[{"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-694":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},1497146,1945,"Chapter 694: THE FIREFLIES","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-694",694,"\u003Cp>The pack house loomed ahead of me like it was waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not welcoming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not hostile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The massive doors opened at my approach, servants bowing and stepping aside, their movements precise, rehearsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The echo of my steps followed me inside, every sound amplified in the cavernous hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father stood at the base of the stairs, hands clasped behind his back, posture straight and immovable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t dressed formally tonight as usual and yet there there was something colder about him in simple attire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t look pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My stomach tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I felt like a girl who was about to reprimanded by her parent\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father,\" I greeted quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jasmine,\" he replied, voice even. Polite. Controlled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause stretched between us, thick and deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was informed you were upset at one of the massage workers today.\" He said in a cool voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words landed softly, but they carried weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew they were going to tell him what happened but not this soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I inhaled slowly. \"Well I was upset and I know perhaps you think I snapped at her, but I didn’t. I declined her services.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His brow furrowed instantly. \"Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I wasn’t comfortable with her,\" I said honestly. \"She made me uneasy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That did it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And worry was written all over his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire alpha person subdued and his father persona simply came up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did she touch you inappropriately?\" he asked sharply, stepping closer. \"Did she hurt you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" I said quickly. \"Nothing like that. She just..... well...\" I struggled for the right words. \"She didn’t feel right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Concern flickered across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I felt more sympathetic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was truly only worried about men\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You should have told me,\" he said, more softly now. \"You should always tell me when something feels wrong or when it is wrong. Your instincts are never wrong Jasmine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a tired breath. \"I just wanted Lydia back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His jaw tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?\" he asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question snapped something in me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why didn’t you tell me Lydia was gone?\" I shot back, exhaustion bleeding into my voice. \"I came to you, and suddenly she’d resigned. How exactly was I supposed to tell you anything when she vanished the moment I trusted her?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He closed his eyes briefly, as if pained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t want to burden you,\" he said at last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared at him. \"With what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed heavily, the sound weighted with false reluctance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because Lydia was arrested.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath caught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Arrested?\" I echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She was a rebel,\" he said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world tilted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" I whispered. \"That’s not.... she was kind. She was gentle. She was afraid for her son and we even spoke a few times. She just....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" Aiden interrupted gently. \"Because she had already enlisted him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest tightened painfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\" I demanded. \"Why would she do that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because the rebels prey on desperation,\" he said smoothly. \"They whisper promises of change. Of justice. They take mothers who feel powerless and twist that pain into treason.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head, struggling to reconcile his words with Lydia’s trembling hands and sad eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That doesn’t make her evil,\" I said weakly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It makes her dangerous,\" he replied. \"Never said she was evil.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My throat burned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What will happen to her?\" I asked quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’ll stand trial,\" he said. \"And she’ll be punished according to the law.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The finality in his voice drained all the strength from my legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swayed slightly, and instantly his arms were around me, solid and firm, holding me upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t tell you to protect you,\" he murmured against my hair. \"You’re pregnant. Vulnerable. You don’t need the weight of this world on your shoulders.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shrunk into his arms and softened at his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I melted completely at his warm embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She was good to me,\" I whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" he said. \"And I’m sorry. But once your wolf is unleashed, once the veil is lifted, we won’t need to make these choices anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words were meant to comfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They chilled me instead and I became worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was sad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need some rest,\" I said, pulling away gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course,\" he replied. \"I’ll have dinner sent to your room if that would be helpful to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, I ate alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The food was exquisite. Perfectly seasoned. Carefully prepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I barely tasted any of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room felt too big.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lay back against the pillows, one hand resting over my stomach, the other clenched tight against my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I missed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xaden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fiona.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erik.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otto.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xaden whom I had sworn I never wanted to see in my entire life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet here I was missing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I missed laughter that wasn’t careful. Voices that weren’t measured. Love that didn’t come with expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with my father only rooms away, I felt utterly alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I reminded myself why I was here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The King and Queen who betrayed me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sentence of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pack that would never stop hunting us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For my child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hardened my heart around that truth until it felt sharp enough to hurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sleep came slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Restlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then later at night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I woke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room glowed faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tiny points of light hovered near the window, drifting lazily through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fireflies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath hitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They floated in a loose trail, pulsing softly, beckoning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Follow the fireflies by midnight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was fascinating\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servant’s whisper echoed in my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I wanted to find Lydia follow the fireflies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart pounded violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lydia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rebels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Father would be worried for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could hear putting myself in harm’s way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear warred with curiosity until curiosity won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swung my legs over the bed, moving slowly, quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fireflies drifted toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And against every instinct telling me to stay, I followed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barefoot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Into the night.\u003C\u002Fp>",1004,"2026-06-06T04:22:25.635Z",1,"novelbin.me","70f78214b5d86e9b9a91bff9d9856c4b159aa324bf000f7b1d373d604625558d","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-695","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-693",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-cover.jpg"]