CHAPTER 48 - RAINA'S RESOLVE

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• MATES: REMNANTS OF A BETRAYED BOND    CHAPTER 261 - COYOLXĀUHQUI

  VALEN’S POV “Where the hell are we?” Raina retorted as I placed her down on her feet inside the ritual circle, but kept her shoulders in my grasp.Every line and curve on her face was etched by misery and sorrow. Look at me kidnapping my own mate as if this relationship were forbidden. We are meant to be together, yet here we are being forced apart by terrible forces.“Dark Wolverson,” I told her softly, hugging her as if all the love in my heart could burst out of me to console her, just by having our bodies close. “The ritual temple.”Goddess, she looked drained, very tired, worn out, and washed out. Her eyes were wild, and her untidy, burgundy hair was damp from rain. It was knotted far from her scalp, and loose enough for heavy strands to slump against her shoulders, clinging to her neck and temples, the rest draped together down her back, tangled and darkened by water.“You changed the stage.” She looked at me strangely, and the unease etched into her expression had me on edge.

• MATES: REMNANTS OF A BETRAYED BOND    CHAPTER 260 - ONE JOB

  RAINA’S POVOn impulse, I released the post and launched into the air. My body curved in an arch mid-flight. Wind ripped past my ears as I flipped and landed in a crouch, knees bent and one leg sweeping out wide, fingers grazing the dirt for balance.My head snapped up, eyes locking again with Valen’s, heart hammering as adrenaline surged through me.Valen didn’t say a word, but his gaze gripped me tightly. Beneath the surface calm was a storm; his pupils dilated, shoulders rigid, fingers trembling slightly at his sides.Like a switch flipped, Valen growled in outrage, his voice molding with his wolf’s. “Are you trying to kill yourself?!”“Says the toy soldier that ruins everything for me,” I blurted, pressing my palm to the ground and pushing up quickly to stand. “The Timekeepers rewind your memory, activate you and point you at me in every damn trial, including this one.”“Alright, Valen will leave.” Devin’s suggestion got cut off by a growl.“No, I won’t,” Valen said, his tone flat

• MATES: REMNANTS OF A BETRAYED BOND    CHAPTER 259 - JIM-JAMMED

  RAINA’S POVIn that moment, I swear a piece of my soul just packed its luggage and divorced my body as I saw Valen standing in front of me, like a printout of my nightmare into reality, pressing my panic buttons.“Ah, there he is, the man of the hour. Time to handle your Poison Ivy. Good news, she’s out of weapons. Bad news, she’s still got that killer personality. One wrong move and…” Theo’s rough but dry voice trailed off, wheezing slightly."Stealthy as always, huh, V9?" I muttered under my breath with all the venom I could lace into my words.The reprogramming was quick. Too quick.Unnerved, I gulped as crashing footsteps rushed towards me. Pure terror overwhelmed me, and I wished the ground would swallow me whole. I was out of moves. I couldn’t outrun him, and he could overpower me easily.“Don’t.” I shook my head, backing up two steps, and holding my hands up. “Don’t come any closer.”Valen halted, and his dark features softened, eyes narrowing with unnatural concern. Those emera

• MATES: REMNANTS OF A BETRAYED BOND    CHAPTER 258 - HELLBLOODED

  RAINA’S POVIf I hadn't been wary of the Timekeepers, I probably would have believed every word, but I quietly shook the thought from my head. I refused to buy the garbage his lips were selling.“Whatever,” I remarked snidely, and his face creased, hurt with devastating disappointment.I won't suffer a miscarriage of justice where I'd be the one bleeding. New confidence surged through me.“You can't beat Valen, but you can win together,” Theo enunciated, surprising me with the vehemence in his voice.“I'll die trying,” I snapped, grinding my teeth. My hands laxed, too tired from striving to cut off his air supply.“If you die and face Cronus, he'll wipe your existence. You'll be the Luna who never was. We won't have memories of you, including Valen,” he expressed gravely. That look of pity, of anxious concern, had returned.Don't I know it, I internalized.With a resigned sigh, I shoved his chest and straightened my shoulders.Target neutralized.There was no doubt that this alternate

• MATES: REMNANTS OF A BETRAYED BOND    CHAPTER 257 - WILD CARD

  RAINA’S POVI spun sideways to gaze at the light brown wolf. Theo, the rankling, misplaced pawn. I stood there, completely off guard, as I calculated my error.“It was you,” I blustered from my gut, clear and strong, propping my hands on my hips. “You were with me the entire time?”Tucking his tail, the Gamma’s wolf, Ramiel, lowered his head with his ears drooped back, whimpering remorsefully.Barely keeping my temper in check, I steadied my gaze on him and ordered, “Shift!”“Pretty good acting, huh?” Theo muttered after shifting before me, standing naked with a smug expression. “I'm the best, right?”I cocked my head to the side, rolling my shoulders back to release the tension as I sucked in a deep breath.“Where’s Gustav?” I asked harshly, narrowing my eyes into a death stare.“He’s in the dungeon, Rai. Let me take you to see him before Farrah comes back.” Theo held out his hand for me to take up the offer.“It’s not Farrah,” I stated dryly.Scrunching up his face, Theo stared at me

• MATES: REMNANTS OF A BETRAYED BOND    CHAPTER 256 - ERRED SIMULATOR

  RAINA'S POV“Theo,” I whispered-yelled. My breathing was erratic, and my heart felt like it was stuck in my throat.Forging identities? He's so terrible!Yet this was Valen's magic at work. Just great. My disbelief morphed into anger, and I was ready to combust.In that moment in Valen’s atrocious hold, I panicked and fought him to rip out of his iron grip.“Put me down, Valen.” I smack his tight abdomen, broad shoulders, and arms layered with impossible muscles. “Go and help your Gamma, or the fight won’t end well for him.”Theo’s wolf didn't give Farrah another second, leaping around and thundering towards her. As it leaped, Farrah rolled. She hit the wet muck, skillfully rising, but the wolf was faster and clamped down its jaws on her arm.The wolf shook her furiously like he was going to rip her arm from its socket. Then released her and lunged for her throat, but she blocked that with her arm again and kicked him in his underbelly, causing the wolf to stumble sideways.Puzzled an