Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 214

ROSE’S POV

The gym was dead silent after my scream. Every pair of eyes locked on me-wide, shocked, confused. The ball rolled to a stop somewhere near the baseline. Even the coach’s whistle hung forgotten in her hand

“Did you see that?” someone whispered from the back.”

Her ankle—it twisted all the way around.”

“How is that possible?” another voice said, louder this time. “That was like… broken. I heard the snap.”

“That’s insane,” Mia muttered beside me, kneeling fast.”

Rose, your ankle-”

I couldn’t let them keep staring. Couldn’t let them keep talking.

Panic clawed up my throat. My wolf had healed me too fast-too perfectly. The pain was gone. The bone was straight. The swelling never even had time to start. I was fine. Completely fine.

But they’d seen. They’d heard. And they were already whispering. This was one of the things Damien was scared of and didn’t want me going to a human college.

I forced myself to wince. Hard. I grabbed my ankle like it still hurt, letting out a shaky breath. “Ow… yeah, that… that really hurt.”I made my voice small. Trembly. I shifted my weight, pretending to test it, then hissed through my teeth like I couldn’t put pressure on it.

Mia’s face crumpled with worry. “Okay, okay-don’t move it. Let’s go to the clinic right now.”

She slid an arm under mine, helping me up. I leaned into her more than I needed to, limping dramatically on my” injured” leg. Every step was exaggerated-slow, careful, wincing like the floor was made of glass.

I felt Katie’s stare burning into my back. When I risked a glance over my shoulder, she was standing there with her arms crossed, lips curled in a satisfied smirk.

She looked… pleased.

Like she’d won something.

My stomach twisted. What the hell was her problem?

Mia kept me steady as we walked out of the gym, down the long hallway toward the campus health center. A few students stared as we passed-whispers followed us like shadows.

“Did you see how fast she got up?”

“I swear I heard bone crack.”

“Maybe she’s faking it.”

I kept my head down, forcing the limp, praying they’d just think I was tough. Or lucky. Anything but what I really was.

We reached the clinic. The waiting area smelled like antiseptic. Mia helped me into a hair while the nurse-a tired-looking woman in scrubs-came over with a clipboard.

“What happened?” she asked, already kneeling.

“Twisted my ankle during basketball,” | said, keeping my voice small. “It hurt a lot at first, but… I think it’s okay now.”

She lifted my foot gently, pressing around the ankle, turning it side to side. Her fingers probed. She frowned.

“No swelling. No bruising. Full range of motion.” She looked up at me. “You’re sure it twisted badly?”

“Yeah,” I said quickly. “It… popped really loud. I thought it was broken.”

The second it shut, something felt… wrong.

My head suddenly weighed a ton. My eyelids drooped. My arms went heavy, like they were filled with sand.

I tried to sit up straighter. “James?”

He slid into the driver’s seat.

Our eyes met in the rearview mirror.

They weren’t friendly.

They were cold. Calculating.

Realization crashed over me like ice water.

This wasn’t James.

I lunged for the door handle-but my fingers were numb.

My vision blurred at the edges.

Darkness rushed in fast, dragging me under.

The last thing I saw was the stranger’s eyes in the mirror-watching me fade.

Smiling.