Semua Bab Rejected by My Mate, Fated to the Lycan King: Bab 561 - Bab 567

ScarlettThe cave mouth yawns like a secret waiting to be swallowed.It isn’t marked on any map.We stumbled on it by accident, or maybe the forest meant for us to find it. Either way, I feel the pull before I even see it.Erik says nothing when I veer off the path. He just follows, watching my back like he always does.The air inside is cooler. Our footsteps echo too loudly, our breathing is the only audible sound.It smells of moss and age and old blood, long since dried.And something else. Gold.Not literally, but something in my magic stirs. A pulse in the pit of my stomach, sharp and sudden. Like recognition.“Here,” I whisper, stepping closer to the far wall.Erik raises a hand, conjuring soft mage-light from his palm. It flickers, then steadies, revealing the stone wall etched with old murals.My breath catches.They’re wolves. But not like the ones we know. These are tall, half-shifted creatures with glowing eyes and marks carved into their skin. Not scars or tattoos. Brands.

ChrisI’m still shaking when we find a dry patch under the gnarled oak.I’m not cold or scared, I’m fucking furious.The forest tried to take him. Again. Like it doesn’t know he’s mine.I watched Elliott circle the same clearing over and over, his steps frantic, his eyes hollowed-out with confusion.Like something had looped his body but left his soul behind. He said it spoke in his voice. I believe him.But I didn’t come running through this gods-damned cursed forest to listen to his voice break in terror.I came to fight for him.He sits on the mossy ground now, legs bent, head dropped between his knees like he’s still trying to get a grip on himself.His shirt clings to him with sweat, his chest is rising and falling too fast. I can see the pulse in his throat.I crouch and pull his face up with two fingers.His eyes are glassy. There’s too much and not enough all at once."Still with me?" I ask, low.He nods.But his lower lip trembles like he’s about to say something that won’t c

IlsaCaelan doesn’t sleep. Not like the rest of us.When I wake up, I find him sitting cross-legged at the edge of the clearing, silver-blond hair falling into his starlight eyes, unmoving except for the occasional blink.It should be unnerving. Hell, it is unnerving. But I’ve gotten used to it.What I haven’t gotten used to is the way the forest folds around him like it’s been waiting for him."You knew the timelines were off before we did," I say, stepping up behind him.He doesn’t turn. Just tips his head. "You felt it.""Felt you, more like," I snap. "You’re always five seconds ahead of us. Why?"A long pause.Then he rises, smooth and slow, like a shadow peeling off the earth."Because time doesn’t behave the same way for me. Not anymore.""What does that mean?""It means I was lost here long before you were."His voice is calm, but something old ripples under the surface. Like he’s trying not to remember too hard.I cross my arms. "Are you ever going to tell me your real name?"