All Chapters of Marked for Betrayal: Chapter 51 - Chapter 53

POV: Mia (Zero)We returned to Darkhaven in silence.Not because there was nothing to say, but because the things we might have spoken aloud could not be taken back. The seal, the throne, the warnings—none of it was mystical. It was political. It was leverage. Nova had brought me to that place not to reveal power but to remind me that control was slipping, and she intended to catch it when it fell.Chito walked ahead with the scouts, his jaw tight, his usual calm replaced with something I had seen only once—when he stood over his sister’s body after the mountain ambush. Alex remained by my side, silent as I was, but not detached. His presence was steady, hands near his blade, eyes scanning even familiar trees like they might start whispering secrets.When we reached the gates, the first thing I saw was the firelight.Not chaos.Not war.Celebration.The main courtyard was lit with lanterns and low torches. Wolves laughed, drank, passed food around a central fire as though nothing had

POV: NovaThe full moon was two nights away, but Nova felt its pressure long before it showed its face.Not in her bones—that part of her had dulled long ago—but in the eyes of the wolves who whispered in her presence, the weight of their glances, the shift in their posture when they realized she was no longer hiding. They didn’t question why she returned. They didn’t dare ask. The rumors had done their work, and now fear was walking quietly at her side.She stood at the edge of a forgotten watchtower deep in the southern glade, where the wind moved in slow, patient circles, and the trees leaned like they remembered. The stone beneath her boots was cracked, moss crawling through the seams. Above her, the sky churned in pale blue and steel gray, waiting for dusk.Behind her, Ressa paced with her arms folded, steps short and clipped with impatience.“The vote didn’t remove her,” Ressa said, not bothering to soften her voice. “She held the seat by two margins. Two.”Nova didn’t turn arou