[{"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-71":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},1496645,1945,"Chapter 71: SECRET LAKE","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-71",71,"\u003Cp>JASMINE’S POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once it was nighttime and almost time for the first ritual of the Halo festival, I was up in Loren’s quarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw him repeatedly eye me at his work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dropped his glasses and turned to me when he couldn’t take it anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright.\" He said. \"What’s it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head. \"Nothing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ve been staring into that wall for a while now.\" He said. \"You better tell me what it is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew he wouldn’t ask again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I sighed and gave in. \"I was just thinking about today. I met someone else. I think she is a member of the royal family, too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He frowned and looked closely at me. \"Yes?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She kept asking me who I was, and then she dug her nails into my chin.\" I explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That place still hurt, and it was slightly bruised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what did you do?\" He asked me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I ran,\" I said. \"I didn’t mean to buy everything; you just told me to run. She has black hair and is probably a bit older than the Queen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed and folded his arms on the table. \"I believe that would be the Queen’s elder sister.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked. \"No wonder she looked so familiar. I kept on wondering where I had seen her before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That would be Princess Cherry.\" He said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If she is the elder sister, why isn’t she Queen?\" I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shrugged. \"It’s the royal family. There are always strings of drama popping here and there. Trust me, you don’t want to get involved, so stay away from them for these three days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he looking out for me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past few weeks, I have been staying with Loren, and I have noticed that he is a kind person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just seemed hard on the outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Moreover.\" He said. \"It’s almost time for the hunt. You should go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I heard that they kill an animal,\" I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah, the sacred white elk. They have a close bond with our wolves. It must be hunted, and its horns must be presented by an Alpha who will be declared the winner of the hunt.\" He said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shuddered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was angry at the thought that they would kill such an innocent animal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think I’ll pass.\" I said it in all earnest. Then I turned to him. \"What about you? Are you not going?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He put his glasses on. \"When they start bringing in the dead bodies and half-dead ones, I’ll be busy. So no point.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt sick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were going to kill each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I thought of Alpha Xaden, and my heart raced. I didn’t want anything to happen to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew he hated me, but still, he had been there for me when no one else had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I made a silent prayer to the goddess and decided that I would take a swim in my secret magic lace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I descended the stairs on my way out, I saw the other servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Lisa and the other girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to smile at them, but they glared at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one. No one had spoken to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all kept away from me, and I could see their hate towards me in their hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Something disgusting is in our presence.\" Lisa said it aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other girls laughed, and I felt a sting in my heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come on, girls. We do not want it to stain our pure blood.\" Lisa said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all laughed and followed her out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was hard to believe that they were the identical girls. I had begged Alpha Xaden not to punish me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what did I expect?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That one act of righteousness would make them forgive me for the sins of my father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed and turned away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I saw the other girl, Mya.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one who had run out of the room that night was assigned to clean rooms with Lisa and me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stared at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if she wanted to say something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mya!\" Lisa barked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever she wanted to say, she kept it to herself and ran off to be with the other girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When most of the wolves had gone to watch the hunt, I went out to my lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tossed off my clothes, then bent down to learn the new trick I had learned to take off my chains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It took a while for me to undo it, but swimming with the chains by my ankles only made it hard for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes, it felt cumbersome, like some weight was pulling me back, and I couldn’t swim well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So whenever I undid my chains, I would swim and return to them when I returned home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Home. What indeed was home to me? Did I even have a home?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pack back home had been the only sanctuary I had witnessed, but it was different here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was aware I was caged and trapped once again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, it felt highly different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt exhilarating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed as I slowly took off my clothes and stepped in, naked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one would miss me tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were hardly any more duties, and I had finished the ones assigned to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still had no idea how to read my work schedule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed like a jumble. Literacy was harder than she had anticipated\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, most of the pack members would be at the arena, watching and waiting for who would appear with the elk’s horns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed as I bathed and gently put the magic water over my lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In almost an instant, I was healed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smiled as I swam in the lake, enjoying the peace and serenity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I rose up in the water, and under the moonlight, I ran my fingers through my wet hair as I looked up into the halo moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I felt something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt a sudden presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze, and without thinking or being aware of my nudity, I turned around and saw Alpha Xaden.\u003C\u002Fp>",1005,"2026-06-06T04:22:13.101Z",1,"novelbin.me","c6a2f8d78f1d398f256a8f15dab80eec3d1ea8b0572962c542322c45bef6badf","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-72","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-70",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-cover.jpg"]