Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King Chapter 57

EMILIA'S POV

The silence after his words was a blade pressed against my throat.

My body had locked itself into stillness, every muscle taut, my breath caught in the tight snare of fear. He was awake. He was furious. And he was looking at me like I had committed the greatest sin imaginable.

I should've begged for forgiveness. Should've bowed my head, shrunk into silence, prayed he'd spare me.

Instead, my mouth betrayed me.

"You know," I blurted out, my voice too bright, too brittle, too desperate to fill the crushing quiet, "you're... really strong. You pulled those chains out of the wall like they were twigs. I mean—wow."

The word hung in the air like an awkward balloon about to pop.

His eyes narrowed, the fury in them hardening into ice.

Shit.

Slowly—deliberately—he swung his legs over the side of the bed. The sheet slipped down his torso, exposing the ridges of muscle marred with faint bruises and deep lines of strain. His movements were precise, controlled, but I could feel the fury in every shift of his body. He rose to his full height, towering over me, his shadow swallowing me whole.

When he spoke, his voice was low, ragged with fury. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?"

I took a small step back, my throat dry, but words still tumbled recklessly from my lips. "I—I mean... yes? No? Maybe? Look, can we just—look at the bright side? I'm alive."

I forced a weak laugh, as if humor could shield me from the sharpness of his rage.

I didn't see it coming.

One second, I was standing there, fumbling for words—the next, his hand wrapped around my throat. Not crushing, not choking, but firm enough to make the world tilt on its axis. My breath stuttered, my pulse hammering wildly beneath his grip.

"You think everything is a joke, Emilia?" he growled, his voice a rumble that vibrated through his chest and into my bones. His face was close now, his fury radiating like fire, his eyes pinning me as if I were prey cornered by a predator. "There are things beyond your understanding."

My lips parted, the words barely more than a whisper. "Like how nobody knows your suffering."

His grip didn't tighten—but it didn't ease, either. His eyes flickered, just for a second, with something sharp and unreadable. Pain? Shock? Anger twisted with something heavier?

"You've been enduring this alone," I whispered again, softer this time, like a truth I wasn't supposed to speak aloud.

The air between us thickened, heavy enough to choke on.

Then, suddenly, he released me.

I stumbled back, my hand flying to my throat, skin tingling where his fingers had been. He turned away from me sharply, his broad back cutting me off, his body rigid with tension. The air crackled with silence, thick and suffocating, until his voice cut through it like a blade.

"Lucien."

The Beta straightened instantly, his presence a looming shadow in the room. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"I told you to keep an eye on her."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Lucien said quickly, his voice steady but tinged with shame. "I didn't think she'd be able to sneak out. There was a guard stationed right outside her door. We thought she was in your room all night. We didn't know she was here."

I lifted my chin, my voice cracking the heavy silence. "You know, you should be thanking me."

Both their heads turned toward me.

"I stayed with you all night," I said, forcing a smile I didn't feel, my voice wobbling between defiance and nervousness. "You could've been—who knows what—but I was here. Watching over you. Making sure you didn't..." My words trailed off as the King's eyes darkened further, his fury simmering, his jaw tight.

"I don't know what stupid superpower you think you have," he said, each word bitten off like a curse, "but nothing would've pieced you back together if I had ripped you to shreds."

My mouth opened, but no words came out. He was right. Completely, terrifyingly right.

But I wasn't about to say that out loud.

"Your Majesty," Lucien interjected carefully, his tone measured, "this confirms it. She's special. She has been with you twice now—twice—and still, you didn't kill her. That's not chance."

Maximus's head snapped toward him, his voice a whip-crack. "Not now, Lucien."

The Beta's mouth shut instantly, his eyes dropping, silent once again.

"Take her," the King ordered, his voice cold.

"No." The word shot out of me before I could stop it. My body stiffened, but I held his gaze, my defiance trembling but unbroken. "I'm staying here."

The silence that followed was worse than his rage. For a second, I thought the room itself might shatter.

Then—he snapped.

"Don't make me lose it, Emilia!" he roared, the sound reverberating off the walls, shaking me to my core. His fury was a storm breaking open, his chest heaving, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You're really pissing me off!"

My heart thundered against my ribs, but I forced myself to meet his gaze, to keep standing when every instinct screamed at me to cower.

"I know what this is about," I said, my voice steady despite the terror clawing at my insides. "You're not just mad I came here. You're mad that I saw you."

His eyes blazed, fury and something else—shame?—clashing in their depths.

"You're mad that I saw you in that state," I whispered.

His roar cracked through the room like lightning.

"You shouldn't have fucking seen me like that!"