Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King Chapter 36

EMILIA'S POV

The instant his words cut through the storm, my body rebelled. I turned on my heel and bolted, the mud sucking at my feet, the rain pelting so hard I could hardly see. My muscles screamed in protest, exhaustion clawing at me, but I didn't care. I had one chance, one sliver of defiance left in me—and I wasn't going to waste it.

If I could just make it deeper into the trees. If I could just—

My thought shattered with a sharp gasp as a powerful hand clamped around my waist and yanked me back. My legs kicked, my nails clawed at empty air, but I might as well have been a child fighting a mountain. He spun me effortlessly, slung me over his broad shoulder like I weighed nothing at all, and started walking.

"No!" My voice tore out of me, raw and furious, echoing in the storm. My fists pounded against the solid expanse of his back, each strike reverberating against muscle that refused to give beneath my blows. "Put me down! Put me down, damn you!"

His only response was the steady rhythm of his stride, long and unyielding as he carried me through the forest. Rain streamed down his skin, over the carved planes of his back, dripping from his soaked hair. He didn't even grunt beneath the force of my fists. Didn't flinch. Didn't falter.

I was nothing more than a tantruming child in his grasp.

"I just saved your life," he said, his voice low and sharp, cutting through thunder. "And this is how you thank me? By thrashing and screaming like a spoiled brat?"

"You didn't save me!" I spat, my fists still hammering. "I was fine—I had it handled—"

"Handled? You'd be bleeding out in the mud right now if not for me."

"I don't need you!" My nails dug into his damp skin. "Let me go!"

He ignored me. The bastard ignored me, like I was nothing more than a buzzing insect on his shoulder. His strength was absolute, his grip around me like iron. No matter how I twisted, no matter how hard I kicked, I couldn't shake free.

The storm swallowed my fury, thunder cracking, lightning tearing the sky open. In one violent flash, my eyes flicked downward—and froze.

Oh Goddess.

His bare skin gleamed in the lightning. Hard muscle, broad back, narrow waist. My breath stuttered against my will when my gaze dropped lower, catching the curve of his naked ass. Water trailed over it, glinting silver. Perfect. Too perfect. Heat rose in my chest, unwanted, shameful. I hated myself for noticing. I hated him more for making me notice.

I forced my eyes shut, swallowing the bile and the traitorous heat burning in my stomach. He was dragging me back to the one place I swore I'd never return. And there was nothing I could do to stop him.

Every step he took crushed that reality deeper into me.

The palace emerged through the storm, looming like a nightmare in the distance. My stomach dropped to my knees. The closer we came, the harder it was to breathe. I had hoped tonight would be my chance. That the storm would cloak me, that the forest would hide me, that maybe—just maybe—I'd finally be free.

Instead, here I was, slung like prey over the shoulder of the King himself, my body soaked, my spirit cracking, my hope dissolving into the rain.

Tears burned hot in my eyes, though the storm swallowed them before they could fall. The rain disguised everything—my pain, my fear, the hollow ache in my chest that whispered I'd never escape him. He would keep me. Cage me. Break me.

And worse—he would never let me out of his sight again.

My fists slowed. The fight drained from my limbs, leaving only a bitter, hollow ache. I sagged against him, my body trembling, my breath ragged.

Why me? Out of all the girls. Out of all the choices he had—why me?

I never asked for this. I never wanted this. And yet, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't change the truth pressing down on me.

I was his captive. His possession.

And he was dragging me back to hell.

He didn't say a word as we crossed the palace threshold. The heavy doors groaned open, the storm fading to a muffled roar behind us. Inside, shadows stretched across the grand halls. His strides echoed, steady and merciless, carrying me deeper into the beast's den.

Then he took a sharp turn, one I wasn't familiar with. His shoulder shifted beneath me. My pulse spiked. This wasn't the way back to the quarters or his chambers.

"Where are you taking me?" My voice broke, the edges sharp with panic.

He didn't answer. He didn't even glance down at me. He just kept walking, his pace never faltering, until he reached a heavy oak door. Without hesitation, he kicked it open.

The room was dim, the light from the moon spilling hungry shadows across the walls. My stomach twisted as he strode in and kicked the door shut behind us. The slam rattled through me, final, inescapable.

He set me down at last. My legs buckled beneath me, swaying, but I forced myself to stand tall, to lift my chin. My chest heaved with ragged breaths as I faced him.

"What part of you're mine don't you understand?" His voice was calm, but it was the kind of calm that was more dangerous than any roar. His wet hair dripped onto his sharp cheekbones, his jaw tight, his eyes unyielding.

"I don't belong to anybody." My voice shook, but the words cut with defiance. "Not you. Not anyone."

"Wrong." He stepped closer, the word heavy, final. "I gave you three days to consider what I told you. Today was the last. And instead of submitting, you tried to run." His jaw flexed, his nostrils flaring. "That offer is off the table. Now, you belong to me whether you like it or not. You will give me a son—whether you like it or not."

The words slammed into me, ripping the air from my lungs. Rage clawed up my throat, hotter than the storm outside. "No! I don't belong to you! I don't belong to anybody!" My scream tore through the chamber, raw and defiant.

I turned to run, desperation propelling me—but I didn't make it two steps. His hand shot out, catching me with terrifying ease.

In one motion, he lifted me, spun, and hurled me onto the massive bed in the center of the room. My back hit the sheets with a gasp, the air knocked from my lungs.

Panic exploded through me as I scrambled, but the bed was a trap in itself. Four thick posts rose at each corner, heavy iron chains dangling from them, clinking ominously.

"No!" I writhed, twisting, clawing, but he was already on me. His hand captured my wrist, the strength in his grip like iron shackles. He dragged my arm up and in a single, terrifying movement, snapped the cuff closed around it. Cold metal bit into my skin.

I thrashed, screaming, but it was useless. He caught my other arm, chaining me before I could land so much as a scratch. My kicks hit nothing but air. His weight, his strength, his speed—he was unstoppable.

Within heartbeats, I was bound, spread across the bed like an offering, chains rattling above me.

I froze, chest heaving, the sound of my own pulse roaring in my ears.

And then I saw him.

He stood at the foot of the bed, looming. The moonlight glinting off every hard plane of muscle. His abs were cut into stone, every ridge sharp enough to slice. The deep V of his hips drew my eyes downward against my will, the strength of his thighs coiled with restrained power.

He looked like a man carved for war, for conquest. And his eyes—those cold, merciless eyes—were locked on me like I was a meal he was about to devour.

My breath caught, fury and fear tangling into a knot in my chest.

He braced his hands against the top of the bedframe, leaning forward slightly, caging me in even from a distance. His muscles flexed with the movement, shadows carving deeper into his body. The air thickened, heavy with his presence, with the command that rolled off him in waves.

When he spoke, his voice was low, thick, and commanding. It vibrated through the chains, through the bed, through me.

"It's time you learn what it means to defy me."