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2025-04-19 09:40:00
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THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 054
LADY BIANCAThe cold morning air has a way of making me feel so good as I stood by the window, staring down at the courtyard. The sky was dull with clouds, mourning as if it, too, knew things were shifting inside this house. I watched as Tristan and that girl, Vanessa , stepped out of his office , side by side, heads low in quiet conversation. He brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. The kind of gesture no man makes unless he’s already surrendered his heart.My fingers tightened around the teacup in my hand.She was still here. Still playing the role of the doting Luna, when she was meant to be a placeholder, a temporary illusion until my son took his rightful place. The wolves of Blackwood are not ruled by sentiment. They respect power, tradition, bloodlines. And yet here was Tristan, my late husband’s spoiled, idealistic grandson leading with his heart.Foolish.I turned as the door creaked open.“Mother,” Carl’s voice was flat, but I could see the storm beneath his eyes. H
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 055
TRISTAN The council meeting dragged on, an exchange of forced pleasantries and carefully chosen words that barely masked the tension pulsing beneath the surface. I sat at the head of the long table, flanked by the elders, my jaw locked and fingers tapping against the polished wood. The room smelled faintly of parchment and old bloodlines, thick with tradition, and now, suddenly, with resistance.They were stalling.Again.I knew it in the way Elder Marius avoided eye contact when I asked about the official date for my coronation. I saw it in Lady Ilara’s tightly pressed smile when I reminded them of the rites. And Lord Gregor, usually blunt, dependable, he fumbled with his words like a man searching for a way out.“The mourning period for Alpha Theo,” Ilara began gently, “has not passed long enough. The people still grieve.”I narrowed my eyes slightly. “Alpha Theo himself set the parameters for succession in his will. The council is bound to honor them.”“Of course,” Gregor said, cl
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 056
VALARIEThe walls of the room seemed to close in on me the moment Tristan fell asleep.He lay beside me now, breathing softly, one arm draped across my waist, completely unaware of the storm unraveling inside me. I stared up at the ceiling, the glow of the moon filtering through the curtains, casting patterns on the walls that shifted like shadows with secrets of their own.They were asking questions.The council.About me.About where I came from, who I was before this… before Tristan, before Alpha Theo’s death, before everything changed.I tried to breathe, but it felt like something sharp was caught in my lungs.They must not find out.They must never find out.Because I wasn’t Vanessa.Not really.Vanessa, the name I was given, the name I used, the identity I wore like a second skin was the version of me the world was allowed to see. The perfect Luna candidate. Beautiful, graceful, from a family that appeared respectable enough on the surface.But it was all a lie. A carefully co
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 057
CARLI hadn’t expected it, not from Tristan.The morning light shines across my floor catching the envelope still sitting where I left it last night. I hadn’t moved it. Couldn’t. It felt like if I touched it again, the weight of what I knew would crush me completely.She wasn’t Vanessa .The moment I opened the file, I knew. There were photos, medical records, travel logs. Even handwriting samples. The real Vanessa is in a critical condition, And the woman my brother married… she was someone else entirely. Someone who had carefully slipped into her life, into her name, and into this pack.Into Tristan’s bed.And still, I told no one.Not my mother, who would’ve gone straight to the council with it.Not Tristan, who would’ve fallen apart.I told no one because I couldn’t. Not when I looked at her and saw something I didn’t expect to see: someone like me. Someone running. Someone surviving.She was a lie, yes but she was also real. Fiercely, achingly real. And she’d become the one per
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 058
TRISTAN She’s not who I thought she was.The words haven’t left my head since Carl said them.I know, Tristan. I’ve known for days. She’s not Vanessa. She never was.He said it like a weapon, sharp and deliberate, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. My chest tightened, my heart stuttered, and I stared at him, trying to hold onto something, anything that felt steady.But nothing was.Not after that.I didn’t let it show, of course. I couldn’t. Not in front of Carl. The second he saw weakness in me, he’d use it. He always did. So I stood there, jaw clenched, eyes cold, and let him think I already knew. I let him believe he wasn’t the one to break me wide open.But he was.God help me, he was.I left his room like my feet were on fire, but the burn was inside me, slow and cruel and all consuming. I didn’t go far. Just down the hallway, past the familiar paintings and old stone walls that had always felt like home, but now looked foreign, like I’d stepped into someone else’s life.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 059
TRISTAN My chamber was bathed in a golden light, the kind that lingered just before sunset, gentle, warm, and still.She was lying beside me, her back to my chest, curled like a question I couldn’t answer.Her breathing had slowed, her body relaxed. Sleep had finally claimed her after a long day, but I couldn’t sleep, not with everything I knew now. Not with everything she’d kept from me.Valarie.Not Vanessa.The name echoed in my mind like a bell tolling after death……loud, resonant, and inescapable.I laid there, completely still, one arm gently draped around her waist, feeling the slow rise and fall of her breath. I could count the seconds between each one, like I was holding onto time that refused to stop moving. It should’ve felt like betrayal. It should’ve torn something in me. But all I felt… was this unbearable ache to keep her safe.Even now.Especially now.She shifted in her sleep, pressing her back more firmly against me, and I could smell the lavender oil she used in he
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 060
TRISTAN I didn’t want to be Alpha today.No meetings. No patrol updates. No council nonsense. No threats. Just… her.I’d woken before sunrise and made sure of it, pinned my schedule to the door outside my office, instructed the guards and attendants to leave us be. No one was to disturb us unless the world was ending.Because today, I wasn’t going to lead a pack.Today, I was going to love a woman.She stirred softly as I reentered the room, the tray of breakfast in my hands. She hadn’t noticed I was gone. Still curled up beneath the covers, hair spilling across the pillow like ink, lips parted slightly in sleep.I stood there for a moment, just taking her in. My Valarie. Not Vanessa. Not the name or mask she wore, but her. This complicated, secret keeping, soft hearted woman I had fallen so damn hard for.I set the tray down and sat beside her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Her eyes fluttered open, slow and sleepy.“You made breakfast?” she asked, voice thick with drowsin
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 061
VALARIE It was just the two of us, Tristan and I together. And for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel like I had to hide.I watched him as he moved through the room, his presence like a steady force, grounding me. His dark hair, unruly from sleep, and the sharp angles of his jaw caught the light in a way that made my breath catch. But it wasn’t just his physicality. It was the way he was, unpretentious, with a quiet intensity that made me feel like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.When he’d told me he’d cleared his entire day, that he wanted nothing more than to be with me, I hadn’t known what to say. For a moment, I thought it was just a joke, a fleeting idea. But no, he’d meant it. And somehow, that made everything else fade into the background. My past. My secrets. Even the weight of everything I was hiding.This day… it was just for us. No masks. No pretense. Just Tristan and Valarie.We’d eaten breakfast on the balcony, the warmth of the sun casting it
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-19
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THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 084
VANESSA I had spent the entire afternoon pacing around the house, unable to shake off the growing discomfort in my chest. My head still ached from the accident, but it wasn’t the physical pain that consumed me now. It was the questions. The confusion. The cold, heavy silence that surrounded everything about my life.Since waking up, everything had felt like a jigsaw puzzle missing pieces, fragments of my memory, faces that seemed unfamiliar, yet familiar at the same time. My mind swirled with images of a wedding dress, of vows being exchanged, of a man standing in front of me… but nothing was concrete. It was as if my mind had locked away all the important things, leaving me with nothing but shadows and half formed thoughts.I wandered through the house in a haze, my footsteps leading me to my parents’ study, where I often found them deep in work. It was there, among old books and papers, that I knew I could find something that might explain all the gaps in my memory.The room smelle
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 083
NICOThe night air was thick, heavy with the scent of rain and something else , tension, like the whole palace was holding its breath. It felt like the gods themselves were waiting for what was coming.I moved quickly through the servants’ corridors, keeping to the shadows. I knew these halls better than anyone else. Growing up in a house full of wolves, you learn early where to hide, where to eavesdrop, and how to disappear when the air turns sharp.Tristan’s orders replayed in my head.No mistakes. No leaks. No names left untouched.I made my way to the lower west wing, where the old guards kept their quarters. The newer generation of soldiers preferred the lavish chambers in the east, closer to the halls of power. But the men I was looking for didn’t care for polished floors and velvet curtains. They cared about loyalty. About blood and history.About family.I reached a heavy wooden door and gave the knock , one sharp, two soft, one more sharp. The same code we’d used as boys, sne
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 082
TRISTAN The palace was too damn quiet.It was always like this at night , servants tucked away, guards at their posts, the world pretending to sleep while the devils inside these walls plotted in the dark.And tonight, I was one of them.I sat alone in my study, the dying fire casting restless shadows on the walls. A glass of whiskey sat untouched at my elbow, my fingers drumming against the arm of my chair as my mind ran wild.They thought they had me.Carl. Lady Bianca. The damn council. They sat in that room today, looked me in the eye, and told me they were giving my crown to someone else. That the people wanted change. That tradition no longer mattered.Bullshit.This throne belongs to me.It always has.I bled for this land. Fought for these people. Buried my father, my grandfather, watched every damn threat that came for this family and dealt with it. And now they want to hand my legacy over to a snake in my own bloodline?No.Not happening.I leaned forward, resting my elbows
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 081
CARLShe ran.She didn’t even look back.I stood there in the fading light of the hallway , my pulse pounding in my ears and my jaw tight enough to crack. The taste of her still lingered, sweet and defiant, and it infuriated me how much it rattled me. I wasn’t supposed to feel this.Not for her.Not for Tristan’s woman.But damn it, something about her made me reckless. Reckless enough to cross a line I’d sworn I wouldn’t. And watching her tear away from me like she was running from a wildfire… it sparked something dark and possessive in me.Because I saw it in her eyes.She felt it too.No matter how fast she ran, she wouldn’t outrun this. Outrun me.I let out a breath, raking a hand through my hair as I forced myself to calm down. The last thing I needed was for someone to come stumbling into the garden and catch me looking like a man whose world was slipping through his fingers.I had bigger things to focus on.The council had made their move. The people’s choice. That’s what they
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 080
VALARIE I avoided him like my life depended on it.Every hallway, every corridor, every damn corner of the palace , I made sure I was nowhere near Carl Blackwood.The second my eyes caught a glimpse of his silhouette, I would turn around, take another path, duck behind the nearest column or slip through a different door. It was exhausting. And it made my pulse race for all the wrong reasons.Because I wasn’t afraid of Carl.I was afraid of myself.Afraid of what happened that day in the garden.That moment , that stupid, careless, dangerous moment where I let my guard down and kissed him back.It had been a mistake.A terrible, impulsive mistake I’d spent every minute since trying to forget.But the truth was… I couldn’t.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the look in his eyes when his lips touched mine. That soft, unspoken plea. That touch of vulnerability hidden beneath his usual arrogant smirk. The way his hand lingered a second too long against my skin.And it terrified me.I be
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 079
VANESSA My head throbbed.A deep, heavy ache that made it feel like my skull was splitting open. My eyelids were impossibly heavy, my vision a hazy blur of light and color. I could hear voices, distant and muffled, like I was underwater.Then a warmth, a hand wrapping around mine. A familiar touch. Another on my cheek. My name, soft, trembling.“Vanessa… baby, it’s mom… can you hear me?”I wanted to speak, but my throat felt like sandpaper, and my lips barely moved. I forced my eyes open, a step at a time, until shapes started to take form.Faces.Two of them.My parents.Tears glistened in my mother’s eyes, and my father , the man who rarely showed any emotion beyond stern disapproval looked like he was on the verge of breaking. I frowned, a deep crease forming on my forehead as I tried to piece together what was happening.Why did they look so scared?Why did I feel like I’d been asleep for years?“Vanessa,” my mother’s voice cracked, both hands now cupping my face. “Thank the moo
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 078
VALARIE I ran until my legs burned.Branches scratched my arms, and the cool wind tore through my hair, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.I didn’t know what scared me more, what had just happened or how it made me feel.When I finally reached the edge of the palace gardens, I slowed down, clutching a tree trunk for support, my breath coming in sharp gasps. My lips were still trembling. Not from the chill but from him.Carl.His name echoed like thunder in my head.What had I done?I slid down onto the damp grass, burying my face in my hands. My chest was tight, my mind spinning out of control. The warmth of his lips still lingered on mine. His touch had been so gentle, so unexpected, like a storm I didn’t see coming until it swallowed me whole.I hadn’t meant to kiss him.I hadn’t meant to lean in.But for a fleeting second, being with him made the pain stop. It made everything…….Frank, Lady Bianca, my sister, the lie I was living, fade into silence.And I hated that
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 077
CARLI knew how to wear charm like a second skin. The palace had become my stage these days, smiling at the right people, offering compliments that sounded sincere, laughing when I needed to, promising strength and peace for a kingdom that didn’t know it was being manipulated from the inside.They loved me for it. The nobles, the council, even the servants who whispered in corridors. Every smile I gave was calculated, every compliment a carefully placed piece in a game of strategy. But none of that mattered in the moment I saw her.Valarie.She was standing in the garden like she belonged to it. Like something tragic had rooted her there, still and quiet, her gaze far away. The wind played gently with her hair, and even though she didn’t notice me, I noticed everything about her.The way her shoulders were stiff, like she was trying to hold something in.The way her hands were clenched by her sides.The way pain clung to her silently, like an invisible fog she couldn’t shake.And some
THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE 076
VALARIE The call came just after sunset.I was alone in the chamber, brushing out my hair by the window letting the air flow in through the window. Tristan had been quiet lately, and though he hadn’t said a word, I felt the shift in him like we were dancing to a song that had changed tempo when I wasn’t looking.Then my phone rang.My heart stilled when I saw the name.Mother.We hadn’t spoken in weeks. Not because of bitterness, but because our silences were easier than our truths. My hand trembled slightly as I answered, pressing the phone to my ear, bracing myself.“Valarie,” my mother breathed on the other end.Her voice cracked. And just like that, my spine straightened. “What is it? What happened?”“She’s awake.”My heart dropped to the floor. For a second, I couldn’t find my voice.“She…….what?”“Your sister,” she said, sobbing now. “She opened her eyes, Valarie. She looked at me… she squeezed my hand. She’s awake. After all this time….”Her voice broke, and so did I.I pressed
