Cursed and Fated: Offered To The Wicked Alpha Prince
Chapter 40: As a powerful Luna

Chapter 40: As a powerful Luna

"He didn’t do anything else, did he?" Gideon asked again as he paced the small space in front of her in her bedroom.

"No, he didn’t," Adeline replied softly, who had taken a seat on the lower edge of the bed to steady her trembling legs. She looked up at him, trying to distract him from his lingering rage. "When did you wake up? I didn’t see you beside me."

"Before sunrise. I got a call from the scouts, so I stepped out with Micah to check the perimeter," he replied, finally coming to a halt. His eyes were still tinged with a faint glow, though the deep red had faded.

"Is it that bad?" Adeline asked. "The situation at the border... will you have to fight, too, along with the others? I know you have gone to many battles, Gideon, but I feel like this time is different. Please, keep that in mind."

Gideon looked at her, softened by the genuine fear in her eyes. For him.

"There’s good news," he began, dropping to his knees in front of her so they were eye-to-eye.

"What is it?" Adeline asked, her curiosity momentarily pushing aside her lingering fear of Ensley.

"I gave out a final warning yesterday before committing to a full-scale battle. It seems they’ve had a change of heart. They want to talk," Gideon stated, his expression unreadable.

"That’s wonderful!" Adeline breathed, a wave of relief washing over her. "A peace talk means no more lives have to be lost. No one on either side will get hurt."

"No," Gideon pronounced, his voice turning cold and final, leaving Adeline’s smile to falter in confusion. "I am not going there to negotiate peace. I am going there to put an end to them once and for all."

"Wait! What?" Adeline rose to her feet instantly, her voice rising in alarm. "Why? Peace is always better than a battle, Gideon."

"Perhaps. But I see it differently," he said, standing up to meet her height. "These rogues have caused nothing but chaos in this region. When they had the chance for a peaceful resolution, they spat on the Alpha King’s offer. Instead, they forced me to travel all the way here, bringing you into a conflict zone. They must pay the price for that."

Adeline’s eyes widened as the weight of his words sank in. "But what if many of them are innocent? What were their actual demands? Unless you truly understand why they are fighting, you shouldn’t go to battle. Why don’t you consider a path of forgiveness? Establishing peace would be a much greater victory."

"You’re too soft, Adeline," he remarked, his expression hardening back into that of the ruthless Alpha Prince. "None of them are innocent. If I told you the things they have done, you would be deeply troubled. I only returned to tell you that I’ll be gone for the day; you likely won’t see me until later this evening."

He reached out, his hand cupping her cheek with a tenderness that contrasted sharply with his cold words. "Stay inside the villa. Don’t go out since I won’t be around to protect you."

"Hmm."

He withdrew his hand from her cheek and disappeared from her sight.

Adeline rushed out and moved to the balustrade only to find him and Micah already heading out.

"So, he will do what he finds is right," she murmured.

~~~~

Janessa bit her nails nervously, only stopping when she realized she had completely ruined her fresh manicure.

Her mind was racing with all negative thoughts.

Last night, Alpha Renard had unexpectedly messaged her, and the request had felt like a slap in the face: he wanted Adeline’s number.

"I wonder what those two talked about?" she muttered, pausing her frantic pacing across the room. "Adeline is already with the eldest Alpha Prince. Why is she still after my Alpha? And Renard... what does he even see in her?"

Frustration boiled over as she grabbed her phone from the vanity. She scrolled through her contacts with trembling fingers and dialed Adeline’s number, ready to demand answers.

To her shock, the call didn’t even go through. A cold realization settled in her gut that Adeline had blocked her.

Janessa stared at the screen, a knot of unease tightening in her chest. It was becoming clear that Adeline wasn’t the same girl anymore, the one who lived in fear of Janessa or their parents.

She was changing, and for the first time, Janessa felt the power dynamic shifting out of her control.

"I thought she wouldn’t even last a day with Prince Gideon. How is he the one showering her with affection?" Janessa muttered with envy. "He even punished us because of her. It makes no sense. A prince of his stature and temper should have broken her by now. And that priestess... why did she insist Adeline’s wolf was special?"

She paced the length of her room, the worry etching deep lines into her face. The more she thought about it, the more the pieces refused to fit. Adeline was supposed to be a sacrifice, not a sovereign.

"Janessa! I’ve been calling you for ten minutes," her mother, Catalina, said as she pushed open the door. She looked at her daughter’s disheveled state and narrowed her eyes. "Why haven’t you come down for breakfast yet? Your father is already at the table."

"Mom, Adeline... we shouldn’t have sent her to the palace. Now we’ve returned to the pack, but I can feel it—she’s going to seek revenge for everything we did to her," Janessa stated, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and resentment.

"Why are you thinking like that?" Catalina asked, though her own expression wavered. "The Alpha King... surely he—"

"Mom, didn’t you see her yesterday when we tried to talk to her?" Janessa interrupted, her annoyance flaring. "She clearly flaunted her influence right in front of us. I told you we should have killed her when we had the chance! What are we going to do if she really does turn out to be a ’special’ wolf like that priestess claimed?"

Janessa turned away. The thought of Adeline returning, not as a victim but as a powerful Luna or Princess, was a nightmare she couldn’t escape.