Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 154

LUCIEN’S POV

I sat on the edge of the bed, elbows braced on my knees, staring at the floor like it might give me answers if I looked long enough.

Behind me, Adele slept facing away from me.

She hadn’t said a word after I stopped. Not one. She’d just turned away from me, pulled the sheet around her shoulders, and I’d heard it-the soft, broken sound she tried to hide. Her crying. Quiet. Careful. Like she didn’t want me to hear how badly I’d hurt her.

I heard it anyway.

Every second of it tore something out of my chest.

I’d reached for her, desperate to hold her, to explain, but she’d flinched away. “Don’t,” she’d whispered, her voice cracking. “Just… don’t touch me right now.”

So I stayed where I was. Silent. Useless.

Now she slept, her breathing slow and even, exhaustion finally winning over hurt. Her back was to me, a small distance between us that felt wider than any battlefield I’d ever stood on.

I closed my eyes.

My body ached. Every muscle tight. Every nerve on fire. Iwas still naked, still hard, still painfully aware of what id denied both of us. Want clawed through me, raw and violent, but it was nothing compared to the fear sitting heavy in my chest.

I stood up slowly, careful not to wake her.

The cool air hit my skin, doing nothing to calm the heat raging inside me. I paced once, then twice, running a hand through my hair, gripping hard at the roots like I could pull the thoughts out along with it.

All I had wanted was to pull her close. To bury myself in her warmth. To claim her the way every instinct in me screamed to do.

But was scared.

So fucking scared.

The memories don’t ask permission when they come. They never have.

They just drag me back.

Cold stone floors. Iron bars. Hunger that twisted my gut until breathing hurt. A child’s body bruised and shaking, curled in a corner of a dark room.

My father’s voice.

Sharp. Cruel. Full of hatred that had nowhere else to go.

“She died because of you.”I swallow hard, chest tightening.

From the time I could walk, my days were hell. No play, no laughter. Just his fists, his belts, his boots. He’d lock me in the cellar for days, no food, no light, just the drip of water and the scurry of rats. “This is what you deserve,” he’d snarl through the door. “For taking my mate. For stealing my happiness. “I’d curt up in the dark, stomach gnawing on itself, tears freezing on my cheeks in the winter cold.

I- hated him. Hated myself more. Why had I been born? Why couldn’t I have died instead?

He made sure the pack never knew. On the outside, we were the perfect family…the strong beta and his son, training for the future. But behind closed doors, it was ,torture. He’d beat me until I couldn’t stand, then heal just enough so no one would see the bruises. If the moon goddess ever curses you with a mate,” he’d say, his breath hot and sour on my face, “she’ll suffer the same. You’ll watch her bleed out, just like I did. You don’t get happiness, boy. Not after what you did.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, breath coming rough.

I was so young. Too young to fight back. Too young to understand that none of it was my fault. All I knew was pain, and the certainty that I was dangerous to love.

He made sure I had no friends. No comfort. No escape.

Until him.

Maximus.The first time he spoke to me, I thought it was a trap. A cruel joke. No one ever chose me. No one ever stood beside me.

But he did.

A quiet boy with sharp eyes and a steady presence, who didn’t ask questions | wasn’t ready to answer.

He didn’t care about my father’s warnings. He’d sneak me food, sit with me during training breaks, talk to me like l mattered. “You’re my friend, Lucien,” he’d said once, clapping me on the back. “No matter what.”

The little boy I was back then clung to that loyalty like it was oxygen.

I swore to myself I would never betray him. Never abandon him. Never become the monster my father tried to shape me into.

Fate had a twisted sense of humor. Made me his beta.

Made me strong. Powerful. Feared.

And still…none of it touched the fear buried in my bones.

I turn back toward the bed.

Not even my mate.

Because what if?

I step closer to the bed, careful, quiet. I don’t touch her. I just look.

Her hair spills over the pillow. Her shoulders are bare where the sheet has slipped. There’s a faint crease between her brows, even in sleep, like part of her is still hurting.

Because of me.

My chest tightens painfully.”I’m sorry,” I whisper, so softly the room barely hears it.

She doesn’t stir.

I straighten slowly, forcing myself to step back before temptation wins. Before I reach out and make promises I’m not sure I can keep.

I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I don’t deserve her patience.

But I can’t let her go either.

I turn toward the window, staring out into the dark, my reflection staring back at me-strong, feared, respected… and still that same terrified boy locked in a cold room, being told he was a curse.

My hands curl into fists.

I’ve fought enemies without flinching. Faced death head-on. Led warriors into battle.

But this?

Loving her?

This is the thing that might break me.

I look back at her one last time, my heart clenching so hard it hurts to breathe.

Then the words slip out, barely more than a breath, meant only for the quiet room and the fear that’s ruled my life for too long.

“I’m so fucking scared, Adele,” I whisper. “What if you die… just like my mother?”