Semua Bab The cursed mate's return : Bab 231 - Bab 240

Maia's povAeron stood in the doorway, framed by the pale light of the corridor. His posture was straight, his clothes crisp, his badge catching a faint glint from the server lights. For a second, no one moved. Even the machines behind me sounded distant, like the room held its breath.He looked at us without a trace of confusion or recognition.Kieran spoke first, calm but tense. “This isn’t your floor.”Aeron’s expression didn’t shift. “I was sent to check a breach alert. Security logged movement in this wing.”His voice was the same. Steady, smooth, controlled. The voice I used to trust without questioning a single word.But whatever life I once shared with him—gone. Not forgotten. Just stripped clean, like it never existed.Kael stepped slightly forward, placing a barrier between us without making it obvious. Aeron’s gaze flicked to him, then back to me.I tightened my grip on the edge of the console to keep my hands steady. The urge to step back hit me hard, but I stayed where I

Maia's povWe didn’t make it far before Kieran stopped short.The street outside the building was quiet for this part of the city. A line of parked cars glinted under the streetlamps, and a delivery van idled across the road with its headlights dimmed.Kieran lifted a hand, signaling us to hold.Kael moved in front of me without hesitation. Not aggressive but instinctive.I didn’t argue.Kieran scanned the corners, then relaxed just slightly. “False alarm. Just patrols from the south district.”But before we could move on, the van door slid open.Suddenly, Aeron stepped out.He wasn’t alone and another guard stayed inside the vehicle but Aeron’s eyes were fixed on us the moment he hit the pavement.On me.For one second, the world narrowed to the space between us. He didn’t look confused this time or detached the way he had in the building.He looked… unsettled.Like something had been pushed out of place inside him and he hadn’t caught up.Kael shifted closer, his presence grounding

Maia's povWe didn’t stop running until my lungs burned.Kieran finally hauled us into the shell of an old transit hub, concrete pillars, blown-out glass, rainwater pooling on the floor. Kael slammed the security door shut behind us and dragged a rusted beam across it, the sound echoing too loud in the hollow space.Silence crashed down hard afterward.I bent forward, hands on my knees, trying to breathe. My heart wouldn’t slow. It felt like it was still back on that street, still caught in Ryn’s grip, still hearing the word *again* like a blade sliding between my ribs.Kael crouched in front of me instantly.“Look at me,” he said.I did. His eyes were fierce, searching, afraid in a way he never let anyone see.“Are you hurt?” he asked, hands already hovering, ready to check.I shook my head. “I’m fine.”He didn’t accept that but Kieran cut in before Kael could push.“We have maybe six minutes,” Kieran said, already mapping routes on a flickering holo-pad. “Ryn’s given them enough to

Kael's povThe kiss didn’t end things.It detonated them.Maia stepped back first, wiping at her face as if she hated herself for the weakness and hated me for seeing it. The distance between us felt louder than the alarms now echoing through the corridors beyond the sealed door.I let her have it.I deserved the space.“Say something,” she said finally, voice sharp from crying. “Don’t just stand there like you didn’t just confess to rearranging my life.”I swallowed. “If I speak right now, I’ll either beg or lie. You don’t need either.”Her jaw tightened. “You already decided what I needed once.”That cut clean and deep.Kieran’s voice crackled faintly over comms, urgent, clipped. “Kael. We’ve got movement topside. Internal teams. And Ryn’s been pulled from holding.”Maia stiffened instantly.“They took him,” she said.“Yes,” Kieran replied. “Alive. For now.”The word now carried too much weight.Maia’s eyes burned into mine. “You’re going to tell me everything. Not later. Not once i

Kael's povWe didn’t get far before the city reminded us who it belonged to.The fail corridor spat us out into a freight artery that should have been abandoned, should have been empty but nothing stayed empty once the Council decided you were worth hunting. Floodlights blazed to life overhead, washing the steel walls in white so harsh it made my eyes sting.“Down,” I ordered.Maia reacted instantly, pulling Ryn with her behind a cargo lift as rounds sparked off metal where our heads had been a second earlier. Kieran returned fire without hesitation, precise bursts meant to create space, not body counts.Ryn stumbled, breath ragged.He was worse off than he’d let on.Of course he was.“I can keep moving,” he rasped, trying to straighten.Maia didn’t look at him. She just tightened her grip on his arm and hauled him forward with grim efficiency.That cut deeper than if she’d yelled at him.We ran.Through screaming alarms and screaming systems, through corridors I’d helped design for c