All Chapters of MATED TO MY BROTHER'S ENEMY : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Awakening The Hidden Power Lyra sat in her father's room, the note from the bird in her shaky hands. The dark bird sat by the window, eyes too smart, too full of thought. King Aldwin walked back and forth by his table while Marcus stood still by the door, his hand on his sword. "It's a trap," Marcus said for the third time. "Yes, it's a trap." King Aldwin stopped and looked hard at his girl with care. "The thing we need to think about is, can we just let it be?" Lyra made the paper neat, read Kael's words once more. The writing was his - neat, right on - but the way some letters were made gave her the chills. It was like the dark in him got into his words, too. "He took the girl," she said in a low voice. "Mari from the cooking place. Her brother is in the horse place." "How do you know?" asked King Aldwin. Lyra put her hand on the note, eyes shut. The second her skin hit the paper, her mind filled with looks. "A girl with brown hair, tears on her dirty face, rough hands pulli

Setting the TrapIn the flickering torchlight, Prince Kael floated over a wooden map table spread with intricate drawings of the castle and its immediate surroundings. Each token was one of the moves in the lethal game he was playing; his thin hands followed paths and marked sites with little wooden stakes.Her midnight journey from the castle was recorded by Lady Vera kneeling on the floor next to his chair, wearing her worn gown. Though her voice was firm as she gave her report, dark circles surrounded her eyes."Their bond is stronger than we expected, my lord. Apart, they cooperate in absolute harmony; the princess's empathic awareness has surpassed anything written in the old scrolls.Beautiful and horrible was Kael's smirk. "Excellent. The tighter they are tied up, the more attractive their suffering will be when I use it on them."He grabbed a little wooden imitation of Princess Lyra and set it on the map close to the ancient mill."She'll go to the meeting," he answered firmly

Blackfang's ArrivalAs a line of black-clad riders drew near Kael's encampment, the ground trembled from the hoofbeats. From the feral northern wastes, their standards bore a snarling wolf's head over a sea of blood red, the sigil of House Blackfang. Their leader was a man who looked carved from shadow and rock; his great stature made even his warhorse appear small beneath his saddle.With detached predator-like eyes, Roderick Blackfang stopped his horse in front of Kael's command tent, looking around the camp. His seamed face was a geography of past conflicts, and when he grinned, filed points glittered on his teeth in the torchlight.As Roderick dismounted, his deep voice thundered like distant thunder. "I got your message." Prince Kael.Emerging from his tent, Kael's lanky shape was a negative image to the barbaric, massive presence of the northern lord. "Uncle Roderick, your punctuality is as ever immaculate."The greeting between the two males was a forearm grasp, yet it was hardl

Marcus's AngerWhen Marcus hit with unusual force, his sword split the training dummy into straw and wood splinters. Made of the best steel, the steel sword broke lengthwise from the blow. Marcus breathed furiously as he glared at the worn-out hilt in his palm.The castle's surrounding training grounds had become peaceful. With trained agility, knights and troops drilling in their exercises stood frozen, observing their friend rip apart whatever was within view. In the past hour, Marcus had struck three swords and knocked five dummy targets.With calloused hands empty, Sir Lucas approached Marcus slowly. End this."Do I?" Marcus growled. He flung the shattered sword out into the backyard, and it smashed against the wooden post, blindingly. "My buddy is promised to some other man. Like a reward heifer, my bond-partner is being bartered off. Tell me, Luca, what exactly am I supposed to stop doing?Marcus's burst of furnace heat raged against which the older knight firmly stood. "This rag

Silver ChainsThe busted mill glared back at the moon like some rotten tooth, jagged and useless under that inky sky. Marcus crouched low behind a half-dead tree, maybe fifty paces from the spot he was supposed to meet them, fingers tight around his sword, eyes locked on the ghostly shape of the building. The place felt off. Too quiet. Like the world was holding its breath, waiting for the wrong thing to happen.He could feel Lyra, somewhere back at the castle, her presence buzzing through their bond, a weird comfort and a curse all at once. She was doing her thing, pacing around, staying alert like they’d planned. He was supposed to be the idiot running point, sniffing out danger before it found her. Real simple plan, right?Except, well, Kael had a talent for screwing up simple things.Somewhere off to the left, a twig snapped. Marcus spun, sword sliding out without a sound. Three soldiers materialized from the shadows, dressed in black, moving like they’d been born in the damn woods