All Chapters of MATED TO THE STUBBORN HUMAN : Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

Ava's povWe moved forward in silence, our boots pressing into the ashen soil of Ashville’s cursed land. The deeper we ventured, the thicker the air became—dense, humid, tinged with a metallic taste that clung to the back of my throat.But soon enough I noticed that something was wrong.Very wrong.I couldn't quite place what it was.The enemy wasn’t meeting us in open battle.They were watching. Waiting. Hunting. I could feel their eyes on us but I couldn't place where exactly they were.Xander walked ahead, his shoulders tense, his grip on his blade firm. The warriors behind us moved cautiously, scanning every shadow, their ears twitching at every distant sound. The silence was what disturbed me the most. A battlefield should have been alive—full of shouts, the clash of steel, the roar of war.But this?This was like stepping into a graveyard before the bodies had even fallen.What's going on?A shiver crawled up my spine. I kept my magic close, simmering beneath my skin, waiting fo

Xander's povWe didn’t stop to breathe.The moment we emerged from the tunnel, I gave the signal and my warriors immediately sprang to motion like blades being drawn.We moved fast. No more room for mourning, hesitation, or mercy. The Forge was right in front of us. The explosives were set. The path to Zerathos lay wide open, and I was done playing on the defensive.No more creeping in the dark. No more lurking behind shadows.The bombs were planted.The path was clear.It was time.I turned to Kael. “Light them up.”One of his enforcers raised a hand, signalling for someone to hand him a torch which he placed on a wire which was connected to the bombs inside. The spark started, continuing down the path of wire, moving with speed towards the bombs inside.There was a brief moment of silence and then—Boom.The ground trembled beneath our feet as an explosion ripped through the forge’s storage rooms, sending fire and smoke into the sky. The sound echoed across the cursed land like a lo

Ava's pov The moment the black mist erupted from the ground, I knew that things were about to get much worse. It was reeking badly. The ground cracked open beneath our feet like a wound splitting wide, and from it, the shadows poured, thick and choking, whispering in voices I couldn’t understand. Zerathos was coming. And I wasn’t ready, it was too soon. But I had to be. I knew that if I had continued to wait in blackthorn, I would never fully be ready. Now, regardless I was already here and needed to get things together and end this. I turned, eyes widening as I sensed something coming. "Shields!" I screamed, summoning my light magic and making a dome flare out around us, golden and humming with energy just as a blast of shadows shot out from the crack on the floor and hitting the barrier with so much force that the forge shook. We stumbled. Xander caught me by the elbow, his arm strong, steady. His eyes locked onto mine for half a second stormy gray-golden eyes c

Zerathos' povThey think they’ve won.How foolish.War doesn't end when someone retreats. Not for those who breathe war.They thought my vanishing act was surrender. That my army fading with me was a sign of loss. But they misunderstood the game entirely.You don’t conquer a kingdom by brute force alone—you break its spirit, fracture its foundation, and wait for the cracks to show and watch everything crumble as they scramble to save what is beyond repair.The moment I faded from the battlefield, I felt the wave of their false relief like a sweet smell in the wind. It made me smirk at their naiveness. A dream. It was the normal way a prey always relaxes when the predator steps away… forgetting that sometimes, the beast only backs off to sharpen its claws.I stood at the top of the cliffs of Death Hollow now, the wind howling in the air, the sky was bleeding, the earth soaked with death, black mist curling at my feet. The death hollow was a little realm I had crafted for myself. Below

Ava's povThe night begins with shadows.Always.Not the kind that creep under doorways or stretch across walls. These are inside me—cold, vile things curling behind my ribs and pressing against my spine.I couldn't sleep. Again.I thought I had gotten rid of Zerathos' hold on me so I was very confused by the shadows tormenting me.Or is it all just in my head?I didn't know. It was driving me crazy.Every time I closed my eyes, I would see a shape in the dark. A flicker at the edge of reason. A whisper that wasn't by voice.And tonight, it showed me something that I couldn't escape.It started with smoke— it was thick, black, and curling like serpents across the ground. I was standing on a cracked path of scorched earth, the sky a scary swirl of red and grey. The air hummed like something alive.I didn't know this place but something in me said I did.Death Hollow.It whispered.The forbidden wasteland where no life grows. Where bones sink into the black soil and never rise again. Wh