Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 99

MAXIMUS’S POV

The forest was too fucking quiet.

Every sound felt heavy. Every shadow looked alive. My paws hit the wet earth again and again, the rhythm fast and desperate. The night air was cold, cutting through my fur, but I barely felt it. All I could think about was her.

Emilia.

Her’scent was faint, like smoke fading into the wind. Vanilla and jasmine. The smell that always used to calm me now only made my chest tighten until it hurt to breathe.

I followed it anyway, even though it was getting weaker with every step. My wolf’s instincts were sharp, but right now they felt useless. I pushed harder, forcing myself to run faster, ignoring the burn in my muscles. I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop.

I needed to find her.

The trees around me blurred as I ran, the forest thick with fog and silence. Every now and then, I caught a whiff of her scent, and hope would flicker to life inside me-only to die again when it disappeared.

“Anything?” I asked through the mind link.

Lucien’s voice came through, steady but tired. “Nothing yet, my King.

We’re still tracking north. The scent’s faint, but it’s there.”

I growled under my breath. “Keep searching. I don’t care how long it takes. We find her.”

“Yes, my King.”

The link went quiet again, but my mind didn’t. It was a storm-a mix of fear, guilt, anger, and something worse.

She had looked at me like I was a stranger. Like I was the enemy.

The image wouldn’t leave me. Her gotden eyes filled with confusion and pain. The way she’d turned away, the broken sound that had left her throat before she ran. I’d seen her strong, furious, fearless-but never like that. Never so… lost.

My paws slowed just enough for my thoughts to catch up with me, and I felt thoroughly helpless

This was her first shift.

The first time her wolf had ever taken control. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I should have been there for her.

I should have protected her.

A sharp pain sliced through my chest, worse than any wound. My wolf growled low, restless beneath my skin. I hated that she was out there alone, scared, maybe hurt. The thought made me want to tear the world apart.

I released a howl into the night-loud, raw, filled with every ounce of fear and rage inside me. The sound echoed through the forest, bouncing off the trees, calling for her, begging for her to answer back.

But only silence came.

No reply. No sound.

Just the cold wind and the emptiness pressing in around mè.

Lucien’s voice filled the link again, quieter this time. “My King… maybe she went too far from here. The scent’s broken. The others are struggling to keep the trail.”

I stopped, panting, the fog swirling around me. My claws dug into the dirt. “We keep going. I don’t care if it takes all night. We don’t stop until we find her.”

“Understood.”

The search went on. Hours passed. The moon climbed higher, then started to fade. The forest grew colder. The scent grew weaker. Every time I thought I’d found something, it slipped away again, leaving me empty-handed and furious.

I could feel my men slowing. Their exhaustion bled through the link-panting breaths, heavy paws, tired hearts. But no one dared to stop.

Not while I was still running.

Still hoping.

Still breaking.

By the time the first light of dawn began to creep through the trees, we had circled the forest twice. We had checked every trail, every stream, every clearing.

Nothing.

He frowned. “What?”

“Take them back. Make sure the palace is secure. Tend to the injured.

I’ll stay here.”

Lucien hesitated. His eyes met mine. “You can’t stay here alone. You haven’t rested since last night. You need to-”

” said go, Lucien.”

The command left no room for argument. My voice was sharp, final. I felt his hesitation through the bond, his worry pressing against my mind, but he didn’t argue again.

“As you wish, my King.”

One by one, the warriors turned and headed toward the palace. Their paws faded into the distance until it was just me and the whisper of the wind.

Silence fell again.

The kind of silence that feels heavy. Cold.

I stood there in my wolf form, staring at the empty space between the trees, the dawn light spilling softly through the leaves. My chest ached.

My heart felt like it was being crushed from the inside.

I lowered my head to the ground, breathing in the damp earth, searching one last time for even the faintest trace of her scent.

Nothing. Not even a whisper.

The ache in my chest grew stronger until I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I shifted back into my human form, falling to my knees in the dirt. The cold air hit my skin, but I barely noticed. My hands dug into the ground as I let out a shaky breath that sounded more like a growl than a sigh.

“Where are you, Emilia?”