Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 49

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

No-believe wasn’t even the word. My mind refused it, denied it, clawed for any other explanation but the truth staring me in the face. The King. The beast. One and the same.

It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be.

And yet-his face was there, right before me, pale and fevered, streaked with blood and sweat. Those piercing blue eyes, the same ones that had burned holes through me from the first time we met, the same ones that held an entire kingdom trembling in obedience-those same eyes now looked at me through a haze of exhaustion, half-lidded, broken, yet unmistakably human.

The King.

And the monster who had just tried to tear me apart.

My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt. I couldn’t catch my breath, couldn’t slow the chaos rattling inside me. Every beat screamed the same impossible truth: it was him. It had always been him.

And he was here. Broken. Collapsed in front of me.

His body swayed once before giving out completely, crumpling forward until the full weight of him fell against me. I gasped at the sudden heaviness, arms instinctivelywrapping around him before I could think. His head pressed into my chest, his breath hot and ragged against my skin. For a moment, all I could do was hold him, stunned by how small he felt in that instant, despite the vastness of his frame.

The King-the man who carried the whole kingdom on his shoulders, who ruled with ruthless command, who everyone feared as cursed and untouchable-was trembling in my arms like something fragile.

And my heart ached so violently it nearly split in two.

“Maximus…” The name slipped from me before I realized had spoken, a whisper heavy with something I didn’t want to name. My fingers, trembling, threaded through his damp hair, combing gently as if I could soothe away the torment carved into him. He made no move to stop me, no growl, no threat. Only a broken sound left his lips-so faint I almost thought I imagined it.

I rested my chin against his head, holding him closer. My chest squeezed tight. I had never felt so protective of anyone, never felt the sharp sting of another’s suffering like it was my own. And this man-the one everyone saw as a monster, the one the world believed incapable of mercy-was unraveling in my arms.

What had he endured behind closed doors? What endless torment did he bear that no one saw, no one even tried to understand?

The beast’s rage was still fresh in my memory-the snarls,the claws, the violent war inside him. He hadn’t looked like a creature mindlessly killing. He had looked like a man battling himself, tearing apart inside his own skin. A man and a monster fighting for the right to breathe.

And for the first time, I saw the truth.

This wasn’t power. This wasn’t cruelty.

This was suffering.

A curse so vicious it shredded him from within.

No wonder women never survived. No wonder they called him cursed. It wasn’t just lust or hunger—it was war, every time. A war where the beast always won. And yet…

I was still here.

Twice now I had been close enough to die, close enough to feel the beast’s fury brush against my skin, and yet-l wasn’t dead.

Why?

What made me different?

About the curse. About the pain. About the man beneath the crown and the beast.

Because maybe-just maybe I was his chance.

My arms tightened around him, pulling him close as if my embrace could hold him together. His breath evened, slow and deep, exhaustion finally overtaking him. His weight grew heavier in my lap, but I didn’t move. Couldn’t. My hand kept combing through his hair, soothing, grounding, until I didn’t realize when my own eyes grew heavy.

Somewhere between thought and silence, sleep stole me.

I don’t know how long I drifted.

But the sound that woke me jolted me upright.

The creak of the door.

My eyes snapped open, heart thundering violently in my chest. My arms instinctively tightened around Maximus as I turned toward the noise.

The door stood open.

And in the doorway-

Oh shit.

Him.