Page 29 of My Fated Alpha: The Royals

But even so, she couldn’t stop from moving instinctively, crawling away from the branches that kept coming towards her.

A feeling of abandonment struck her just as she heard a baby’s cry piercing the air.

Another infant, thrown away by a parent because it was imperfect—-

Her throat tightened—-

No.

Soleil’s mind desperately clung to reality.

This wasn’t happening.

This wasn’t real.

This was an illusion.

But even so, long-buried feelings of abandonment kept flowing out of her, turning into ropes of despair that wrapped itself around her neck, tightening, choking her—-

Soleil began to panic. Illusion or not, this felt too real. She was going to die—-

Snap out of it!

The voice came out of nowhere, furious, but underlying it was concern and fear – for her.

Her heart leapt in recognition.

It was the Marquis of Lunare.

The wolf whose heart she was fated to keep.

“I-Ilie?”

Who else?

She searched her surroundings for any sign of his presence, but all she could see was more and more branches that were just waiting to break her bones and tear her apart.

“I c-can’t see you,” Soleil choked out. “I can’t breathe, I’m feeling...”

And then she realized what this was.

It was not an illusion.

It was real.

It was her curse...killing her.

“Ilie,” she screamed. She was going to die. She really was going to die.

You know this isn’t real—-

“You don’t understand,” Soleil sobbed. More shameful sobs tried to rush out of her throat, but she did her best to swallow them back down. “I know w-what I’m seeing isn’t real, but what I’m feeling is. I’m going to die—-”Because she was cursed. He didn’t know it, and that’s why he didn’t believe her.

“Ilie, help!”

Whatever you think you’re feeling, I can make it stop. But you won’t like the way I do it.

“Anything is fine—-”Because she could already feel herself dying.

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