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Chapter 3

Author: Palma W
That Black Wolf knight returned quickly with a blood-bond tablet in both hands.

The tablet lit up. The blood patterns Kaelren and I had left three years ago appeared in perfect clarity.

Only one name was registered: Kael.

No clan mark.

Lifelong mate bond.

The mate bond has remained stable for three years. No mate death has been recorded. No bond deterioration has been detected.

Ronan stared at the tablet for a long time.

"It's fake."

The knight bowed his head.

"My lord, this record came directly from the master stone at the Moon Bond Hall. The same stone preserves the bond records of every mated pair across the Twelve Clans. Forgery is impossible."

Ronan's head snapped up.

"You actually bonded with him?"

"You watched it happen three years ago."

"I thought you were just trying to spite me!"

His voice rose sharply. Everyone around us turned to stare.

I looked at him calmly.

"Ronan, not everyone's life orbits around you."

His expression twisted.

"What right does a thing without even a clan mark—one that can't even maintain its beast form—have to be the mate of the Golden Feather?

"Come back to the castle with me. I'll have this ridiculous bond dissolved."

I ignored him and was ready to walk away.

He grabbed my wrist.

His grip tightened until his fingertips nearly dug into my flesh.

"I said, come with me."

I wrenched free.

"A mate bond only requires the consent of both parties. Rank has nothing to do with it. You have no right to dissolve it."

"I don't?"

Ronan let out a cold laugh.

"What can that creature possibly give you? A tattered cloak? A house that reeks of rot? Or the mockery of a pack of low-ranking cubs?"

In the struggle, the medicine bundle slipped from my hands.

Moonmilk moss, cubberries, and goldvine seeds were scattered across the ground.

Selena looked down. Her expression changed.

She crouched and picked up a piece of moonmilk moss.

"This is medicine for stabilizing a cub's beast core."

Ronan whipped around to face me.

"You're pregnant?"

Instinctively, I shielded my belly.

The gesture said everything.

The air went still for a heartbeat.

Ronan's nostrils flared.

The moment my emotions spiked, the concealment charm could no longer suppress the cub's scent. A faint trace drifted from beneath my cloak.

Ronan's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

"You're carrying his cub?"

The words sounded like they had been forced through clenched teeth.

I didn't deny it.

Selena's gaze settled on my belly.

"Evelyn, how could you be so reckless? A Rotskin Beastfolk's beast core is inherently unstable. Having his cub could taint your bloodline. The cub might not even be born with a complete beast form."

I stared at her coldly.

"Shut up! You're in no position to judge my cub."

But Ronan seemed deaf to everything I said.

He fixed me with a stare of disbelief and fury.

"You'd rather have a monster's cub than wait for me?"

I suddenly felt so tired.

"Why would I wait for you?"

"Because you love me."

He answered without a second's hesitation.

"You chased me for years. You can't possibly be over me."

I looked at him.

"Kaelren has never once made me prove I deserve to be loved.

"That's why you'll never measure up to him."

The last thread of Ronan's self-control snapped.

He raised his hand and his beast spirit surged outward. Low-ranking beastfolk lowered their heads and retreated.

"Take her."

The knights didn't move immediately.

Taren, the one-eyed knight at the front, hesitated for a moment.

"My Lord, she's already bound by a lifelong mate bond, and she's carrying a cub—"

"I said, take her!"

Ronan roared.

"I have a duty to prevent low-ranking blood from tainting the Golden Feather line."

I shot back, "You have no such duty. You just can't accept that I really don't want you anymore."

That pushed him over the edge. Ronan grabbed my shoulders and dragged me toward the carriage.

A sharp pain shot through my belly as I struggled.

Taren saw my face turn pale. His hand tightened into a fist, but he lowered his head and carried out the order.

Not a single beastfolk in the crowd dared to stand in Ronan's way.

Just before I was shoved into the carriage, Ronan leaned close to my ear.

"Once we've purged that monster's blood from you, you'll understand I was saving you."

The carriage door slammed shut.

I wrapped my arms around my belly as my heart sank.

The Black Wolf Clan's purification den was meant to wash away the scent of a former mate.

But the Silverthorn Elixir in Selena's hand wasn't for breaking a mate bond.

Its purpose was to destroy my cub's beast core.
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  • Bound to the Outcast Beast King   Chapter 11

    The night before my investiture, I asked Kaelren, "Why were you at the Moon Festival three years ago?"He was silent for a long moment before taking me to the old mill.No one had lived there for years. The patches he had sewn onto the roof were still there. In one corner lay the first cloak he had ever tried and failed to make.Kaelren sat by the hearth and finally told me the whole truth.Three years ago, the Black Wolf Clan had conspired with hyena mercenaries to assassinate him.The corrupted blood curse had destroyed his beast core and disfigured his face. It had also marked his royal scent, allowing the assassins to track him the moment he shifted into his beast form.His only choice was to disguise himself as an unmarked Rotskin Beastman and hide among the crowds at the edge of the Moon Festival.The bonding ring Ronan had kicked away rolled to his feet.When my blood fell onto the ring, it broke the curse's hold on his scent.I had thought I was simply choosing someone no one e

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