บททั้งหมดของ Marked By Fate: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

Before I could get past my shock, the entire atmosphere of the room shifted again.Alpha Black had entered.The air grew still. Straight backs, lowered heads. It was a ripple of silent respect, fear, and attention all at once.He stepped to the center of the room, standing tall, hands clasped behind his back. His eyes swept across the hall, meeting every gaze before landing, briefly, on mine.Then he spoke.“You’ve all seen me spare an intruder,” he said, voice calm but commanding. “A stranger. One who crossed into our lands without permission. You wonder why.”He paused.“I know many of you are asking yourselves what I’m planning. Why I let her live.”My breath caught.“I’m here to tell you now,” he continued, “that as of this moment, Selene is no longer to be seen as an outsider. She is not to be treated as a rogue. Nor as less.”I froze.Every part of me went still.“She will be regarded as an equal member of the Black Oak Pack.”The shock in the room was instant and unmistakable.

For a long moment, she just stared at me, as if she hadn’t heard the question—or maybe she was lost in her own thoughts. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her expression unreadable.Then, without a word, she turned her face and buried it in her hands.The gesture was small.And oddly… endearing.I didn’t mean to chuckle, but it escaped me anyway. Briefly.The sound must have shocked the other two in the room, because I saw them glance at each other like they’d heard something unholy. I didn’t laugh in public. I didn’t smile in public.I cleared my throat and forced the humor back down.She finally spoke, her voice quiet but laced with dry wit.“You’re merciful,” she said. “I’m still alive.”The words hung in the air between us.Something about the way she said it—matter-of-fact but edged with sarcasm—pulled a reaction from me. Not amusement this time. Just interest.She wasn’t being dramatic.She was being honest.Grateful, even. In her own way.But underneath it, I could feel the storm sti

When a wolf loses their mate, it doesn’t just leave a wound—it unravels something inside. Most don’t survive it. The ones who do often lose their minds.Our mother held on longer than most, but she was never the same after he died. Something hollowed out inside her. She tried for Megan’s sake. Maybe even for mine. But in the end, the bond broke her.Some wolves—very few—are granted a second-chance mate by the Moon Goddess. It’s rare. And never guaranteed. And I’m not sure our mother would have accepted another, even if one had come.Losing her finished what losing him had started.And suddenly, it was just me and Megan.I dragged myself away from the window and headed to the bedside table, no need of going back to sleep There was too much going on.Too much rising.Rex.The pull I couldn’t explain.And now Megan returning.I didn’t know if it was fate or chaos aligning—but either way, I needed to keep everything under control.Even the parts of me that were starting to slip.I droppe

The words shocked even me a little, hearing them out loud. But I didn’t back off.“She is to be regarded as an equal member of the Black Oak Pack.”That was the blow that landed. I could feel it. The collective intake of breath. The muttered curses barely stifled. A tin cup dropped somewhere near the back. Someone stood and then sat again without a word.But no one dared speak yet.“She will train,” I said, voice sharp now, cutting through the disbelief. “She will fight. She will bleed beside you. If she fails, she will fall — like anyone else. But I am giving her that chance.”I walked slowly along the edge of the platform, watching faces. Watching doubt form behind old loyalties.“If she proves herself — fully — she will bear the crest. Officially. She will wear our mark. She will become one of us.”Selene looked like I’d slapped her. Not out of insult, but sheer disbelief. Her hands had dropped from the cup. Her lips were parted slightly, as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t find

But then I pushed the thought aside. They’d said this was my room, and no one had come to stop me yet.I got dressed—light clothes, soft fabric, comfortable and non-restricting. Something I could move in. Something I could breathe in.Then came the question again: What now?I glanced at the window. The sun was sinking lower, casting golden streaks across the floorboards. I wasn’t tired enough to sleep, and the room suddenly felt too small.So I left.Down the stairs. Past the silent hallway. Through the large, arched front doors that creaked open like they were letting secrets out.The air outside hit different. Cooler, clearer. Like it hadn’t been suffocating me all day.I walked. No real direction, no destination. Just moved my legs and followed the pull of instinct. It took me behind the Pack house, where the landscape shifted from structure to wilderness. But then—unexpectedly—the trees opened into something else entirely.A garden.Not just flowers thrown into soil. No—this was d