Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 57

The rain didn’t let up. It came down in sheets, relentless, heavy enough that the world blurred into silver. My hair clung to my face, plastered in damp strands, and every step Maximus took sent mud splashing against his legs.

But I didn’t notice any of it.

Not when his arms were around me. Not when my legs were hooked tightly around his waist, my cheek pressed to the solid, rain-slicked heat of his shoulder.

He carried me like I weighed nothing, his stride powerful, unhurried steady against the fury of the storm.

“You’ll catch cold,” he muttered, his voice a deep rumble against my ear, vibrating down my spine.

“I’m fine,” I whispered back, though my teeth were beginning to chatter.

He adjusted his grip, holding me tighter, as if daring the storm itself to try and take me from him. “The palace is too far. I’ve got a place close by.”

“A place?” My voice was muffled against his skin.

His jaw tightened, the motion brushing against my temple. “A cabin.

Somewhere I go when… when I need to think.”

I tilted my head just enough to see his expression. His eyes burned straight ahead, lit by the storm, wild and impossibly blue. I wondered if he was remembering all the times he’d come here alone. All the times he’d fought the beast without anyone to ground him.

But now, he wasn’t alone.

I wasn’t about to let him be.

The forest opened just enough to reveal the small cabin, its silhouette barely visible through the downpour.

Maximus slowed only long enough to shift me slightly in his arms. He crouched low, reaching beneath a flowerpot near the steps, and pulled free a key. The small gesture-this secret stash-sent a strange warmth spiraling through me.

He carried me up the steps, slid the key into the lock, and pushed the door open with his shoulder. Warmth didn’t greet us, not yet, but the dryness of the cabin was a gift in itself.

“Get inside,” he commanded gruffly. His voice carried the kind of authority that made disobeying impossible. “Before you catch a cold.”

slipped from his hold reluctantly, my bare feet landing on the wooden floor. He lingered in the doorway for a moment, rain streaming down his impossibly broad shoulders, before shutting it behind him.

The sudden quiet was startling. No rain hammering us, no wind /howling-just the sound of water dripping from our soaked bodies onto the floor.

And him.

Maximus.

Practically naked. His body gleamed with rain, muscles carved and flexed beneath every shift, every breath. His dark hair clung to his face, water trailing down the strong line of his jaw, dripping from his throat to his chest.

I swallowed hard, heat curling in my belly despite the chill.

I’d seen him half-shifted, furious, broken. But now-like this, raw and human under the storm-he was devastating.

He disappeared briefly into another room, the sound of rummaging filling the silence. My gaze betrayed me, dropping to the hard ridges of his back as he moved. Power radiated from him, untamed, dangerous-and yet, all I could think about was the way his muscles shifted under his skin.

He returned with towels, his gaze briefly skimming over me-before catching.

My breath hitched.

Because my nightgown-thin to begin with-was utterly useless against the rain. The fabric clung to every curve of my body, transparent in the dim light. My breasts were visible, nipples hard from the cold, the outline of my waist and hips exposed as though I wore nothing at all.

Maximus froze. His eyes darkened instantly, hunger flashing before he jerked his gaze away, jaw clenched.

“Here.” His voice was thick, low, rough. He held out the towel without meeting my eyes. “Take it, Before you freeze.”

But something inside me-something reckless, raw, desperate-snapped free.

Instead of-reaching for the towel, I slipped one trembling hand up to. my shoulder.

And tugged the strap of my nightgown down.

The wet fabric slid against my skin, slow, heavy, falling lower until it pooled at my feet in a soaked heap.

Maximus sucked in a sharp breath, his head whipping back toward me as though he couldn’t stop himself.

“You want me to fuck you,” he rasped, his voice torn between restraint and devastation.

Yes,” I whispered, my lips brushing his.

“Say it.”

I met his eyes, every shred of doubt gone, replaced only with hunger, need, certainty.

“I want you to fuck me,” I breathed, each word breaking the silence like thunder. “No holding back this time.”

His groan tore through the cabin, primal, dark, broken. He leaned down, his lips grazing my ear, his breath hot and ragged

“Be careful what you ask for, Emilia,” he whispered, voice thick with lust and warning. “Because if I fuck you, you’ll be sore for days. I haven’t really been with a woman in ages. So know what you’re asking for.”

My body shuddered, heat pooling low in my belly. My nails dug into his chest, anchoring myself to him.

“Do you want me?” His voice was a growl now, demanding, rough.

“Yes.” My answer came without hesitation, without fear. “Yes, I want you.”

His eyes blazed hotter, blue fire consuming me whole.

And then-

The air snapped between us, heavy, trembling with the storm outside and the storm brewing inside us both.

He leaned closer, his lips ghosting mine, his voice nothing but a dangerous, devastating promise.

“Then goddess help you, Emilia…

His breath shuddered against me, the edge of restraint breaking.

“…because I won’t hold back.”