Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 71

The sound of running water filled the bathroom, steady and soothing-at first.

I stood under the spray, my palms flat against the cold tile, eyes closed, trying to breathe. The steam rose around me like a ghost, curling againt my skin. For a few seconds, it was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.

I wanted to scrub everything away-the anger, the tears, the pain that still lingered after Maximus walked out. But the moment the hot water touched my skin, a sharp shiver crawled up my spine.

It started slow-just a faint tremble. Then, all at once, heat slammed into me like a wave.

My body burned.

My breath caught in my throat as I staggered backward, grabbing the edge of the glass wall. “No,” | whispered, shaking my head. “Not again.”

But the heat didn’t stop. It spread fast, searing through every inch of me until | thought my skin would blister. I reached out with a shaking hand and twisted the knob, switching the water from hot to cold.

For a heartbeat, relief washed over me. The icy stream hit my body, shocking my lungs back into rhythm. I gasped for air-until the chill became unbearable.

My teeth chattered. My fingers went numb. I collapsed to my knees with a strangled cry, my body caught between burning and freezing, like my blood couldn’t decide what temperature to be.

The pain came next.

Deep, sharp, and alive.

It felt like something was crawling beneath my skin, twisting my bones into shapes they weren’t meant to take. I cried out, clutching my stomach as the pain grew sharper, deeper, spreading through my chest, my arms, my legs.

I looked down-and froze:

My fingers were… changing.

Claws pushed out from beneath my nails, long and white like polished ivory. I blinked through the steam, my breath fogging in front of me.

The claws retracted-then came out again, glinting under the light.

“What-” My voice broke. “What is happening to me?”

My heart thundered.

Panic clawed up my throat as white fur began to rise across my arms, i soft but glowing faintly, like frost catching moonlight. I stared at it, wide-eyed, unable to breathe. Then, just as quickly, it vanished-melting back into my skin as though it had never been there.

I stared at my shaking hands.

“No,” I whispered. “This can’t be real.”

My body convulsed. My bones twisted again, sharp cracks echoing through the room. I screamed, curling forward as fire shot down my spine. My muscles tensed so hard I thought they’d tear. The water poured over me, but it couldn’t drown the burning inside.

It felt like my body was trying to become something else.

Something wild.

Something I wasn’t ready for.

My vision blurred as I fell forward, palms hitting the slippery tile. Theclaws came again-then vanished. The white fur flickered in and out like a dying flame. My breath came fast and shallow. I tried to crawi, to stand, but my body wouldn’t obey.

“Please,” I gasped, my voice breaking. “Make it stop.”

But it didn’t.

The pain built and built until my screams echoed off the marble walls. curled into a ball, trembling, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. It felt like I was being ripped apart and rebuilt from the inside.

Then, suddenly-silence.

The pain stopped.

Everything went quiet except for the sound of water hitting the floor.

My body went limp. My vision darkened at the edges, the world tilting and fading until everything disappeared into black.

****

When I woke, the first thing I felt was warmth.

The second was the steady beeping of a machine somewhere beside me.

I blinked my eyes open, squinting against the light. The ceiling above me was white and too bright, the air clean but unfamiliar. My head throbbed. My limbs felt heavy.

Then I felt it-someone holding my hand.

I turned my head slowly and found Damien sitting beside me. His eyes were red, his jaw tight. When he saw me looking at him, he exhaled a shaky breath and quickly stood, leaning closer.

“Emilia,” he said softly, his voice rough. “Thank the Goddess. You scared me.”

I frowned, my throat dry. “What… happened?”

He brushed his hand over my face gently, as if making sure I was really there. “I felt something,” he said quietly. “A pull. Like my chest was tearing open. I knew something was wrong. When I found you, you were unconscious… in the shower.”

The realization hit me like a slap. My cheeks burned

He’d found me-naked.

I looked away quickly, my voice barely a whisper. “Oh.”

He seemed to understand, because he didn’t say anything else. He just gave me a small, reassuring smile and squeezed my hand. “You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”

I nodded slowly, still too weak to speak.

Damien glanced at her, unease flickering in his eyes. “She ask you a question,

But she didn’t answer him. She only said, “Time will tell,”

The words sent a chill down my spine.

Her eyes met mine, steady and knowing. There was something haunting about that look, something that told me she knew more than she was saying.

Then-

The door opened

I thought it was another nurse coming in.

But when I saw who it was, my heart stopped.

Maximus.

He stood in the doorway, his chest rising and falling fast, his eyes wide with barely contained panic. His hair was messy, his shirt half-buttoned, like he’d come running.

For a second, no one moved.

Damien stiffened instantly beside me, his hand tightening around mine. His whole body went rigid, like he was ready for a fight.

“Maximus,” Damien said in a warning tone.But Maximus didn’t even look at him. His eyes were on me-wild, desperate, searching. He took a step forward, and for a moment! forgot how to breathe.

I didn’t know what-to say. I didn’t even know what I felt-anger, pain, regret, all tangled together.

But before I could speak, before he could take another step, something changed in his expression.

He froze.

His gaze shifted-past me, toward the doctor standing at the foot of my bed.

The air in the room changed instantly.

His whole body went still, his face paling as his eyes locked on hers.

The raw panic in his expression turned into something else-shock.

Recognition.

The doctor, for her part, didn’t move. She just smiled faintly, that same strange, knowing smile that made my skin prickle.

“Your Majesty,” she said softly. “It’s been a long time.”