Chapter 43  Fractures Beneath the Surface

บทล่าสุด

• The President's Mate   CHAPTER 62 Whispers of the Reaper

  DEVON'S POVI didn’t even realise I was still growling until Aria screamed.The sound pierced straight through me—raw and terrified, her little voice slicing through the haze of molten gold that clouded my vision. I blinked, everything in me jerking back to reality, just in time to see her stumble backwards.She hadn't seen what I was. Not fully. Not yet. But she’d felt something.Nathaniel—bless his little heart had bolted into the open space with wild excitement, oblivious, and accidentally crashed into her. He hadn’t meant it, of course. I could tell by the way his small hands immediately tried to steady her, the widening of his eyes in that split moment.But Aria stumbled back, her small feet lost grip, and her mouth shaped in a soft gasp of surprise. Her hair fanned slightly, her arms flailing. The world seemed to slow in that second. My heart nearly stopped.I caught her before she hit the floor.“Hey, hey—baby, I got you,” I whispered, cradling her close to my chest.My heart w

• The President's Mate   Chapter 61 Splinters

  Devon POV Thankfully, Amira burst through the door just in time.“I’m so sorry, Eleanor,” she said, breathless. “I got caught up with some last-minute assignments and didn’t inform you in time about Mr. Rhys arriving with the kids.”Her voice was clipped, professional, but I could see the nerves working beneath her smooth expression.She turned to me and smiled politely. “Oh, Mr. President. It’s good to have you back, sir.”Lucan raised a sharp, silver brow.“Didn’t know the President was out of town,” he said, voice smooth and booming.I felt the barb, but Eleanor was quick. She waved the moment off with a practised smile, her voice light.“It’s okay, Amira. I understand,” she said, then turned to the children with a grin that looked rehearsed. “Now… I bet someone is hungry?”Nathaniel’s hand immediately went to his stomach, giggling. “I’m starving, Momma!”Aria laughed. “Me too!”“Well then,” Eleanor said, ushering them toward the dining hall, “let’s go have dinner before it gets c

• The President's Mate   Chapter 60 The Ghost She Buried

  Devon POVHer words echoed like a curse, unravelling themselves in my mind no matter how many times I tried to shut them out."You took everything from me, Devon. You shattered my family. And I will make sure every single one of you pays for it."Her voice followed me like a second shadow.Even as I sat by the edge of the pool where she’d left me minutes ago, wet footprints trailing behind me, heart still pounding from what she said — that one sentence kept repeating.Like a crack in the earth suddenly splitting wide open.I barely heard the sound of my breathing. I was too busy trying to make sense of it.Everything?She said I took everything?What the hell did that even mean?Eleanor had said a lot of things to hurt me before, but this… this was different. She’d never looked at me like that. Like I’d become the villain in a story I didn’t know existed.And then she said it—she had a brother. A brother I never knew about.When did that happen?Why didn’t she ever tell me?What else

• The President's Mate   CHAPTER 59 Tainted Lane

  Devon POV The ride back to the residence felt like being dragged through thick fog laced with thorns. Every bump in the road rattled through my bones like echoes of the war I was still fighting inside and out.I sat in the passenger seat, still and unmoving, as if, if I had breathed too hard; the whole world might come crashing down. Franco was driving. Silent, focused. His knuckles were white on the wheel. I could hear the wind rushing past us through the closed windows, the way it always sounded when you’re drowning in your own thoughts.My chest… gods, my chest felt like it was being crushed in a vice. That familiar tightness. Not fear. Not entirely. Just weight. The kind that settles on your soul and never lets up. The kind you don’t cry through — because you can’t. Because even your grief has given up.Jimmie was still gone.And every fibre of my being was just trying to stay alive long enough… for him. To hold on to the bond we were only beginning to understand. To fight for wh

• The President's Mate   CHAPTER 58 Reaper

  Later, at the Council Chamber. The chamber was still— Too still. I stood in the centre, the firelight dancing shadows along the stone walls, trying not to let my voice crack. But the weight of this night was a living thing pressing down on my shoulders. My chest felt too tight. My throat, dry as ash. I swallowed once, twice, but it didn’t help. “They knew,” I said finally, voice low but sharp. “The Hunters. They knew exactly where we were going to be.” Silence greeted me. Not denial. Not disbelief. Just that cold, thick tension you get when everyone knows the truth but is too damn scared to speak it. “I believe…” I met their eyes one by one. The Elders. The Generals- My people. My pack. “…there’s a mole among us.” The air changed. Spines straightened. Breaths caught. Suspicion sparked behind a dozen careful eyes. No one moved, and yet everything shifted. Elder Throne leaned forward, face unreadable. “A mole?” he asked. “How can you be sure?” My hands clenched. I could still

• The President's Mate   CHAPTER 57 The Unclaimed ZETA

  Devon’s POV Franco’s scream tore through the infirmary like a blade through silence. It was sharp—wounded. A sound that didn’t belong to this world. My chest seized as I saw him, his body wracked with spasms, eyes glowing gold, clutching his head like it was splitting open from the inside out. Everyone froze—the mothers, the pups, the healers. Eyes locked on him, waiting, wondering if this was it. If he was going to transform... or combust. Franco staggered forward, groaning, and I knew that sound. That low, guttural pain. He was shifting. The venom had taken hold. “Franco,” I stepped forward slowly, trying to keep my voice steady. “You need to breathe. You need to calm your nerves—” “Don’t!” His eyes snapped to me, wild, betrayed, glowing, and I saw the faintest glint of a fang protruding past his lip. “Don’t come close to me, Devon!” he snarled. “You did this to me!” The words hit harder than claws ever could. I felt something in my chest collapse in on itself. But I still move