Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King Chapter 35

EMILIA'S POV

I didn't dare look back. I couldn't. My entire body screamed against it, instinct clawing at me, telling me that if I ever turned my head, if I let my feet falter for even a heartbeat, I would never make it out alive.

The forest wasn't just dark—it was alive. Every shadow felt like it breathed, every root seemed to grasp at my ankles. The storm above cracked the sky wide open, lightning flashing with violent brilliance, painting the world in split-second blinding white before plunging it back into suffocating black.

The thunder rolled after, deep and bone-rattling, like the growl of the Goddess herself.

And still, I ran.

My lungs burned, the air sharp and icy as it ripped through me. But none of it mattered. Not the ache in my throat, not the thorns clawing at my skin as branches whipped against me.

All that mattered was the voice inside my head, cold and certain.

If they catch you, Emilia, there will be no escape. Ever.

So I pushed harder. Faster.

The first cold drop of rain splashed against my cheek, sliding down like a tear that wasn't mine. Then another, and another, until the sky opened up above me. Sheets of icy rain poured down, soaking me to the bone, plastering my hair to my face, blinding me.

But I welcomed it. Let it wash the palace from me. Let it strip me bare of the filth, the cage, the cruelty of that place.

Freedom was worth the storm.

Then I heard it.

A howl.

Low and long, the sound carried through the trees, vibrating in my chest.

My heart stuttered, then slammed into a faster rhythm.

I didn't need to look back to know what was behind me.

Rogues.

The rain did nothing to mask the sound of them. Paws pounding against the earth. Snapping branches. Snarls and growls low in their throats, hungry and cruel.

The stench of them hit me next—feral, bitter, sharp like blood and rot.

I gagged, bile burning my throat, but I didn't stop running. Couldn't stop.

Lightning flashed again, and for a split second I saw the forest stretch endless ahead of me, but no safety. No shelter. Just trees and shadows and more shadows.

The first growl tore through the rain behind me, so close I felt it vibrate the back of my neck.

I nearly stumbled, panic clawing up my throat, but I forced my legs to move faster. My lungs screamed, fire in every breath, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but putting distance between me and the monsters on my heels.

Then something blurred past me.

A shadow. A shape. My heart seized.

The reek of rogue filled my nose, making my eyes sting. I didn't have to see him to know one was right there, circling, playing with me like prey.

Goddess help me.

I jerked to the side, feet slipping in mud, but I kept going. The forest tilted, the trees spinning, but I forced my body forward.

Another growl. This one right at my back. Hot breath brushed the damp fabric of my dress.

Then impact.

Pain exploded in my side as I was shoved hard into the ground. My shoulder cracked against a root, pain shooting white-hot through my arm. Mud splashed up, choking me. My palms scraped raw as I clawed for purchase.

I gasped, scrambling, shoving against the weight pressing me down.

But then it was gone.

I shoved myself upright, dizzy, spitting dirt. My hair clung to my face in thick, wet tangles, but I forced it back, blinking against the rain.

Three.

Three rogues circled me, their eyes glowing red in the darkness, their teeth bared in jagged snarls. Their fur was slick with rain, their muscles rippling beneath it, shadows within shadows.

The chill of the storm sank deeper into my bones, but it wasn't just the cold. It was their eyes. That savage hunger. That promise of death.

They paced slowly, deliberate, their growls vibrating through the night. My breath came fast and shallow, every instinct screaming at me to drop, to cower, to give in.

But I wasn't stupid. And I wasn't weak.

My nails dug into the mud at my sides. I spat into the dirt, baring my teeth right back at them. "Come on, then," I rasped, though my voice shook. "I'm not that easy."

They snarled, circling tighter.

I moved too. Slowly, carefully. My mind raced, calculating. Every move mattered. One wrong step and it was over.

Then I saw it. A gap. A sliver of space between the largest one's shoulder and the tree behind him.

My only chance.

I didn't think. I didn't breathe.

I moved.

I ducked low, so fast the rogues didn't expect it. My body scraped against the mud, tearing my skin, but I shot forward through the gap before they could close it.

And then I ran.

The forest blurred again, the sound of my heartbeat drowning everything else.

Behind me, the snarls rose, furious. Claws raked the earth, paws pounded after me.

They were faster. Stronger. They would catch me.

But I wasn't going down without a fight.

A branch whipped across my cheek, slicing skin, but I didn't falter. My breath came in ragged gasps, rain choking me.

One of them lunged, so close I felt the air shift, but then—

It didn't reach me.

A blur of black shot past.

I stumbled to the side, my eyes wide, barely catching what happened. The rogue that had been about to snap its teeth around my throat was suddenly on the ground, yelping in pain as something tore into it.

I didn't stop to see what. Didn't dare.

I kept running, my legs burning, but then—

The forest suddenly went still.

The growls. The snarls. The chase.

Gone.

Only the storm remained, beating down on me, every drop a drumbeat against my skin.

I slowed without meaning to, confusion tangling with panic. My head whipped left, right. The trees loomed, dripping, silent.

Too silent.

My heart stopped.

Something was watching me.

The weight of it pressed against my skin, heavy and suffocating. My breath hitched, my pulse hammering against my ribs.

I turned slowly, every inch of me trembling.

And that's when I saw him.

He stepped out of the shadows like he had been born from them. The storm seemed to bend around him, the rain glinting off his skin.

Naked.

Water streamed down the hard planes of his body, sliding over carved muscle. His hair was soaked, black strands clinging to his sharp cheekbones, to the hard line of his jaw.

And his eyes—

Cold. Sharp. Piercing straight into me like blades.

The King.

My breath caught, my body locking in place as those eyes pinned me.

I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything but stare.

His chest rose and fell slowly, each breath controlled, deliberate. His muscles flexed as he stepped closer, mud and water clinging to his skin.

The air between us snapped tight, charged, electric.

And then he spoke.

His voice cut through the storm, low and powerful, sinking into my skin, vibrating in my bones.

"Did you really think you could get away from me?"

My knees nearly buckled. My heart thundered so loud I thought it might break my ribs.

And then the horrifying realization hit me.

I've been caught.