Marked By Alpha's Curse

Chapter Eight

I sat quietly on the edge of Kael’s bed, my fingers twisting the edge of the blanket. The chamber was silent, except for the faint crackle from the fireplace. My thoughts wouldn’t stop spinning — everything from the council meeting replayed in my head. The way they looked at me was like I didn’t belong. The way Kael stood there, silent. Unmoving.

It hurt more than I wanted to admit.

He didn’t defend me. Not once.

Maybe he didn’t have to, but the silence cut deeper than any words could.

I pulled my knees close to my chest, resting my chin on them. What was I even doing here? I didn’t belong in this world — not among them, not beside him. And yet… fate, or the gods, or whoever decided these bonds, thought it was right to tie me to him.

The door opened suddenly.

My head snapped up. Kael walked in — tall, cold, distant. His presence filled the room instantly. The look on his face was hard, his jaw tight. He didn’t look at me at first. He just walked past, unbuckling his sword and setting it down on the table with a sharp clang.

I froze. The air around him felt heavy, like he was holding something back.

He didn’t speak, not at first. I watched him in silence, waiting — hoping maybe he’d look at me, say something, anything. But he didn’t.

When he finally did turn, his eyes were distant.

“The council will decide on the next steps,” he said flatly. “They’ll want to observe the bond. The Priestess will return in three days.”

I blinked, trying to process it. That was it? After everything, that’s what he came to tell me?

I wanted to say something — maybe thank him, maybe ask if he was alright — but the words stuck in my throat. He wasn’t someone you could talk to freely. Every time he spoke, his tone built walls around him.

He glanced at me briefly, then looked away.

“You should stay here until they’re done. Don’t leave the chambers without my permission.”

There it was again — the command. Always the command.

Something in me cracked. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was the ache that had been sitting in my chest since the council. But before I could stop myself, I heard the words slip out quietly, trembling but clear.

“Do you… hate me that much?”

The silence that followed was unbearable. He turned slowly, his eyes meeting mine. For a second, I thought I saw something — surprise, maybe guilt — but it vanished just as quickly.

“I don’t hate you,” he said, his voice low. “But I don’t want you either.”

My chest tightened. The words shouldn’t have hurt — he’d warned me before, hadn’t he? But hearing it again, so calm, so sure… it felt like being cut open.

He turned away, heading for the door, and something inside me snapped.

“Then why did you accept me?” I said, my voice shaking. “Why didn’t you reject me like everyone wanted?”

He stopped but didn’t turn. I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept going.

“Why accept me when you don’t even want me? This bond—” my voice broke, “—it’s worse than being a slave.”

That made him turn. His eyes flashed with something dark and dangerous.

Before I could breathe, he was in front of me. He grabbed my arm roughly, and I gasped as my back hit the wall. His grip was tight, not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me of the difference between us.

“You’ve got some nerves, don’t you?” His voice was cold, low, deadly. “Have you forgotten your place so quickly?”

I could feel his breath on my face. The anger radiating off him was sharp — but underneath it, I sensed something else. A tremor. Like he wasn’t just angry at me… but at himself.

I swallowed hard, blinking back tears. “My place?” I whispered. “How could I forget it? I’m just a slave, right?”

His grip faltered slightly, but I didn’t stop. The words poured out like water breaking through a dam.

“Nothing more. My life holds no value. I know that. I’m sorry, Alpha. It won’t happen again.”

My voice trembled at the end. I wanted to sound strong, but it came out small, broken.

For a long moment, he just stared at me — his jaw clenched, his eyes unreadable. Then, slowly, his grip loosened. He stepped back, letting go of my arm. I felt the cool air rush in where his hand had been, and it burned.

He didn’t say a word. He just turned and walked away.

The door slammed shut behind him.

The silence that followed was deafening.

I slid down the wall, my knees giving out. My whole body was shaking. My arm still tingled where he’d held me, and my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

Why did it hurt so much?

I’d been yelled at before. I’d been beaten, ignored, forgotten — but this… this was different. Because it came from him. Because I wanted something from him I had no right to want.

Tears spilled freely down my cheeks. I tried to wipe them, but more came. I pressed my palms to my face, letting the sobs escape quietly.

He didn’t hate me. But he didn’t want me either.

What kind of fate was that?

I looked toward the door — the same one he’d just walked out of — and whispered softly, “Then why do you keep saving me?”

No one answered.

I sat there for a long time, listening to the sound of my own breathing, the faint crackle of the fire, and the silence of the room that no longer felt like a place of safety.

It was his world, not mine. I was just someone fate had tied to him — unwanted, unchosen, but bound all the same.

And the cruelest part of it all?

Even now, even after everything, my heart still raced when I thought of him.