Alphas' Proud Mate novel Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Did he just admire my strength?

Before I can process his words fully, Lady Celestia’s scream tears through the air. The kind of sound that pierces your eardrums and clings to your skin–like claws dragging down your spine. This isn’t just a scream you hear–it’s one that haunts you.

“How can you admire this bitch?!” Her voice cracks, furious tears choking her words. “She didn’t just disobey me–she disobeyed you and your damn throne!”

She starts pacing, her heels striking sharply against the marble floor. “You PROMISED me, Daddy! My birthday gift–remember?”

My chest tightens.

“I can give you another birthday gift-” The Alpha king begins, trying to calm her.

“I don’t want gold! I don’t want some stupid dress or jewelry–I want her life!” she screams. “You said I’d have her head–wrapped up for me like a pretty little present!”

The heavy double doors behind me creak open.

Two guards step inside, dressed in formal royal black. Each carries a large, perfectly wrapped gift box–black paper, silver ribbon. Elegant. Sinister.

I gasp, horror spreading through me like ice in my veins.

Celestia turns to the boxes with a twisted smile. She’s unhinged.

She’s completely insane.

“One’s for her heart,” she says sweetly, then points to the other. “The other… for her head.”

She spins back to her father, her voice rising with manic desperation.

“If you don’t do it–then I’ll kill myself, right here, in front of you! You’ll lose your only daughter–for the second time!”

The Alpha King exhales sharply. A sound of utter exhaustion. His power still hums in the air, but now it’s frayed at the edges–like even he’s breaking under the weight of her madness.

I don’t need to see his eyes to feel his gaze settle on me.

“Take the gold,” the Alpha King says again, his voice strained, as though dragged from somewhere deep within. “Leave. Disappear. Never show your face to me again.”

He sounds like a man trapped in a war he didn’t start–but might be forced to end.

This time, I lower my head, ready to nod in reluctant acceptance. I offer silent gratitude because I know better now than to argue with mercy when it’s barely holding on.

If disappearing is the only way to survive–then so be it. I’ll take it.

And then-

“YOU THINK I’M JOKING?!”

My entire body jerks in alarm.

“You think just letting her walk away will fix this?!” she snarls. “You think Jack won’t move heaven and hell to find her again?! He’ll crawl through fire for her! He’ll never stop!”

Her voice cracks with raw desperation.

“He’ll follow her! He’d tear down the moon itself just to get to her! And he’ll throw me aside all over again. He’ll never be mine–not as long as she’s alive!”

Her words stab into me, more than I care to admit. Because she’s not wrong,

Jack would come for me–no matter where I go. He wouldn’t stop. He never would.

“Why are you letting her go, Daddy?!” she cries, voice laced with betrayal. “Kill her now!”

“Celestia,” the Alpha King replies, his voice tight with emotion. “How can you ask me to take a life so easily? What kind of king would that make

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Chapter 74

me?

“A strong one!” she snaps back, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I see no reason to take her life,” he says more firmly now, his voice slicing through her hysteria. “As far as I’m concerned, she hasn’t done anything

wrong.

His words strike something deep inside me,

“I’ve heard what you told me–about how she ‘disrespected‘ you. But from where I’m standing, all I see is someone who was defending what’s rightfully hers. You may not like it, but Jack is not yours.”

Celestia’s lips part, but no sound comes out.

“It’s time,” he continues, sighing heavily, “to stop obsessing over someone else’s mate. She didn’t choose Jack. The Moon Goddess did. If you want someone to blame, pray to her and-”

Shing!

The sharp metallic sound rings out in the silence.

My blood runs cold.That’s the unmistakable sound of a blade being drawn.

Iwhip my head to the side, just enough to see the flash of silver in Celestia’s hand–a curved dagger glinting in the light, trembling slightly as she raises it to her own throat.

The Alpha King stands up so fast the throne groans behind him.

“Celestia–what are you doing?!” he barks, voice shaking now. “This isn’t a joke. Drop the knife. Give it to me. Now.”

She steps back.

“No.”

Her hand presses the blade tighter to her skin. A thin line of red beads at her throat.

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“Make your decision,” she hisses. “Or I swear to the Goddess-

“Celestia, please-” he pleads, inching closer.

“I said CHOOSE!” she screams, louder than ever. “Me–your only daughter–or

stranger kneeling there!”

The entire hall seems to hold its breath beneath the weight of her ultimatum.

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The dagger gleams again. And for the first time–I lift my head. Slowly.

And wait to see if I’m about to die.

From my place on the floor, I take him in–what little I can. Tall. Silver–haired. Broad–shouldered. Regal even in his conflict. His jaw is clenched, lips pulled tight, but his eyes-

I don’t see them yet. Not until-

“Fine,” he says coldly. “You want me to kill her? If that’s what it takes to make you happy –

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then so be it.”

Celestia grins. A terrible, wolfish grin of victory as the Alpha King turns towards me, and finally-

Our eyes meet.

Emerald. Bright. Piercing. The exact same shade.

He inhales sharply

Sp do I.

And for a moment–just a second–it feels like time doesn’t exist. Like the world begins to spin–no, not the world–my head. A tight pain builds in my temples, pain blooming behind my eyes, as something… somewhere… tries to force its way out.

A memory. A truth.

A name.

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Chapter 74

“Dad, move!” Celestia’s voice slices the trance clean in half. “Why do you keep staring at her?!”

He blinks, dazed.

“Do you want me to really kill myself?” She shrieks, and again I hear the click of steel.

No-

Blood spills down her neck. Just a drop. Enough to make the king stumble forward, stammering, alarmed. His hand flies to the hilt of his sword, yanking it free.

He begins descending the throne steps–slowly, like a man possessed. Each step is heavier than the last, like a countdown to my execution.

The air changes. It vibrates. Hums. Energy swirls around us. My heart races, but my eyes–they won’t leave his.

And his won’t leave mine.

I want to scream. To ask him who he is. What he is. Why his presence feels like a ghost from a life I never lived. Why it stirs something deeper than instinct–something ancient. Familiar.

Celestia screeches behind him, urging him on.

Do it, Daddy! DO IT!”

He stops in front of me, sword raised.

My breath catches in my throat.

But then–he lowers it.

“I can’t,” he whispers. And his voice… it breaks.

Celestia screeches, louder than before. “You’re weak! You’re a weak Alpha King! You’ve always been weak!” Her words are wild, spitting from her lips like venom. “I’ll kill myself! I swear I will!”

His grip tightens around the sword. His eyes flick toward her–torn. Afraid.

But I’m no longer afraid to die.

I’m too consumed by the question burning inside me–why can’t I look away from him? Why do his scent, his voice, his gaze cling to me like a forgotten dream? Why does my chest ache with something I can’t name?

I open my mouth to ask-

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