Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King Chapter 119

MAXIMUS'S POV

The silence in my office was unbearable.

It pressed down on me like a weight, heavy and suffocating, wrapping around every thought that tried to crawl out of my head. I'd been here since I returned to the palace—door locked, curtains drawn, fire out.

I didn't want to feel.

I didn't want to think.

I just wanted to be numb.

The desk in front of me was covered in papers, most of them reports I hadn't touched. My throne-like chair sat behind it, cold, unwelcoming. I didn't sit there. I sat on the edge of the couch instead, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor like it could give me answers.

I couldn't go to my bedroom.

Not when everything in there screamed her name.

The scent of her still lingered in the sheets. The faint memory of her laugh clung to the walls. Every damn corner of that room reminded me of Emilia—her stubbornness, her strength, the way she always looked me straight in the eyes when everyone else bowed.

She wasn't scared of me.

Not once.

And that—somehow—made me love her even more.

I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a small, bitter laugh. It sounded empty.

What the hell was I even doing?

I was the Alpha King. The cursed one. The one who didn't break. But here I was—falling apart over a woman who didn't even look at me the same way anymore.

I clenched my jaw and stared at the flames flickering weakly in the fireplace.

I had problems to solve, Soraya was still on about Milandra's spirit being inside Emilia. About her being our downfall.

And who the hell had shot Damien?

The image of those green eyes flashed in my head again—sharp, cold, familiar. I knew those eyes. I just couldn't place the damn face.

One name kept coming back to me.

Raina.

Why her? Why would she want to kill Damien?

It didn't make sense. None of this did.

I took a deep breath and reached out through the mind link. 'Lucien,'I ordered, my voice low and sharp. 'Tell Raina to come to my office. Now.'

'Yes, Your Majesty.'

I walked to the window, hands behind my back. The night stretched wide and cold outside. The moon hung low, almost mocking me.

I stared at it for a long time.

That cursed light always seemed to shine the brightest when I was at my lowest. I hated it.

"You're laughing at me again, aren't you?" I muttered under my breath.

The moon said nothing, of course, but I could almost feel it sneer. I let out a low, humorless laugh.

That's when the knock came.

Sharp. Urgent.

I turned, irritation rising in my chest. "Enter," I said.

The door opened slowly, and the one person I didn't want to see stepped in.

Soraya.

Her robes brushed against the marble floor as she fell to her knees immediately, head bowed so low it almost touched the ground.

"My King," she said, her voice trembling. "We are near our doom."

I froze. "What?"

She lifted her head slightly, eyes wide with fear. "It's Emilia," she whispered. "You know she has shifted into a white wolf—exactly like Milandra's. Her powers are awakening, Your Majesty. If this continues, none of us will be able to stop her."

My stomach tightened.

I clenched my fists. "You're still saying this? After everything?"

"My King," she pleaded, "you are taking too much risk. You must distance yourself from her before it's too late—"

"Enough!" I snapped, my voice echoing through the room.

She flinched but didn't move.

"You told me," I said, stepping forward, "that if I found my second chance mate, the curse would be broken."

Her lips parted, but I didn't give her a chance to speak.

"Well, I found her!" I shouted. "And what happened? Nothing! The curse is still here. I'm still fighting the same damn darkness every day, and you—you did nothing!"

"My King, please—"

"Why?" I demanded. "Why is your entire focus on Emilia? Why do you keep calling her a threat?"

Soraya's voice shook. "Because she is a threat."

"I'm a threat too!" I roared. "You know what happens when my beast takes over! You've seen it! Tell me how she's any worse than me!"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Her fear filled the room like smoke.

I stepped closer, my anger clawing up my throat. "Explain it, Soraya! Explain why the only person I feel any peace around is Emilia. Explain why she's the only one who can calm my beast. Explain why the curse reacts to her and no one else!"

She looked at me with wide, panicked eyes, words dying on her tongue.

"What good," I said quietly, "did finding a second chance mate do for me?"

The question hung heavy in the air.

Soraya lowered her head, trembling. "My King..."

"Answer me!" I barked.

She stayed silent.

I exhaled harshly, dragging a hand down my face. My head throbbed. My patience snapped.

But then—something strange.

When I looked at her, something flickered in my chest. Something... off.

Her eyes.

Green.

I froze.

I furrowed my brows, staring hard at her face. She must've felt it because her gaze dropped instantly to the floor.

Those eyes... that shade of green...The same color that haunted me since the moment Damien fell.

Was I imagining it? Was my mind playing tricks on me again?

First, I'd suspected Raina. Now Soraya. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Get out," I said finally, my voice low and cold.

She looked up, startled. "My King—"

"I said get out!"

She flinched, then scrambled to her feet and bowed deeply before rushing out of the room.

The moment the door shut, I pressed my palms against the edge of my desk, trying to breathe.

My thoughts were spinning too fast. Too sharp.

What if I was right? What if one of them—Raina or Soraya—was behind the shooting? What if that wasn't just an attack on Damien but something much deeper?

A knock broke through my thoughts again—this time frantic.

"Enter," I said, already feeling the headache coming.

Lucien stepped in.

And the look on his face made my stomach drop.

His usual composure was gone. His skin was pale. His hands shook slightly at his sides.

"What is it?" I asked, straightening.

He didn't answer. Not right away. He looked... broken.

"Lucien," I said again, sharper. "What the hell is it?"

He swallowed hard. "Your Majesty, I... I went to fetch Raina as you ordered."

I nodded slowly. "And?"

He hesitated, eyes darting to the floor.

"Speak!" I barked.

He flinched. "She... she had just returned from checking on Damien. She heard about what happened to him."

My jaw tightened. "Go on."

"She said..." Lucien's voice faltered. He looked like he didn't want to say it.

"She said what?" I demanded, my patience thinning by the second.

He hesitated, his breathing uneven. "She said she found them—"

"Found who?"

"Damien and Emilia," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "She found them together. They looked... happy. Damien was fine. He was... healing fast."

Something sharp twisted in my gut. "And?"

Lucien's eyes lifted, filled with guilt. "And... she said she found Damien marking Emilia."

The world went still.

I didn't hear anything else. Not the sound of Lucien's breathing. Not the faint crackle of the fire. Not the ticking clock behind me.

Just those words.

Damien marking Emilia.

For a second, I thought I'd misheard him. That maybe the grief had finally broken my mind completely. But the look on his face told me he wasn't lying.

He couldn't be lying.

I took a slow step back, my chest tightening like something was crushing me from the inside.

"She..." My voice cracked. "She let him?"

Lucien didn't answer. His silence was enough.

My pulse roared in my ears. My vision blurred at the edges.

She let him.

She didn't want my mark. She erased it like it was filth.

But she let him mark her.

Something inside me shattered so violently I almost doubled over.

The beast inside me stirred, growling low in my chest.

No.

No.

No.

My claws shot out before I could stop them, slicing through the wooden edge of the desk like it was paper. Splinters flew across the room.

Lucien stumbled back, eyes wide in horror. "No—Your Majesty, no! Don't—"

I couldn't hear him.

Couldn't see him.

Couldn't feel anything except the fury boiling through my veins.

My heart was gone—replaced by something dark and wild and hungry.

The beast pushed harder, roaring in my head.

The pain turned to rage, the kind that made the air around me tremble. My eyes burned, my breath coming out in sharp, animalistic bursts.

Lucien's voice broke through, terrified. "Your Majesty, stop! Please—don't lose control!"

But it was too late.

The curse—my curse—snapped open inside me, flooding every inch of my body with power and rage.

The room shook.

And all I saw in my mind was her face. Her eyes. Her lips.

And Damien's mark on her skin.

A snarl ripped out of me, loud and raw and painful.

Lucien's face went pale.

"No," he whispered. "Fuck no. Your Majesty—no!"

I didn't hear him.

I didn't hear anything but the sound of my beast breaking free.