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Hit Me Again. I’m Still Standing.” — The Alpha King Walked Into the Ring and Knelt Before the Woman His Own Council Had Tried to Break / Chapter 7 / 10

Chapter 7 - THE SHADOW OF THE CURSE

Senna woke to the soft crackle of a hearth fire and the heavy scent of crushed mountain herbs. She was lying back in the grand bed of the royal chambers, her chest rising and falling in shallow, rapid gasps.

Sitting beside her, holding a damp cloth to her feverish forehead, was Aldric. His face was etched with deep lines of exhaustion and raw terror.

"You passed out," Aldric said softly, his voice trembling slightly. "The healer... the healer has confirmed what Cassian whispered in the courtyard."

Senna struggled to sit up, her body feeling heavy and leaden, as if her limbs were filled with molten iron. "The mating bond... it's rejecting me, isn't it?"

Aldric looked away, unable to meet her eyes, which was answer enough. "A human body is not built to channel royal wolf magic, Senna. The energy is consuming your life force. Every time our marks pulse, it burns through your veins. If we don't break the bond, the fever will kill you before the next moon."

"Break it?" Senna’s eyes flashed with fierce defiance, even as a drop of blood trickled from her nose. "You think I survived three rounds in the ring just to let a magic tattoo kill me? How do we break it?"

"The ritual of severance," Aldric whispered, his heart breaking at the words. "An ancient rite performed at the sacred shrine of the North. It requires a drop of my blood and a drop of yours, offered to the spirits. It will save your life... but it will leave us strangers. My wolf will go back to sleep, and you can return to the Low Field."

Senna stared at him, the silence between them stretching into eternity. She looked at the glowing golden mark on her wrist—the very mark that had connected her soul to the most powerful man in the North.

"And you?" Senna asked quietly. "What happens to you if we sever it?"

"My wolf will die," Aldric answered honestly. "And part of me will go with him."

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Before Senna could reply, the heavy doors burst open. Lady Vesper strode into the room, flanked by two guards, a triumphant smile playing on her lips.

"Save your breath, Your Majesty," Vesper said smoothly, her eyes gleaming with malice. "The ritual of severance cannot be performed without the council's sacred chalice. And right now... the chalice is in my hands."

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