All Chapters of Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

ROWANI massaged the bridge of my nose, the familiar pressure radiating behind my eyes. It had been like this the entire so-called “break.” A break, they called it. For me, it was nothing but a flood of responsibilities, endless numbers, meetings, and arguments. I had buried myself in work, and yet no matter how deep I dug, I couldn’t drown out the noise of my parents. Their voices were constant, like a hammer striking the same nail over and over again.After Cade called me that night, after I answered and helped, when most wouldn’t—they never stopped reminding me of it. “Helping the enemy,” that’s what they said. “Helping the North,” as if the North were a sickness to be quarantined. But what did they know? What did they see of the reality? None. All they cared about was their image and pride. They told me again and again: “Now look. Cade is the Praetor while you are stuck in this pack.”But what they never admitted was that this pack was running because of me. The South had not c

TESSAI never thought I’d see her here.Her name rolled over the microphone, and for a moment, I wanted it to be a lie. My classmates whispered at the sight of her. “She’s pretty,” I caught someone saying, the word sharp in my ears. Others from the South twisted in their seats, not to look at her, but at me.Because they knew, and their gazes proved they wanted me to know, too. That my sister was still far superior than I was. Suddenly, I can’t move. She stood there like the stage had been carved out for her all along. What was she doing here? My mind scrambled. Her internship… wasn’t it supposed to last longer? She was supposed to be gone. Far away. Far enough that I didn’t have to think about her voice or her face or the way she used to cut into me with words that left scars deeper than claws ever could.Arden’s eyes found mine, her lips parting and brows lifting ever so slightly. “Are you alright?” she muttered. I bit my lip. Beside me, Owen leaned in, his voice soft. “Tess? Y

TESSA “Thank you, Praetor Cade!” I teasingly said as the food was served right in front of us. Cade shook his head, appearing exasperated. He told us plenty of times not to address him as such. However, that didn’t stop us from teasing him. If you told me months ago I could joke with him like this, I would say that you’re lying. But Cade had a lighter aura now, and of course, a lot of it traced back to Arden. We were currently at a restaurant near Elite, graced by a table of endless food. Cade didn’t just order a meal for each of us. He probably ordered the entire restaurant. Every platter, every steaming bowl, every specialty dish. The waiters kept coming and coming, arms stacked with plates until the table was covered edge to edge like a feast from a legend.The best part was that he was paying for it all! Honestly, I wasn’t going to complain. If there was one upside to your best friend being mated to a man like Cade, it was this. The guy could afford it, and he actually wanted

ROWAN I could smell him before I saw him.The stench of rot simmering under skin that hadn’t seen clean water in weeks. Rogues didn’t always smell like that, but the unhinged ones did. I stepped into the holding room, where two guards had chained the rogue down against the stone wall. His wrists were rubbed raw from straining against the iron cuffs, but he didn’t seem to notice. His head snapped up the moment I entered, eyes glowing rabid yellow. “What the fuck do you want?” he snarled, lips peeling back to bare his teeth. I shook my head. Should he really be the one asking that question? His spit flew as he continued sputtering nonsense. “You’ll never get anything out of me!” Closing my eyes, I inhaled slowly. The reek was suffocating, clinging to the back of my throat. This was the fourth rogue this month. The fourth. Out of all the territories, ours had the most breaches. “Seriously, what is Wilder doing?” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. As head of the warriors, he us

TESSAWeird. Why did he leave like that?I stood there for a second, staring after Rowan, before I realized how stupid I must look. He hadn’t even given me a proper answer. I really thought we could talk now. I went back to the table, plastering on a small smile, but the feeling wouldn’t shake off. It stayed glued to my chest.“What happened?” Arden asked the moment I sat down, eyes narrowing.“Nothing,” I muttered. It was the truth. Nothing really happened. Owen turned too, brows furrowed. I had only recently told him that Rowan was my mate, and I still wasn’t sure how he’d taken it. He’d stared at me for a full minute like I had grown another head, then changed the topic. Now, though, he wasn’t letting me off.“He just left you?” he asked, clicking his tongue. “Unbelievable.”I sighed and grabbed my glass of water, gulping half of it in one go. For some reason, my throat was so dry, and my whole body felt warm. I set the glass down and fanned myself with my hand.Arden tilted her