Lahat ng Kabanata ng Marked by the wrong mate. : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 24

The hallways were darker than usual.Not because it was night. It was just that the mansion felt heavier, like the shadows had grown thicker on purpose, like they were trying to warn us not to do this.I moved slowly, one careful step after another. My heart was beating so loudly in my ears, I was almost sure one of the guards would hear it.Rowan walked ahead of me, his tall figure dressed in black, blending into the dim hallway like he belonged in the shadows. He looked back at me often, his eyes calm but alert. He had done this before—I could tell. He knew how to move without being seen.I, on the other hand, was a mess. My hands were sweating, my knees felt weak, and I kept feeling like we were going to get caught at any second.I clutched the bag in my hands tightly. It wasn’t much—just some food, a bottle of water, a change of clothes, and a little book I had been writing things in. Things I couldn’t afford to forget.Rowan raised a hand, motioning for me to stop. I froze behind

The morning came slow.The sun peeked through the thick canopy above us, casting long stripes of light across the forest floor. I had barely slept, and what little rest I got felt thin, like I was only pretending to be unconscious. My body ached in strange places—from the mark, from the dream, from being dragged into something far bigger than I knew how to control.Rowan was already packing up camp when I sat up. He looked tired, too, but focused. Always focused.“You good to move?” he asked me without turning around.I nodded, then stopped and winced. “Yeah. Just sore. And the mark…”“It’s still there,” he said. “I can tell.”I touched the side of my neck gently. It wasn’t burning like before, but it pulsed faintly. Like Kael’s voice was sitting just behind my ear, whispering my name with every heartbeat.“I dreamed of him,” I said.Rowan paused. Then straightened up and looked at me.“He was reaching for me,” I continued. “Telling me I was slipping away. He looked… I don’t know. Lo