Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 281: Cursed Day

Alaric Storm, strangely enough, had slept well throughout last night, his body feeling oddly refreshed. With his sharp nose, he picked up Violet’s scent saturating the room. It was soothing, like warm velvet wrapping around him, and it was no wonder he stretched out like a satisfied cat, turning to the other side of the bed, ready to drift back into sweet sleep.

Suddenly, there was a low groaning from above. But Alaric didn’t think much of it. Or rather, he ignored it, assuming it was nothing.

And that was when the crash happened.

A whole chunk of plaster, complete with crumbling beams and a suspiciously heavy wooden plank, detached itself from the rafters and made a beeline for his regal face.

WHUMP!

Alaric jolted awake, instantly buried in white dust and what looked like the ghost of ceiling past. Paint flakes fluttered around him like snowflakes, the dust clogging his nose and making his eyes water.

He hacked like an old man on his deathbed, clutching the sheet like a lifeline—only to slam his head against the bed frame mid-cough, letting out a string of colorful curses.

"Goddess help me!" Alaric shouted, spitting out what might have been a piece of old cobweb, and possibly a dead insect. Fuck his life. What kind of bad luck was this, this early in the morning?

There were no fatal injuries — small mercies — but he could definitely feel a bruise blooming under one eye, maybe a split lip where the plaster had smacked him too lovingly. As if that was not enough, a tiny cut ran down his temple, just enough to sting annoyingly.

He managed to crawl out from beneath the ruin and staggered to his feet like a drunk, only for the floorboard to snap beneath his feet and he flung face-first into the wall with a very undignified thud. Another layer of dust rained down from above like the shack itself was mocking his very existence.

"Why... is this place a death trap?!" he wheezed, rising to his feet. And more importantly, why was he even here? His memory was blank. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall how he ended up sleeping in this nightmare of a shack.

the hell

through the chaos, he could smell her scent, but it wasn’t strong as

what looked like Violet’s bathroom (though it barely deserved the name) and limped toward it—yes, he could now feel a

and tried to rinse his face in the sink, only for brown water to spurt out instead and splash directly into his

Eww.

and knocked over a hanging shelf, which crashed

God, no!

whether to cry, scream, or demand a refund from the moon goddess herself for waking him up today. One thing was certain, today didn’t

there. Lila—the one who usually looked at him like she’d happily murder him with a spoon—gave him an accusing look as her gaze took

to the gods, I didn’t do this,"

the fates happened here then?" Ivy

collapsing ceiling. It’s a miracle it missed

that made Alaric feel like he was missing something very

him. "But now you’re covered in fine white powder and look like a

in. "I think

him like he

right back. "I don’t understand. Why are you asking

you in this room last night," Lila shot back, "and we woke up this morning to find the

rest of last night’s events after whatever you fed me." His eyes flashed as he glared at Lila. "She obviously didn’t sleep here last night. Otherwise, it would be both of us looking like a marshmallow rolled