[{"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-78":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},1496652,1945,"Chapter 78: STITCHING ERIK","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-78",78,"\u003Cp>I watched as Alex rose to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spat the blood out of his mouth and gave us all a dirty stare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I expected him to expose me there and then, but he didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he stalked off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And no, he didn’t fix his fly. He left it open, not caring much about anything or anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes turned to me once he was out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Extremely weak, I sat down on a bench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could have ousted me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I made known his claim about who I indeed was, but he hadn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse, he has told me that I will help him kill Xaden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I put my face in my hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was stressed and tired; so much in my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Expectations come from everywhere. First, it was from my pack, and I was to deliver information about Xaden’s activities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had not been able to do that because I was illiterate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then there was Xaden, who had brought me here to torture me, even though he had no idea that hurting me did not affect my family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then there was the fact that I also had to bear with Alex because he had my secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora was always staring down at me, ready to make another death attempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then there was Princess Belle, the future Queen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like everyone was out to get me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone came and sat beside me, and I was jolted out of my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Erik.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have some injuries.\" He informed. \"You’re the one who is to treat them, isn’t it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had completely forgotten that I was still supposed to treat the men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I jumped up to my feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, yes.\" I nodded. \"Forgive me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, I rushed up to get the remaining supplies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had cuts and marks all over him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you for what you did.\" I said this as I cleaned the wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded. \"You’re welcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know why Erik was pleasant to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without numbers, he has saved my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t take that out of my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he always did for me. When should he hate me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew he, too, would have a story about my father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the kindest man I had ever met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a silence as I took care of his wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your wounds.\" I said. \"How did you come about them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought they had said only Alphas were fighting in the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I fought in the forest. Although I’m Xaden’s gamma, I’m also an Alpha. My pack still belongs to me.\" He said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see,\" I said, then continued with the stitches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t say anything for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither did he.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he cleared his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know, Alex, don’t you?\" He asked me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I jerked, but I hoped he didn’t take notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Y-yes. He was my betrothed’s brother.\" I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, I was an imposter, living in place of my true daughter, Jessica.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alex has always been a wild one.\" Erik said. \"I’m sure he hates you because his brother was killed because of Xaden.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s expected.\" I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was relieved that Erik didn’t suspect anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw it as Alex being himself and me suffering for what had happened to his brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you still love him?\" He asked me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who?\" I asked, absolutely lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re betrothed. Dean. The one whose head was given to you in a box.\" He went into details, and I remembered the grotesque scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shivered. \"It’s a love gone. No point crying over spilled milk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then I went on with the stitching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cut the thread and went on to resume another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were so many cuts on him that I wondered how many people he had killed tonight to get this many cuts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I also wondered why their wounds didn’t heal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wolves, especially Alphas, had their wounds almost healed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were not like me, who was unshifted and still had to deal with my injuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s the halo moon.\" He said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\" I said I was lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re thinking about how we all have wounds.\" He said. \"It’s written on your face.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cleared his throat and began. \"The halo moon is to show the wolves their true strength. It’s almost the weakest period in the life of a wolf. A slight mistake, and you could die instantly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That makes sense now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How long does this last?\" I asked him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"About three days.\" He said. \"It’s for the entire day that the moon is present after the final ritual, then it will revert. Don’t you know these things?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I flustered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jessica would know. After all, she had been schooled on matters of being a wolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smiled. \"No, not really. Wolf culture was never my favorite, so I always deterred teachings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lies were becoming too much and coming out more smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, it’s not so dangerous—not as dangerous as a blood moon, \" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped what I was doing, and the needle dangled and pricked him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m so sorry.\" I apologized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had just said the blood moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was what the voice had said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She called me the daughter of the blood moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Blood moon?\" I asked. \"What’s that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s just a myth.\" He said. \"A myth of an apocalypse. The end of the world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swallowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The end of the world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could ask more questions, the door burst open and Loren entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked up to me and Erik.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked down at the cuts that I had stitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sniffed his nose and said, \"It is much better than I imagined. How many are left?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"About eight.\" I said I was turning to look around and count the men. \"Seven.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cut the thread from Erik’s last stitch and kept it secure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many more bodies?\" Erik asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"About thirty,\" Loren replied as he examined the wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swallowed knowing there was still work to be done.\u003C\u002Fp>",1004,"2026-06-06T04:22:13.101Z",1,"novelbin.me","9f10936cbfd4cc477bb388cef3b8d39771eb8c024f4c0bdba575bf5c7d922ade","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-79","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-77",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-cover.jpg"]