Marked By Alpha's Curse

Chapter Twelve

Lyra’s POV

“What did you just say?” I asked quietly, though my voice trembled despite my effort to sound calm.

Selene’s smirk deepened. “I heard you were nothing but a slave here,” she said, her tone slow and cutting, “until you somehow connived your way into being Kael’s mate, right?”

I blinked, stunned. “I didn’t.....”

“Save the excuses, Lyra,” she interrupted smoothly, stepping closer. “I know exactly what you are.”

The music, the laughter, the crowd, all of it faded for a moment. Her eyes gleamed like a predator’s. I could feel the venom behind every word she said.

Before I could speak again, a deep familiar voice broke through the tension.

“Selene.”

We both turned. Kael was walking toward us, tall, composed, and cold as ever.

Selene’s entire expression shifted. Her lips softened into a charming smile. “Alpha Kael,” she greeted sweetly.

And then he smiled back.

I froze. That same small smile I’d seen earlier… was now directed at her.

My stomach knotted.

Kael stopped beside her, his tone low but calm. “Have you had anything to drink yet?”

Selene tilted her head, pretending to think. “Not yet,” she said, her voice light, teasing. “But if you offer me one, I won’t say no.”

He didn’t even hesitate. He gestured for a passing maid. She approached, bowing, her tray filled with golden glasses. Kael took one and handed it directly to Selene.

His fingers brushed hers.

Selene’s smile widened as she accepted it. She turned to me, eyes glinting with satisfaction, and raised the glass slightly. “How kind,” she said softly, though the words weren’t meant for him.

Kael didn’t even look my way.

Not once.

He just stood there, quietly speaking with her, low, easy words I couldn’t hear. But it was enough to make my chest ache in a way I didn’t understand.

I blinked rapidly. I felt something warm slide down my cheek. A tear.

No. Not here. Not in front of them.

I wiped it away quickly and forced a weak smile. “I’m… not feeling well,” I said, my voice almost a whisper. “I need to leave.”

Kael turned slightly, finally, but didn’t speak. He just looked at me briefly, unreadable as ever.

I didn’t wait. I bowed my head and left before my voice betrayed me.

As I walked away, I could feel the weight of eyes on my back, but I didn’t dare look. Not until I reached the end of the hall. I turned, just once,

He wasn’t looking.

Kael’s attention was still on her.

My chest tightened painfully. I turned away and quickened my pace.

When I finally reached his chamber, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it. My whole body trembled. The silence of the room felt heavier than any sound.

I walked toward the mirror and stared at myself. My eyes were red, my lips trembling.

Then the tears came, quiet at first, then steady, falling in heavy trails down my cheeks.

Why did it hurt so much?

I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the edge of my gown, my thoughts spinning wildly.

Why does he treat me this way?

He had defended me once. His words had burned like fire when he told Mistress Venn that no one would disrespect me. For a moment, I’d thought there was something in him that cared, maybe not love, but at least some trace of compassion.

But tonight… he hadn’t even looked at me.

He smiled for her.

He offered her a drink.

And I—his mate—was invisible.

A bitter laugh escaped me. “Mate,” I whispered, shaking my head. “What a joke.”

I reached for my jewelry, the gold necklace that had been placed around my neck before the feast, and tore it off. It clattered onto the floor. Then the earrings followed. I ripped them off too, my hands trembling.

Each piece of gold felt like a weight pressing down on my chest.

“I shouldn’t care,” I said under my breath. “I shouldn’t be disheartened.”

But the truth pressed against me like a blade.

“Then why does it hurt so much?”

I buried my face in my hands. I didn’t even understand why I was crying anymore. Maybe it was because I was tired, tired of trying to make sense of him, tired of trying to hold on to the smallest moments of warmth that he always took back.

I remembered the way his hand had brushed my waist earlier. The way his eyes had softened for a fleeting second before turning cold again.

For one heartbeat, I had felt something real there.

And now it felt like it had never happened.

“Why do I even care?” I whispered again. “He’s my alpha. My mate by fate. Nothing more.”

But even as I said it, the ache wouldn’t leave.

I stood up and began pacing, trying to breathe through the heaviness in my chest. My mind went back to Selene, her perfect hair, her confident smile, the way she’d said ‘the other woman in your life’.

Who was she?

Someone important, clearly. Someone Kael respected… or once cared for.

The thought twisted painfully inside me.

Maybe that was why he hated this bond. Maybe Selene was the one he wanted all along.

I bit my lip, my throat tightening.

Then why me?

If he didn’t want me, if I disgusted him so much, then why did he accept me? Why didn’t he just reject me like everyone expected him to?

My reflection stared back at me in silence, eyes glistening.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I whispered to myself. “I didn’t ask to be his mate.”

But fate didn’t care what I wanted. It had tied me to him regardless, tied me to a man who couldn’t even look at me while smiling at someone else.

I sank onto the bed again, clutching the edge of my gown, my tears falling freely now.

“Why does it hurt?” I whispered again. “Why does it hurt so much?”

Outside, faint music still echoed from the great hall. Laughter, clinking glasses, celebration.

But in this room, there was only silence.

And me, alone again, like I’d always been.