Lahat ng Kabanata ng Marked by the wrong mate. : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

The moment I woke up, I knew something had changed.My breath caught in my throat as I blinked at the soft morning light trickling through the curtains. A cool breeze fluttered the linen, carrying scents I hadn’t noticed before—the musky sweetness of old wood, the tang of metal, and a trail of herbs I couldn’t see but knew were tucked somewhere in the room.I could hear the flutter of wings before birds even landed on the window sill. Their chirps were sharp, clear, almost too loud. Everything felt amplified.My senses were changing.My body felt… stronger. Not just healthier—stronger. As if my skin had toughened slightly, like the air itself knew to give me space. I sat up slowly, the sheets rustling against my legs, and stared at my arm. The mark.It pulsed faintly beneath my skin every morning now, a steady rhythm that felt like it didn’t quite match my heartbeat.Like something else was waking up inside me.It had been almost a week since Kael and I—I swallowed hard and pushed th

Kael's POVThe forest was darker than it should’ve been.Even under the dying light of the moon, the trees seemed to hunch over us like beasts with twisted backs. Every crackle of a branch beneath our feet made my stomach twist. Rowan was beside me, silent, moving like a shadow through the trees. Neither of us had spoken in an hour.I could still see the way she looked when she burst out of the dungeon—half-human, half-wolf, her eyes glowing like embers in the night. I should’ve stopped her. I should’ve...No. Guilt was useless right now.“Maya!” I called again, my voice low but firm. It echoed through the trees, swallowed by the night.Rowan’s jaw clenched beside me. “She can’t have gone too far. Her body’s still adjusting. She’s never shifted before.”“Then where the hell is she?” I growled.“She’s hiding,” he said simply. “Probably doesn’t even realize where she is. Or who she is.”We moved quietly for another hour. Every so often, Rowan would pause, tilt his head, sniff the air. A

It was noon already. The witches had arrived. The fire had long since burned low, casting flickering shadows on the walls of the Silver Claw stronghold. The scent of sage, rosemary, and something ancient clung to the air like fog. I stood beside Kael and Rowan in the ceremonial hall, every muscle in my body taut. The witches of the Silver Circle had arrived just before dawn, cloaked in garments stitched from twilight and secrets.Three of them, each a reflection of something older than time. The first, Elandra, moved like wind over water—graceful, dangerous, unknowable. The second, Maelis, had hair the color of frostbitten ash and eyes so pale they looked almost blind, though I knew she saw too much. And the third, Isolde, was the youngest-looking, but her presence thrummed with power that made the hair on my arms stand on end.They moved through the hall with a quiet reverence, their eyes never leaving me.Kael stood close, his hand barely grazing the small of my back, a protective

The door slammed shut behind them. Kael’s tall frame vanished into the hallway beside Kira, her voice already echoing with fire and ice as they walked.I sat frozen on the edge of the bed, the duvet still clutched around me like armor. My body was exhausted, but my mind refused to stop spinning. The witches, the curse, the rage in Kira’s voice—the threat she brought—it all tangled in my chest like thorns.Rowan moved from the door and came to crouch in front of me. “Maya,” he said gently, glancing toward the hallway. “You might want to hear this.”I blinked. “Hear what?”His eyes were serious. “Their conversation. With your wolf senses—you’re strong enough now. You’ve gone through the transition, whether you meant to or not. You can do this.”“I’ve never... I don’t know how.”He nodded, patient. “Focus. Close your eyes. Don’t listen with your ears—listen with your blood. With your breath. Imagine the hallway. Kael’s voice. Kira’s. Let the sound come to you.”It sounded like nonsense,

I staggered back, the walls of my room suddenly too close, the air too thin. Rowan reached out instinctively, his hands warm on my arms as he steadied me.“Hey, hey—Maya,” he said gently, his voice low and steady. “I know it’s a lot. Just… breathe for a second, okay?”I was barely hearing him. Marta—gone? Not just missing, but erased from memory, like some kind of ghost I had made up? My head was spinning, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.“She was real, Rowan,” I said again, the words cracking around the edges.“I know,” he said, nodding. “And that’s why I’ve been trying to convince Kael to let us go back to the village together. You and me. We could talk to the villagers ourselves, try to figure out what really happened. Maybe we can—”He stopped.I’d gone still.“Kael,” I repeated, my voice sharper now. Harsher. “You’re trying to convince Kael?”Rowan hesitated, like he knew exactly what was about to happen.“He’s just… hesitant,” he said carefully. “He thinks