Lahat ng Kabanata ng Mated Twice: A Wolf’s Dilemma: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

RachealDamon’s shadow filled the doorway like a storm cloud about to break. His chest rose and fell sharply, the muscles in his jaw twitching as though he was holding back a snarl.Elder Mirella didn’t flinch. She merely leaned back in her chair, her pale eyes glittering with mischief and knowledge. “Ah, the protective Alpha,” she murmured. “Always too late to stop fate from speaking.”“Enough,” Damon snapped. His gaze flicked to the parchment on the table, then to me. “Racheal, outside. Now.”My pulse raced, but instead of obeying, I folded my arms across my chest. “No. Not until you tell me why you’ve been hiding this from me.”His eyes darkened, but before he could answer, another voice came from the doorway behind him.“Because he’s afraid you’ll choose differently once you know the truth.”Lucas stepped in, his presence cool and cutting compared to Damon’s fire. His gaze lingered on me, then shifted to Damon. “You’ve always thought that keeping her in the dark would keep her saf

The howl still echoed in my chest long after it faded from the night. It wasn’t the voice of a wolf—it was something corrupted, something older. My wolf whimpered inside me, claws scratching against the cage of my ribs. Whatever waited outside Mirella’s walls wasn’t just human.The brothers shifted instantly. Damon shoved me behind him, his stance broad and protective, while Lucas’s hand twitched toward the knife strapped at his thigh. For once, they weren’t at each other’s throats. Their gazes flicked toward the cottage door, both sharp with alertness.The candles guttered violently, plunging the room in and out of shadow. Mirella rose from her seat, her ageless face grim. “It begins,” she murmured. “The hunter has crossed the threshold of patience. He comes to claim what is his.”Her words wrapped around me like ice. Claim what is his?The floor creaked outside the door. Once. Twice. Heavy, deliberate steps.Damon’s voice dropped low, commanding. “Racheal, stay behind me.”Lucas gro

The air was thick with smoke, the copper tang of blood clinging to my tongue with every breath. My ears rang with the echoes of growls, the crash of claws against stone, and the sharp snap of bones breaking. But it was the sight before me that rooted me in place—Mirella, the seer, slumped against the splintered wall, a blackened gash splitting across her chest like a cruel brand.“Mirella!” My knees hit the floor beside her before I even realized I’d moved. My hands pressed desperately over the wound, but her blood wasn’t natural—it shimmered darkly, tinged with shadow, searing my palms as though the hunter’s darkness had poisoned it.Her lips trembled, shaping words that barely reached me. “Child… don’t… waste it.”“No.” My voice broke, thick with tears and fury. “Don’t you dare. You told me I’d need you. You said—”Her cloudy eyes lifted to mine, clear for one fleeting moment. “I told you truth. This… is where I end. Where you… begin.”Behind us, the cottage shook with the force of

The hunter’s bargain lingered in the air, a curse that refused to dissolve. His words had sunk into me like venom, threading through my veins, poisoning thought and feeling alike. My chest heaved, my hands trembling as I clutched the edge of Mirella’s lifeless cloak, as if holding onto her could somehow shield me from the storm she had left behind.Lucas’s growl cut through the suffocating silence. He stood tall despite the gash along his arm, golden eyes blazing, his wolf form shimmering in and out as his rage burned too hot to contain. “You won’t touch her,” he spat, each word edged with fury. “You think you can twist her heart like it’s a game? You’ll choke on your arrogance.”The hunter only smiled. His calmness was more terrifying than any show of power. Shadows clung to him, curling like smoke, whispering promises I could almost hear. “I don’t twist what is already broken,” he murmured. His eyes slid back to me, dark and bottomless. “I simply offer clarity. Two bonds cannot coex

The cavern trembled as if the earth itself recoiled from the storm building in my chest. The twin lights—crimson and gold—still swirled around me, alive, restless, waiting for command. My heart thundered, not only with adrenaline but with a terrifying realization: I wasn’t just wielding power. I was becoming it.The hunter stood across from me, cloaked in roiling shadows that writhed like snakes eager to strike. His composure had cracked in the last moment, but now his mouth curled into a sneer that dripped venom. “Impressive trick, little wolf. But power without control is nothing more than a spark before the storm devours you.”Damon moved to step forward, his crimson aura blazing in resonance with mine, but I raised a hand. “No,” I said, my voice firmer than I expected. “This is between him and me.”Lucas, still shaking from the shadows that had nearly strangled him, struggled to his knees. His golden eyes were wide, filled with both awe and horror. “Racheal, don’t—your body can’t