Chapter: CHAPTER 49: LET ARLAN STAY.MABEL. “What do you mean?” Zachary exhaled through the phone, then clicked his tongue. I turned my head to Kyra and Arlan, who were still eating while Evie put more rice on their plates. “Can't you take a guess? I mean, your parents' lives are in danger; shouldn't you know who is responsible?” “If you called me to play mind games, then I would rather turn off the phone for now.” “Fine, fine,” Zachary breathed. He seemed to have stood up, because I heard his chair scrape the floor. “I got news about Silas and Gena. They plan to kill your parents. Do you understand now?” My brows furrowed. Silas and Gena? Planning to kill my parents? Silas was not stupid. Killing my adoptive parents would make everyone suspect him, and the elders don't take murder lightly. He was wiser than that.I pulled the phone off my ear and stared at the caller ID. Well, it meant Zachary was not saying everything yet. “What else did you overhear?” I asked him, then returned the phone to my ear. “That woul
Last Updated: 2026-07-13
Chapter: CHAPTER 48: IMPORTANT NEWS.MABEL. “Do I accompany Ryan to bring Kyra home from school?” Evie spoke up for the first time since we sat here together.I shook my head and snapped my laptop shut. My phone lit up beside me.Caller ID: Zachary. I sighed, swiped the red button, and tugged my phone into my pocket as I stood up. “I would get her back myself.” “But …” “Prepare dinner,” I said, and walked out the door, then closed it without letting her say anything else. I got into the car with Ryan, and he drove towards the school. Occasionally, he kept staring at me through the front-view mirror. I kept my gaze buried in my phone. Not entirely, but enough to see him staring at me. His hands were tight around the steering wheel, and his heart raced like I was about to discover something wrong he'd been doing. My lips moved, but I pressed them shut. Since he won't speak, I won't press it out of him. The car was parked outside the large academy; the tires squelched against the wet mud. I glanced out, my eyes da
Last Updated: 2026-07-12
Chapter: CHAPTER 47: GETTING BACK AT MABEL.SILAS I lifted the lamplight from the desk and smashed it on the floor. It cracked and scattered all over the place, my chest rising and falling while I stared at it. It wasn't enough! I went to my table, bent down, and scraped every paper from the desk. They all dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. I stood up, breathing harshly, my chest burning. I … a man like me should donate soldiers for Darknile's sake? To help revive Darknile? After doing everything to bring it to ruins, now, for the sake of the supreme position, I'm supposed to revive it? All because of that witch! I kicked the hardwood so hard, but it didn't budge; instead, pain struck my legs. I immediately grabbed my legs, groaning, as my chest twisted and burned more. I rubbed my legs faintly, then fell back on the leather seat. I stared over the counter to the exit door, my hands now clasped together. Well, it had to be done. I destroyed Darknile's pack to get the supreme position. It's only normal that if I w
Last Updated: 2026-07-12
Chapter: CHAPTER 46: REJECTING HIS PROPOSAL.MABEL. I must appreciate the confidence, or should I call it …audacity? He came to my mansion to ask that I remarry him? He had this look on his face. Anticipation maybe. With the way he was shaking his legs as if waiting for an affirmative answer. “Marry you?” I asked in between laughter. I choked, my eyes red as I fell back on the sofa, shoulders quaking. “What? You no longer pity me now?” “I know what I did was wrong. I know I shouldn't have hurt you the way I did, but that’s all in the past. Besides …” “Besides, you are a total joke right now for daring to ask me to remarry you!” I snapped. “Did you really think I would scream yes? Did you really think I would come running into your arms? When you thought of it, how did it sound in your head?”“It doesn't change the fact that I'm sorry, Mabel. I have been sorry for two years now. Isn’t that enough?” I let out a mock laugh, then crossed my legs again, tapping on my thigh. My fingers rubbed against the silk gown I wore, and
Last Updated: 2026-07-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 45: THE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL.KYRAN. I had abandoned whatever I planned to do, rushed forward, ignoring the fact that I was standing before the entire court. All that mattered was that Percy had said she was in trouble. And being summoned to the court meant she would go through trial and might be punished. It didn't help that she was going against Silas and Gena. But when I got to her, she was handling everything just fine.I let out a bitter smile as I plopped onto the bed. Guess she doesn't need me as much as before then. She doesn't need to hold onto me to feel wanted. She doesn't need my protection, no matter how much I want to offer it now. I lifted my phone, my legs already on the bed. I opened all of Percy's chats. Since I already viewed one of them, I could as well admit that I needed his Intels, and that of my beta, Reed. I read one of his messages sent a week ago. “For the past few days now, Doctor Veyron has been acting suspiciously. We can talk about this later.” My eyes darkened at the message
Last Updated: 2026-07-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 44: OVERHEARING THEIR PLAN.MABEL. “These are photos that our surveillance men took today.” Evie handed me pictures the minute I stepped into the mansion. My hands were still bloody, but I didn't bother. I still enjoyed the feeling of having the blood of a woman who stole everything from me coat my fingers. I walked to my study, heels clinking against the Marble. Evie followed behind me, and I could tell she wanted to know why my hands were bloody. “Kyra returned, if she sees your …” “She won't.” I cut her off and sat down on the rocking chair the minute I got into the study. The air here was cold compared to the large hall, which was filled with hundreds of people. My gaze fell on the pictures, and my eyes darkened. A picture of Elder Malakai talking with Kyran. I took a look at the next picture. Kyran was standing outside, staring at his phone. I dropped the pictures on the desk without bothering to look any further. “Finally, Malakai makes a move,” I said, and Evie nodded. She had a crease on her for
Last Updated: 2026-07-10
Chapter: Epilogue— Five Years Later
Raven POV The palace felt alive again.Sunlight filtered through the crystal windows, casting gold across the marble floors as the scent of roasted meats, honeyed bread, and blooming lilacs filled the halls. I could hear the twins racing down the corridor…barefooted , loud, and laughing as if the world had never known war.“Slow down!” I called after them, but I was smiling too hard to mean it.Rowan walked in behind me, holding a bottle of aged wine and a bouquet of wildflowers he swore he picked himself. “Remind me again why we let your children run this palace?”“Our children,” I corrected, smirking. “And because they’re faster than the guards.”He laughed and kissed my cheek. “Asher’s finishing up the final touches outside. Everything’s ready.”I looked out over the balcony, watching the courtyard slowly transform into something out of a dream. Lanterns hung from tree branches, glowing with soft magic.Tables were arranged in a crescent shape, lined with fruits and spices from
Last Updated: 2025-06-02
Chapter: I’ll Never Leave Again
Gwen POV I ran..really ran…blurring past stunned faces and silver-draped columns, past the clinking of crystal and the soft laughter of royals and warriors. I didn’t stop until I reached my room, the one they’d given me at the far end of the wing.I slammed the door shut, my chest heaving, my heart threatening to break free from my ribs. I locked it out of instinct, pressing my back against the cool wood like it would somehow keep everything else from breaking in too.A second later, there was a sharp knock on the door.“Gwen.” Elisha’s voice. Muffled but unmistakable. “Open the door.”I didn’t move. I couldn’t.Another knock, louder this time. “Please.”I pressed my palm harder against the door, willing him away, even as my body ached to let him in.What was wrong with me?Why did the sight of him undo me?Why did his voice crawl under my skin like a spell I couldn’t shake?I sank to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest and burying my face in them. He didn’t knock again, but I
Last Updated: 2025-06-02
Chapter: I Have To Go Gwen POV I stood quietly in the corridor overlooking the main hall below, my hands resting on the smooth stone railing. The palace buzzed with life and laughter, warm chatter, and the echo of preparations as the staff readied the space for the coronation. Everything looked almost… normal again. Or at least, a version of normal we were all trying to reclaim after so much blood, loss, and pain.Today was the day.The day, Raven would be crowned queen, and Rowan, our king. A union not just of mates, but of power, duty, and a promise to lead this land into peace. Asher would be named First Prime Alpha…an honor he earned through sacrifice and bravery. He might have started this journey shrouded in secrets, but he had more than proven where his loyalty lay.Everything had fallen into place. And that meant it was time.Time for me to leave.My fingers tightened slightly on the rail. It wasn’t easy…gods, it wasn’t, but my people needed me. Rebuilding the Outerlands wasn’t just a task…
Last Updated: 2025-06-02
Chapter: Can I Mark You Loira POVI lay curled against my mate’s body, Kael’s warmth wrapped around me like a second skin, his heartbeat slow and steady beneath my cheek. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt… at peace. Not just safe, not just alive…but whole.The sun had dipped low, casting gold over the grass and filtering through the broken trees we hadn’t yet had the strength to cut down. Nature was still healing. So were we. But there was laughter…genuine, full-bellied laughter…that echoed through the quiet. The kind that used to feel like a dream.I turned my head just a little, watching as Raven giggled breathlessly between Asher and Rowan, her smile brighter than I’d ever seen it. Gwen was pretending to sulk nearby, pouting dramatically while Elisha teased her, and the others sat in small groups, talking, smiling, just… living.Some months ago, none of this seemed possible. Back then, everything was survival. Blood. Fear. Loss.But here we were.My fingers tightened slightly agains
Last Updated: 2025-06-01
Chapter: Three Months LaterRaven POVThe wind was softer these days. The skies are clearer. The world… lighter.I stood at the edge of the garden, the same garden where I almost lost him—where I thought I’d say goodbye forever. But now, as the morning sun kissed the petals of the moon lilies, I watched Rowan sparring with Kael in the courtyard below, the two of them laughing like boys with no shadows hanging over their heads.He was stronger now. Not the same Rowan I had dragged away from the brink of death, but something even better…renewed and stronger.His mark on me shimmered faintly with every heartbeat, and the bond between us had only deepened. Sometimes I felt it before I heard him speak. Other times, I woke up to find him already watching me, as if afraid this peace might still vanish.But it hadn’t.The war was over. The queen was dead. My father… gone.Our people were healing.Gwen was currently barking orders at a group of warriors helping rebuild the outer walls of the palace. She hadn’t changed
Last Updated: 2025-06-01
Chapter: Kiss Me, Rowan Raven POV Rowan sank slowly to the ground beneath the tall flowering tree that had once been witness to vows of forever.I followed him down, my hands already reaching for his. They were warm…but not as warm as they should be. His skin was paler than before, and though his eyes still held that fierce light, it was dimming, fading like the last stars before dawn.“I used to imagine growing old with you,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady as I sat beside him. “I thought we’d have time.”He smiled faintly, brushing his thumb along the back of my hand. “We did, in our way. Time didn’t give us years, Raven… but it gave us this. Right here. Right now.”I shook my head, tears spilling over my lashes.“Don’t say goodbye yet. Please. We can try again. There has to be something…anything…”“There’s nothing left to fight, love,” he murmured, gently cupping my cheek. “And I’m tired of fighting this curse.”I buried my face in his chest, listening to the fading rhythm of his heartbeat
Last Updated: 2025-06-01
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