Library
Search
Home / Werewolf / THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate / CHAPTER EIGHT

Share

CHAPTER EIGHT

Author: Beauty Cin
last update Last Updated: 2025-10-07 10:02:36

~ RAE'S POV ~

I woke to pain.

A deep, burning ache that ran from my shoulder down to my ribs. It felt like fire lived inside my skin. The mark on my arm pulsed again, black veins spreading faintly under the surface. Every time it throbbed, I felt the echo of the council’s cruelty all over again.

I blinked up at the faint light breaking through the trees. It was morning already, or maybe the second one since they threw me out. I couldn’t tell. Time had lost meaning here.

The ground was damp beneath me. My clothes stuck to my skin, wet with blood and dirt. I could barely move without pain slicing through me, but I had no choice.

If I stayed still, I’d die.

If I gave up, they’d win.

And I couldn’t let that happen. Not now. Not when I had something, someone inside me.

I pressed a trembling hand to my stomach. It wasn’t showing yet, but I could feel it. The faintest sense of life. My heartbeat didn’t feel like mine alone anymore.

The thought steadied me a little. I swallowed hard and forc
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate    CHAPTER FORTY

    ~ DAMON’S POV ~The wind had changed again. It carried the smell of snow and wood smoke, sharp enough to make your chest ache when you breathed too deep. Winter was coming fast, faster than anyone here had planned for.I stood near the edge of the half-built wall, my hands raw from lifting stones. Around me, the villagers worked in silence, their movements slow but steady. Every hammer strike echoed through the valley.Jax dropped a pile of timber beside me. “You ever notice how winter always feels like it’s watching us?”I smiled faintly. “That’s because it is.”He grinned. “I knew you’d say something grim like that.”“It’s not grim. It’s true.”He looked up at the sky. The clouds were pale gray, heavy. “You think we’ll get snow tonight?”“Maybe,” I said. “You ready for it?”He snorted. “I’ve been ready for worse. Remember the frost at Iron Hollow?”“I try not to.”He laughed, shaking his head. “You’ve gotten soft.”“Maybe I’ve just learned when to rest.”He raised an eyebrow. “Sinc

  • THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate    CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

    ~ RAE’S POV ~Mara stood beside me, wrapped in a heavy coat. “I told you it would snow before the month ended,” she said, her breath forming clouds in the air.“You also said it wouldn’t stick,” I said, smiling.She shrugged. “I was half right.”Kira called from across the yard, “You two done admiring the weather? We’ve got work!”Mara groaned. “She’s never satisfied.”“She’s right, though,” I said. “We need to check the storage. The food won’t last long if the cold keeps up.”We headed toward the storehouse together. Inside, the air smelled of grain and dry herbs. I ran my hands over the sacks stacked against the wall. “We’ll have to ration carefully.”Mara frowned. “You worry too much.”“Someone has to,” I said. “Kira can’t do everything.”Kira entered behind us, carrying a small lantern. “I heard that.”I smiled. “Then you agree with me.”She chuckled. “You’ve been running this place more than I have lately.”“That’s not true,” I said quickly.“It is,” Mara said. “People ask you be

  • THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate    CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

    ~ DAMON’S POV ~The borderlands looked different than I remembered. Once, they were filled with soldiers, fire, and fear. Now there were only empty fields, half-broken houses, and people trying to start again.Jax and I had been here for nearly a month. Each day was the same, rebuilding, carrying wood, mending walls. It was slow work, but steady. The kind of work that left your hands sore and your head quiet.That quiet was something I hadn’t felt in years.We reached the edge of the settlement just after sunrise. The air was cold enough to sting. Smoke curled from a few chimneys, and the smell of wet earth filled the morning.Jax was already ahead of me, hammer in hand. “You’re late,” he said.“I was checking the eastern wall,” I said. “It needs new support beams.”He smirked. “Everything needs new support beams. Welcome to the border.”I smiled faintly. “You complain too much.”He shrugged. “Someone has to balance your new attitude.”“My what?”He grinned. “This calm, humble thing

  • THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate    CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

    ~ RAE’S POV ~The days in North Ridge started to blend together in the best way. Morning light through the window, the smell of firewood, Kira’s voice calling out tasks before breakfast. I had begun to know the rhythm of the place, who woke first, who needed help with the water, who could be trusted to smile even on bad days.Mara always grumbled when Kira sent us out before sunrise. “You’d think she’d give the new ones a chance to sleep in,” she said one morning as we carried buckets from the well.“She treats everyone the same,” I said. “That’s fair.”“Fair isn’t warm,” Mara muttered.I laughed softly. “You’ll survive.”She shot me a look but smiled anyway. “You sound like her now.”“Maybe that’s not a bad thing.”The sun was just starting to climb. The mist from the river drifted through the trees, glowing in the light. It reminded me of another river, one farther south, one I had left behind. But the memory didn’t sting like before. It felt distant, like something that had happene

  • THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate    CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

    ~ DAMON’S POV ~The walls of the southern keep rose out of the mist like they had never changed. Gray stone, tall towers, flags hanging heavy in the still air. I had seen them a thousand times before, but never like this. Never as a man walking toward his own judgment.Jax walked beside me, his steps slower than usual. He glanced at the guards by the gate. “They remember you,” he said quietly.“I’m sure they do.”“Think they’ll let us in?”“They have to,” I said. “They’ve been waiting for this.”Two guards stepped forward as we approached. One of them lifted his spear slightly. “State your name.”“Damon Vale,” I said.The guard’s eyes widened. For a moment, he didn’t move. Then he turned to the other man. “Go. Tell the council. Now.”The other guard ran inside. The first one looked back at me, uncertain. “You’re supposed to be gone.”“I was,” I said. “Now I’m back.”He hesitated. “Why?”“To finish what I started.”The guard’s expression shifted. He stepped aside, motioning toward the

  • THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate    CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

    ~ RAE’S POV ~By the time we reached the ridge, the air had changed. It was colder here, sharper, the kind that cut through your clothes and settled in your chest. The path wound between gray rocks and patches of pine, opening suddenly to a valley below.Mara stopped and shaded her eyes. “There it is,” she said.“That’s the village?” I asked.She nodded. “North Ridge. Old trade route. Used to be richer before the border closed.”I pulled my cloak tighter. “It looks tired.”“Then you’ll fit right in,” she said with a small grin.I almost smiled. “Let’s go.”We followed the slope down, our boots slipping in the loose soil. The closer we got, the more signs of life appeared — chickens scratching near the fences, smoke from ovens, voices carried on the cold air.When we reached the first house, a woman came out carrying a bucket of water. She stopped when she saw us. Her eyes were wary but not unfriendly.“Travelers?” she asked.“Yes,” I said. “We’ve been on the road a while.”“From where

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status