Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 43

Her lips were soft against mine. So fucking soft. The kind of softness had no right to touch, no right to claim.

Her fingers tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, and my tongue brushed against hers-hot, desperate, demanding.

For a moment, I let myself drown in her warmth. For a moment, I pretended I wasn’t the monster lurking beneath this skin.

Her sigh melted against my mouth, sending fire straight through my veins. My arms tightened around her waist, dragging her closer until there was no space between us.

My chest hammered with a rhythm I hadn’t felt in years-not rage, not hunger, not power. Something terrifyingly fragile. Something dangerous.

And then it hit.

A surge. Violent. Unrelenting.

The beast.

It ripped through me without warning, my vision fracturing into red. My lungs seized, my chest tightening as claws of fire raked down my insides. A guttural growl ripped out of my throat before I could choke it down.

I tore my mouth from hers, stumbling back so quickly she gasped. My hands shot to my face as I felt the sharp sting of my fangs tearing through, my jaw aching with the force of them breaking free.

“No…” I rasped, but the word came out distorted, more snarl than sound.

Her eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”

“Stay back.” My voice was no longer mine. It was deep, guttural, the beast’s echo woven into it.

Her hands lifted slightly, uncertain. Concern etched every line of her face, but I couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t bear to see fear there. Couldn’t bear to cause it.

I stumbled out of the water, my wet clothes clinging heavy to my skin. My chest heaved as my beast clawed harder, screaming for release, for blood, for destruction. I didn’t look back. If I did, I’d break. If I did, I’d never leave her sidé, and then she’d be the one torn apart when I lost control.

Her voice carried across the clearing, soft, breaking. “Wait

I clenched my fists, forcing myself forward. Every step felt like my body was tearing apart, sinew and bone shifting beneath the surface. The blood moon was close-too close. I could feel it dragging at me, a tidal wave I couldn’t resist.

I didn’t want another massacre.

The forest swallowed me quickly, its shadows wrapping around me like chains. My breath came harsh and uneven as I took the back path, avoiding guards, avoiding eyes. Noone could see me like this. Not even her.

The palace loomed, dark and merciless. I slipped through the servants’ corridor, my body trembling, every nerve burning like it was being seared from the inside out.

The black door waited. Heavy iron.

I shoved it open. The hinges groaned.

Inside, the air was thick, cold, oppressive. Stone walls swallowed the light, and in the center of the room stood Lucien.

He didn’t flinch when he saw me. His jaw tightened, but his eyes held the same steady resolve they always did. He didn’t ask questions. He never did.

“Now,” I snarled, my voice shaking with the effort to contain the beast clawing at my throat. “Do it. Chain me.”

Lucien moved immediately. He didn’t argue. He knew better. He grabbed the thick iron chains, their black metal glinting in the faint light. They were made for me, made for the monster I became.

I forced myself forward, my chest heaving as he fastened the cuffs around my wrists. The weight of them sank into my bones, heavy, immovable. He locked my ankles next, the chains bolted into the stone floor.

Even then, I could feel my body testing them. Muscles straining. The beast within pulling, jerking, demanding freedom.Lucien’s movements slowed when his eyes flicked toward the corner. I followed his gaze and froze.

There was a-bed.

The beast clawed, howled, demanded freedom. My vision blurred, red flooding the edges until I couldn’t see anything else.

The chains rattled, straining against my thrashing. My wrists tore open, blood dripping where the iron bit into flesh.

Skin split. Bones realigned. My body felt flayed, peeled back, reshaped into something not meant to exist.

Every heartbeat was agony.

Every breath was fire.

I roared, the sound inhuman, echoing in the darkness like a monster’s cry. My chest heaved, sweat slicking my skin, mixing with blood.

This was my fate.

The curse of the blood moon.

And the worst part?

I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

I would endure every second. Every crack at bone, every shred of skin. I would endure until the moon waned and I became a man again.

But for now…

I was the beast.

And the chains were the only thing keeping the world safe from me.