Breed Me Cursed Alpha (Lyra and Ronan) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Ronan

The meeting room used to feel cavernous.

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Empty chairs. Hollow echoes. Voices that never fully landed because the bodies speaking them could not hold shape long enough to matter.

Now it feels crowded.

Too crowded.

The meeting does not start politely.

It never does when the pack is afraid.

The council chamber is full in a way it has not been for years. Hands rest on the table instead of drifting through it. That alone should be enough to make this feel like a victory.

Instead, the air is tight. Thick with expectation.

I stand at the head of the table, arms folded, while the Elders take their seats one by one. Real chairs scrape against the floor. Real weight settles. Faces hold steady. Some are still translucent at the edges, but they no longer flicker in and out like bad memories. They are here.

That alone should be enough to make this a good morning.

It isn’t. Riah. Maelis, Joren, three more whose forms are still faint at the edges but no longer vanish when they breathe too hard. Each of them carries years of waiting in their eyes.

Elder Riah speaks first. He always does. Old habit. Old authority.

“The pack is stabilizing,” he says. “Two hundred fully solid as of this morning. Another hundred holding form for hours at a time.”

Murmurs of agreement ripple through the table.

No one argues.

Maelis leans forward. “Two hundred fully solid wolves is progress. But it is not restoration.”

“And the rest of us?” Joren asks quietly. “Still caught between worlds. Still unable to touch our children without fear they will slip through our arms.”

That one lands exactly where it is meant to.

I unclasp my arms and set my hands on the table. “You think I don’t see that?”

Riah’s gaze sharpens. “We think you are refusing to finish what you started.”

Silence spreads across the chamber.

I breathe in slowly. “Be careful.”

Maelis does not flinch. “The curse did not break because of time. It broke because of your mate.”

I feel Lyra’s name press against my teeth even though I do not say it.

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“She is the difference, Maelis continues. “Every woman before her died from your touch. From your body. From what you carry”

I look away for a moment. Not because I disagree. Because memory is a dangerous thing.

“She did not,” Joren says. “She can withstand intimacy. That alone changed the land.”

“Yes” Riah agrees. “And yet the curse remains.”

Because the final price has not been paid.

They do not say it outright. They never will. But the shape of it sits in the middle of the table like a corpse no one wants to acknowledge.

Maelis folds her hands. “We have lived as shadows for decades. Our children grew without weight. Our dead could not pass on. Our lives were paused because of your mistake.”

There it is.

My shoulders stiffen. “You will not rewrite history.”

“Will we not?” she asks. “You claimed a woman who was not yours to claim. The Moon Goddess cursed you. And she cursed us with you.”

I meet her gaze head–on. “I have paid for that every day since.”

“And now you ask us to keep paying,” Joren says. “Because you are afraid.”

The word hits harder than any accusation.

“I am not afraid,” I say.

Riah’s voice is steady. “You are afraid of losing her.”

I say nothing.

They take that silence and turn it into a weapon.

“She is your mate,” Maelis says. “And the only one who can finish this.”

“By dying,” I snap. “Say it.”

The room tightens.

“By giving birth,” Riah corrects. “What happens after is not within your control.”

My jaw locks.

“You want me to impregnate her,” I say flatly. “Knowing it will kill her. So that you may walk freely again.”

“We want our families back,” Joren says. His voice breaks on the word families. “We want our children solid. We want our dead laid to rest. We want to live again.”

“And you think that justifies killing her,” I say.

Maelis tilts her head. “She would not be the first woman to die for this pack.”

“She would be the first to die by choice being stolen from her,” I say. “And I will not do it.”

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Chapter 24

Riah exhales slowly. “Then you condemn us to this half–life indefinitely.”

“I condemn no one.” I reply. “I refuse to murder my mate.”

The word mate ripples through the room. Some elders look away. Others look angry.

“You place her above the pack,” Maelis says.

“I place her beside it.” I answer.

“No.” she snaps. “You place her above us. Above two thousand wolves who have endured your curse.”

That one cuts.

I straighten. “You endured because I protected you.”

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“And now we no longer need protection,” Riah says quietly. “We need leadership willing to make hard decisions.”

The implication settles like ash.

I look around the table. “Say it plainly.”

Maelis does not hesitate. “If you cannot do what must be done, you are no longer fit to lead.”

The room goes deadly still.

Joren looks uneasy but does not contradict her. Riah’s expression is carved from stone.

“You would demote me,” I say.

“We would choose another Alpha,” Maelis replies. “One willing to finish this.”

Maelis doesn’t bother dressing it up anymore. “If you are no longer Alpha, you lose the authority to refuse,” she says calmly, as if explaining a rule every child should know. “A new Alpha would command both of you. You would be ordered to consummate the bond. Your mate would be required to comply.” Her mouth tightens. “That is pack law.”

Something hot and violent coils in my chest.

Riah adds, quieter but no less brutal, “You would not be asked. Disobedience would be treason.”

My hands curl into fists before I can stop them. The table creaks under the pressure. They aren’t talking about choice. They’re talking about stripping me of rank so they can use my own body as the weapon. So they can force me to put a child in Lyra and call her death necessary.

I taste iron.

They aren’t threatening me.

They’re planning.

“And Lyra?” I ask, my voice cold. “What becomes of her then?”

No one answers.

That silence tells me everything.

“You would take her from me,” I say.

“We would give the pack what it needs,” Riah says. “If she survives long enough to do so.”

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Something inside me snaps. Not loudly. Cleanly

“You will not touch her,” I say. “You will not threaten her. And you will not pretend this is justice.”

Maelis rises from her chair. “You forget yourself.”

I straighten, shoulders rolling back, spine locking into place as the room remembers who stands before it.

“I remember exactly who I am,” I say.

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“I am Alpha King Ronan of Blackfang. The last true werewolf king born of an original bloodline.” My voice carries without force. It does not need it. “Blackfang were among the first wolves to walk this world. Not descendants. Not branches. The FOOL”

I let my gaze move slowly from face to face. “My bloodline has never been diluted. My parents were not fated mates. My grandparents were not chosen by the Moon Goddess. None of my ancestors were. They marked for strength. For power. For survival. They ruled because they could, not because they were granted permission.”

A quiet tension coils through the chamber.

“Being Blackfang has always meant living outside approval,” I continue. “Our pack exists because my line refused to kneel. Because we claimed what we wanted and held it. That was our way for generations, and it made us untouchable.”

My jaw tightens. “Until the Moon Goddess decided she’d had enough of being defied.”

I do not raise my voice. I do not need to.

“She cursed me for doing what my ancestors had done for centuries. And she cursed you with me.” My eyes harden. “But do not confuse punishment with weakness. Do not mistake restraint for surrender.”

I lean forward, hands planted firmly on the table.

“It is a privilege to stand under Blackfang rule. It always has been. And I will not sacrifice my mate to prove my worth to anyone.”

The room holds its breath.

“You may question my choices,” I finish. “But you will not question my blood. Or my right to lead.”

I lean forward, palms flat on the table. “I will not consummate the bond. I will not risk her life. And if that means this curse lingers longer, then so be it.”

Riah’s voice drops. “You would let us remain ghosts for love.”

I meet his eyes. “I would let you live, imperfectly, rather than kill her perfectly.”

The chamber erupts. Voices overlap. Anger breaks through restraint.

“You are selfish.”

“You owe us.”

“You owe the dead.”

“You owe the pack.”

The words crash over me like waves.

And through it all, one thought stays locked in place.

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I will not lose her. I will not risk her.

Even if it costs me everything else.

Maclis raises her hand, and the room quiets again.

“Then you leave us no choice.” she says.

My blood runs cold.

“We will convene without you.” she continues. “And decide what is best for the pack.”

“I dare you to try.” I say softly.

“We would survive,” she answers.

I straighten slowly. “This meeting is over.”

No one moves.

Riah finally speaks. “Think carefully, Ronan. A crown is not held by love alone.”

I turn toward the door.

Behind me, Maelis adds, almost gently, “Nor is a mate protected forever by one man.”

I stop.

Do not turn.

And walk out anyway.

Because if I stay one second longer, I will tear this pack apart to keep her safe.

And I will not become that kind of king.

The door closes behind me.

And the threat follows.

“He was born Blackfang. He rules like something lesser.”

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