, we decide not to chance letting anyone know that we’re leaving. Yet again, we’re bugging out. We’re leaving our kingdom because our subjects want us dead.It’s almost midnight when Nathan and I go to my bedroom, and I start hauling out all my luggage.“You don’t have to pack tonight,” he says gently.I don’t look at him. “I don’t have to. But I’m going to.”“You’ll tire yourself out. We’ll have a long drive tomorrow.”I shake my head. “Then I can sleep on the drive.”Nathan comes to my side and puts his hand on my arm. “Bailey… don’t do this to yourself.”“Don’t do what?” I snap. “Take anything with me to fucking Manitoba? Just resign myself to dying in the wilderness, ripped apart by polar bears?”He doe
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 99
“Bailey and I won’t change. We’ll remain here, under guard, at Aconitum Hall,” Nathan declares, and my heart sinks. I’ve gotten to be in my werewolf form once. Just one time. I was looking forward to transforming again.But Nathan’s right and I can pout about it later. We will be more vulnerable in a dark forest with potential traitors.“That will keep the two of you safe, but what about the rest of the pack?” Hannah argues. “Two werewolves have failed in their attempts to kill you, the objects of the thralls’ spells. The thralls know about it. So, who’s to say that they’ll even allow us to turn? We’re interfering in something they thought they’d kept secret. They could easily poison us, trap us, do anything to us when we set foot on that ceremonial ground.”“If all of us stayed home, they’d get suspicious,” Ryan says. “Maybe they’d believe we were against them.”“Aren’t we?” I ask. “They’re working magic on us against our will, without our knowledge or consent. They’re working agains
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 98
The thralls want to exterminate werewolves? “That doesn’t make any sense. They need us—”“Needed us.” Tara stresses the past tense. “They have all the arcane knowledge they need now, except for one thing.”“Dominion over life and death.” Nathan stands and paces the length of the room.The earlier sense of proactive hope sucks from the room.“They basically forced you two to breed,” Hannah says. “Dominion over life.”“There’s more.” Tara steers us back toward her research. “After the gods fall and the earth is submerged in water, life begins again. Two humans survive Ragnarök: Lifthrasir and Lif.”“How do they survive the end of the world,” I ask, silently tacking on and who would want to?“They hide. They run away to the woods and hide until everything is over,” Tara says with a shrug. “And when they come out, they repopulate the world.”“That would be dominion over death, wouldn’t it?” Nathan suggests. “Rebuilding anew on top of that destruction?”“Are the thralls acting out Ragnarök
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 97
“In which case, why would the thralls give her the magic she would need to throw a wrench into their plans?” Nathan grimaces and curses under his breath.“I’m going to write this…” Hannah says, uncapping a new marker and turning back to the whiteboard. “…in blue… so we know… it’s unsubstantiated…”When she turns back, the “moonstone” entry has a color-coded bullet point that reads: “humans”.“Fantastic,” Ryan exclaims. “This gives us a direction to move in.”He reaches across the table and grabs a notebook and pen. “Make fun of Hannah all you want, Bailey, but look. She brought paper.”“Paper can be destroyed,” Nathan muses. “Good idea, Hannah.”She gives me a playful little smirk.I laugh and gesture at the board. “Okay. Now, let’s talk about this Tyr and Fenrir thing. I admit, I’m not the expert in mythology here, but they never boned down, that I can recall. What’s the point of symbolically making them have a baby?”“Good point.” Hannah writes, “Not literal symbolism” as a bullet po
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 96
Two days later, we have a secret meeting in the conference room at Aconitum Hall. Just Nathan, me, Hannah, and Ryan, and of course, Xiao, who stands by, guarding the door.Hannah has us all set up, with a white board and different colored markers— “to stay organized!”—as well as notebooks, pens, highlighters, all types of stuff we don’t need.“You just wanted to take a trip to the office supply store,” I accuse her.“I can neither confirm nor deny,” she answers, contentedly stroking a pack of gel pens.“While the abundance of stationary is impressive,” Nathan begins, “Let’s start with what we know so far.”He turns to the white board and writes “wwksf” in the upper left corner.All of us, even Xiao, make alarmed noises at the chaotic shape of the letters.“How about someone with better handwriting?” Ryan suggests, tacking on a hasty, “no offense, Your Majesty.”“He doesn’t get to take offense in here,” I remind Ryan. “Remember, this is informal.”“Well, who has better handwriting?” Na
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 95
The doctor tilts her head. “It’s still very early. How did you know?”“I could tell,” Nathan answers while I try to figure out how to phrase, “He tasted it in my pussy juice.” He’s much more tactful about it. “She smelled different.”A smile touches the corner of the doctor’s mouth. “A lot of males know first, if they’re especially in-tune with their mates.”I’m not sure we can describe Nathan as being “in-tune” with me, but I smile back weakly, anyway.The doctor runs me through a barrage of questions: am I experiencing morning sickness? have I noticed weight gain? what about swollen feet, dizziness, fainting?Every time I answer, I wonder if it means something, if my answers will reveal that surprise, I’m not really pregnant at all.I must not be the first person to worry about that in this office, because Dr. Campbell says, “Relax. This is just a thorough record of your symptoms. We’re establishing a history for you and baby.”“Oh. Good.” I feel a little silly. “I know it’s weird,
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 94
Somehow, in all the ugliness of pack politics and multiple attempts on my life, I totally forgot about pre-natal care.I’m just not sure how to get it, at first. Thralls are in charge of all of our medical care, and I don’t know how much we want them to know. But Nathan and I decide that we can’t take a chance with the baby’s life.As we wait in the exam room, looking at all the posters of werewolf fetal development and the plastic anatomical model of the baby’s head in the birth canal—no thank you—I find the situation becoming more real by the second.“Did you ever think you’d have kids?” I ask Nathan, who’s looking over a pamphlet about the first trimester.He lifts his eyebrows and folds the pamphlet before neatly tucking it into his inside jacket pocket. “I assumed I would. In a hypothetical, detached kind of way. There’s so much pressure to find a mate and breed right away. That’s never appealed to me.”“It’s not so appealing to me, but here I am. In a paper gown.” I laugh nervou
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 93
“They’re not thralls?” She’s just as bewildered by the information as I was. “Like, thralls that ran away from the pack or—”“Just humans who use magic.” Since I don’t know the details of how that all works, and since that’s not really the point of the conversation, I go on. “We needed someone outside of any pack, who could examine the spell objectively and tell us what we needed to know, without any investment in the outcome.”“What did he find?” The fact that Tara is talking to me now, not just looking for ways to snipe at me, feels like a cheap thing to be happy about. It doesn’t mean anything other than that she’s interested in this particular conversation.But I’ll take it. “I’m bound with runes from Tyr’s aett.” I don’t have to explain what those are; Tara’s always been a bit of a mythology nerd. “And Nathan is bound with etheric chains.”“Like Fenrir,” she says, referencing the wolf held captive by the gods. She glances down at my stump. “Wait. Nathan didn’t—”“No, Nathan isn’t
Betrothed To The Alpha King chapter 92
Tara is dressed all in black, seated on the sofa in the parlor adjoining her room and Clare’s. That door is closed, draped with black bunting.I sit in the chair perpendicular to the sofa and silently will my sister to look at me, to speak to me beyond the mumbled, “Your Majesty,” I got when she curtseyed formally at my entrance, or the offer of a beverage, which I refused.“How are you?” I ask finally.“It’s very lonely here,” she says flatly. “It was different, with Clare. More like when we lived at home, before we were mated. We didn’t see each other much when you were away.”“Because you were newly wed?”She nods.“I understand that,” I try, hating myself for even attempting to link my experience with hers. “Getting caught up in your mate’s life and drifting away from your own.”“It’s a bit different for you. You’re also caught up in being queen.” She finally makes eye contact with me. “Do you think that maybe you got too caught up in it? And that’s why…”She doesn’t finish her se
