All Chapters of Bound To My Protector Mate: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The air was still, yet heavy with the promise of danger. The trees surrounding me swayed in the phantom wind of my own panicked breaths. Rigel’s last words hung in my ears like a haunting echo: "Stay alive, Daniel. No matter what happens, keep running."But how was I supposed to run when the shadows themselves seemed to move against me? The path ahead felt endless, the darkness closing in on all sides. My heartbeat pounded like a drum, its rhythm unsteady and frantic.I stumbled over an exposed root and caught myself against a tree, the bark biting into my palms. My breaths came shallow and fast, my body trembling with a cocktail of exhaustion and fear.“Lost already?” a voice called out, smooth and venomous, breaking the silence like a crack of thunder.I froze, my body going rigid as a figure emerged from the shadows. He was tall and gaunt, his skin pale like it had never known sunlight. His eyes glowed faintly crimson, twin embers that pierced through the darkness.“Well, well,” he

The light engulfed me completely, and for a moment, I couldn’t feel the ground beneath my feet. My breath caught as the warmth turned to heat, burning away the edges of my vision until I stood in an endless void.“Daniel,” the disembodied voice spoke again, reverberating through the emptiness. “To pass, you must confront the truth within yourself. Show me your strength.”Before I could respond, the void shifted. Shadows coalesced, forming jagged images that sharpened into something painfully familiar.I stood in the middle of a cramped apartment, one I hadn’t seen since I was a child. The smell of stale cigarettes and spilled beer was so vivid it made my stomach churn. The chipped wallpaper, the broken furniture—it was all exactly as I remembered.And then I heard it.“You’re nothing but a burden,” a cold, slurred voice sneered.I turned to see him—my father. Or at least the man who was supposed to be. He loomed over me, a bottle in one hand, his expression twisted with disgust.“No w

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting an amber glow over the jagged cliffs where we’d made camp for the night. The air was thick with tension, each of us grappling with the burden of what lay ahead. I couldn’t shake the whispers of the blade from my mind; its promise of power lingered like a seductive ghost.We were on edge, wary of any movement in the growing shadows. When the first figure appeared, stepping out from the tree line with unnerving grace, Rigel’s hand immediately went to his weapon. Selene stiffened beside me, her fingers twitching with the faint glow of her magic."Easy now," the stranger said, his voice smooth but laced with authority. He raised his hands in a mock gesture of peace, his smile sharp as a blade. “We’re not here to fight. Yet.”The stranger was joined by a dozen others, all of them exuding a palpable energy that set my nerves alight. They moved like predators, their footsteps silent on the rocky ground.“Who are you?” Rigel demanded, his tone icy.Th

The blade felt heavier in my hands than it should have, as though it carried the weight of every decision I was about to make. Its dark, jagged edge seemed to hum softly, a sound only I could hear, resonating in my chest like a second heartbeat. Every time I looked at it, the whispers grew louder—promises of power, freedom, and control. I was close to running mad, or so I felt.I didn’t tell Rigel or Selene what I was doing. This was my burden, my risk. I had waited until the others were asleep, the sparkling glow of our campfire masking the faint light that pulsed from the blade as I drew it from its sheath.The first time I held it, I felt a jolt—a surge of something hot and electric that coursed through my veins. Tonight, it felt... different. Hungrier.My grip tightened as I swung it experimentally through the air. With each movement, memories and emotions I thought I’d buried began to surface—my parents’ absence, the endless nights of wondering if I was ever enough, and the gnawi

The campfire burned low, casting long shadows that danced across the makeshift shelter we’d set up for the night. The forest was eerily quiet, save for the occasional crackle of burning wood and the distant rustle of unseen creatures.I sat a few feet from the fire, my arms wrapped around my knees, staring into the flames as my thoughts spiraled. The events of the day replayed in my mind—the creature, the blade, the mark spreading across my chest. Every revelation felt like another layer of weight pressing down on me.“You’re too quiet,” Rigel’s deep voice broke through my thoughts. He settled beside me, his presence as steady and solid as always, though tonight, there was a softness to him that I hadn’t seen before.“Just thinking,” I said, not looking at him.“You always are,” he replied, a faint smirk tugging at his lips as I raised my head softly and caught him even as he tried to wash it off immediately.For a moment, we sat in silence, the crackling fire filling the space betwee