บททั้งหมดของ THE MARKED BOUNTY: Betrayed By My Mate : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

~ RAE’S POV ~ the Night Came Slower than usual. It was the kind of night that didn’t feel real, too quiet, too heavy, like the forest was holding its breath. Even the fire in the camp burned softer, as if it didn’t want to be seen. I sat beside it, sharpening my blade again, though it didn’t need it. My hands moved on their own, slow and steady, metal whispering against stone. Mara was sitting across from me, mending a torn sleeve. Every now and then, she looked up like she wanted to say something, then changed her mind. The silence stretched until it felt like another person sitting with us. Finally, she spoke. “You’re restless.” “I’m fine.” “You’ve been fine for hours.” “I’m still fine.” She smiled faintly, not believing me. “You’ve looked at that same tree for half the night.” “Maybe I like it.” “You hate trees.” I looked up at her, forcing a small smirk. “You know me too well.” “Too well to miss the signs,” she said. “Something’s off.” I didn’t answer.

~ DAMON’S POV ~Rae stood a few paces away, the wind pushing her hair across her face. Her knife glinted faintly at her side, but her eyes were sharper than the blade.She looked at me like I was something she didn’t want to remember but couldn’t forget.And I couldn’t look away.The fire from last night had gone cold, nothing but ashes between us. Maybe that was right. Maybe that’s what we were, burned down to what was left.She spoke first. “Don’t say my name.”It hit harder than I thought it would. Her voice was steady, but I could hear the strain underneath.“Then what should I call you?” I asked quietly.“Nothing.”So I didn’t. I just nodded, because arguing felt wrong.She looked stronger now than she ever did before. Not the same girl who used to stand beside me on the training field. Not the one who laughed when I missed a target.This woman was sharper, colder carved from pain and survival.And it was my fault.“You came back,” I said finally.“I shouldn’t have.”“Then why di

~ DAMON’S POV ~I didn’t speak a word the whole ride back.The horse knew the way on its own, slow and steady through the morning fog. I just held the reins and tried not to think.But thinking was all I did.Every sound of hooves on the dirt felt too loud. Every breath I took felt like it didn’t belong to me.I had seen her again.And she let me live.That thought wouldn’t leave my head. It played over and over — the look in her eyes when she lowered the knife, the tremor in her voice when she said she should hate me.She could have ended it. But she didn’t.And I didn’t know if that made me lucky or damned.By the time the fortress walls came into view, the sun was already high. The guards saw me from the watchtower and called down to open the gate. I barely nodded.The smell of iron and smoke hit me as soon as I entered. The place was the same — soldiers shouting orders, steel ringing, the clatter of boots against stone. All of it too loud for how quiet I felt inside.I dismounted

~ DAMON’S POV ~The road north was narrow and uneven. Trees pressed close on both sides, their branches heavy with mist. The sound of the horse’s hooves echoed softly through the quiet morning.I had the feeling I wasn’t alone long before I saw proof of it.At first, I thought it was just the forest shifting, maybe a bird or the wind. Then I noticed small things. A broken branch where it shouldn’t be. A stone moved in the mud, still wet. The kind of signs you only see if you’ve spent enough years hunting and being hunted.Someone was behind me.I didn’t look back right away. Instead, I slowed the horse a little, pretending to adjust the saddle strap.Then I waited.Nothing moved.Still, I knew.I said quietly, “You’re not very good at hiding, Jax.”The forest answered with silence.Then, after a long pause, his voice came from behind the trees. “And you’re not very good at pretending you didn’t expect me.”I smiled slightly. “I thought I told you to stay at the fortress.”“I thought y

~ DAMON’S POV ~The river sounded calm that night. The steady rush of water filled the quiet between the trees. The sky above was dark, broken only by a few stars that managed to push through the clouds.We set camp near the bank. The fire Jax built was small, enough for warmth but not enough to draw attention. He had a habit of building them like that — safe, cautious, the way soldiers do when they expect trouble.I sat a few feet away from the light, staring at the water. The reflection of the fire danced across the surface, twisting and fading.Jax tossed a piece of wood into the flames and sat beside me. “You’ve been staring at that river for an hour.”“I like the sound,” I said.“You like punishing yourself.”“Maybe both.”He leaned back, resting his elbows on his knees. “You haven’t said much since we stopped.”“There’s nothing left to say.”“There’s always something.”I looked at him. “Then you talk.”He smiled slightly. “Fine. I’ll start. We’re in the middle of nowhere, chasin