[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride":3,"chapter-the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-689":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Alpha's Unwanted Bride",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1497141,1945,"Chapter 689: THE DREAM","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-689",689,"\u003Cp>Sleep came heavy that night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the gentle kind that wraps around you like safety, but the kind that pulls you under before you realize you’re sinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew I was dreaming the moment the world shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room dissolved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The walls stretched and thinned, melting into mist, and suddenly I was standing somewhere else entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not the one from before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This one was dimmer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was thick, like it resisted being breathed. The trees leaned inward, their branches tangled and heavy, as though listening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart began to race.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mum?\" I whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word barely left my mouth before I felt it , the strange presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She appeared near the lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, she wasn’t glowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her red curls were duller, weighed down like wet leaves. Her skin looked pale, almost translucent, as if moonlight passed through her instead of resting on her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked... tired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weaker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to rush towards her and then I remembered what my father had told me at the dining table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About wraiths and how they took forms of people that we loved to manipulate our thoughts and take over our minds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swallowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She fell down and I found myself rushing to her and then I paused a few inches away from where she stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mum,\" I said again, louder now, fear threading my voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned toward me sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes widened. Not with joy this time, but with alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jasmine,\" she breathed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She moved toward me, but the moment she did, the air rippled violently, like something invisible snapped between us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She staggered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mum!\" I ran forward again, but the ground shifted beneath my feet, stretching the distance no matter how fast I moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face tightened in pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’re trying to stop me,\" she said urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest seized. \"Who?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shook her head, glancing around wildly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You shouldn’t be here,\" she said. \"You shouldn’t be listening to....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice trailed off and she looked into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart slammed painfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To who?\" I demanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reached for me, her hand trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jasmine,\" she said, voice breaking. \"You have to...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The forest screamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a sound, a pressure. A violent ripple that bent the trees and distorted the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She cried out, clutching her chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mum!\" I screamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She fell to her knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" she gasped. \"No, not now baby. Not now I promise you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She seemed like a mad person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I began to fear her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pressed my hands to my ears as the air thickened, buzzing like it was alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She lifted her head again, eyes blazing now, fierce despite her fading strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Listen to me,\" she said. \"I am not....\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her body flickered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a candle in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word echoed and yet I heard nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked directly at my stomach then, eyes softening despite everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hand pressed over her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They lied to you,\" she whispered. \"About me. About you. About.... Everything and..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground cracked between us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her form splintered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I screamed her name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reached out desperately, her fingers brushing the air where my stomach was, never quite touching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Run,\" she whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word hit me like lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Run.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The forest collapsed inward for a split second I saw her shadow again and enter beautiful face appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mum.\" I said happily to she was alright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then she screamed and her face slowly started to distort from its natural features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face reversed and she became a hollow monster so scary and grotesque I was trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her skin was pale and her teeth were sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she was about to slash at me, darkness swallowed everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I woke with a violent gasp, my body jerking upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hands flew to my stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My skin was cold, slick with sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mum,\" I whispered hoarsely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No warmth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No lingering presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pressed my palm against my belly, panic rising sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The baby stirred..... slow, delayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the strong kicks I had grown used to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear clenched around my throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aiden stepped inside, already dressed, his expression calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re awake,\" he said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked up at him, my breath unsteady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I saw her again,\" I said immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes flickered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just for a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did she say?\" he asked. \"Are you okay?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I searched his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She was... weaker,\" I whispered. \"She said they were trying to stop her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She told me to run.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence stretched between us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he smiled gently.... practiced, soothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s exactly how wraiths behave,\" he said. \"They grow desperate when their influence weakens.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She told me she wasn’t—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A wraith?\" he finished smoothly. \"Of course she would.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She touched my stomach,\" I said. \"She looked afraid. Not dangerous.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aiden stepped closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Placed a hand over mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s exploiting your vulnerability,\" he said gently. \"Your pregnancy makes your soul bright. Open. Spirits are drawn to that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My fingers curled slightly against the blanket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She told me I’m being lied to,\" I said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t react.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, his voice softened further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jasmine,\" he said. \"If she were truly your mother... would she frighten you like this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My lips parted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He squeezed my hand reassuringly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then I began to weep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I burst into tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You were right father.\" I said as I threw my arms around you. \"She turned into a monster and she wanted to attack me. That’s not my mother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held me close to him as he soothed my hair like I was a child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s okay my love.\" He whispered into my hair. \"No one is going to hurt you ever again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a thin silence and then I heard his voice into the dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ll start the medicine today,\" he said. \"It will stop the dreams. Protect you. Protect the baby.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded slowly in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>",1020,"2026-06-06T04:22:25.635Z",1,"novelbin.me","3a5c9a6490eb962796a40ba2f315d6bdd048ed6da408f1fa4af1773212b3e306","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-690","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-688",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-cover.jpg"]