All Chapters of He Betrayed Me For A Human: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The walls of the ravine pressed in on us like jaws eager to snap shut. Every step echoed with the grind of stone against stone, magnified by the hollow belly of the gorge. Cassian moved ahead, his shoulders brushing the damp rock as he carved a path through the darkness. His movements were swift but measured, like someone who had memorized each treacherous step.I dragged Julian along behind me, his weight a burden my trembling arms could barely bear. His breath rasped hot against my neck where his face rested, shallow, broken by spasms of pain. His skin burned under my touch, feverish from poison and wounds, yet still his heartbeat thudded steady—proof that life clung stubbornly to him.Above us, voices bled into the gorge like ghosts."Search the cliffs!""Spread out—she can’t have gone far!"Kaelus’ command rang clearer than the rest, cutting through the murmur of his men like a blade. Even without seeing him, I felt the pull of our bond, fraying but not severed. His voice vibrated

The dawn came blood-red, painting the treeline as if the forest itself had bled in its sleep. I had not rested. Not truly. Every sound—every rustle of branches, every hoot of an owl too stubborn to surrender the night—sharpened me into stone.Cassian had warned us that Kaelus would not remain blind for long, and his words gnawed at me until the moment they took form.The first crack of twig snapped through the hush like a blade through bone.Cassian’s head lifted, eyes burning with feral light. "They’ve come."Julian stirred weakly beside me, still pale from the healer’s work, though strength was beginning to bleed back into his limbs. He reached for me, but I shook my head. He could not fight. Not like this."They’re not many," Cassian murmured, scenting the air. His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of an executioner announcing a verdict. "A scouting band. Kaelus doesn’t trust you’re alive enough to warrant his presence yet."Alive enough. The phrase cut deeper than the wolf

I closed my eyes, trying to summon the clarity I had lost, to steel myself for the path ahead. But the question lingered in the shadows of my mind, gnawing at the edges.How could I sever something that had been fused with my heart, my body, my very soul? Could I truly reach the part of him I despised—and still take what was needed?The Oracle smiled faintly, as though my silence was answer enough."There is a ritual," she said at last. “A brutal one. It will not merely tear the bond from your soul. It will strip you bare, down to what you once were, before him. Many do not survive the tearing. Some who do… wish they hadn’t."Julian’s jaw tightened beside me. "There must be another way.""There is always another way," she replied with maddening calm. "But none of them end in freedom."The forest around us seemed to close in, the weight of her words pressing against my chest. My heartbeat thundered so loud I was certain they could hear it."What does it require?" I asked finally.Her s

Darkness tasted like metal on my tongue. It clung to the back of my throat, heavy and bitter, refusing to let go even as I clawed my way back to consciousness.At first, I thought I was still dreaming, floating in that endless void where pain didn’t exist and the world couldn’t reach me. But then the ache started. A dull, throbbing pulse in my chest, my veins burning like wildfire beneath my skin.I tried to move.Chains rattled.My eyes snapped open.The ceiling above me was stone, rough-hewn and cracked, lit by the dull orange glow of torches. The air was damp, reeking of rust and old blood.I shifted, and the bite of silver cuffs around my wrists flared, sizzling against my skin. They had bound me to the wall, ankles shackled, my wolf’s strength caged under layers of metal and wolfsbane.Blood Moon’s dungeons.I was home."Still alive," a voice murmured from the shadows. "I wasn’t sure you’d make it."Kaelus stepped into the light, his coat discarded, his forearms still streaked wit

The wind carried the scent of rain and blood, a storm gathering far beyond the treeline. I stood at the mouth of the hideout, cloak whipping around my legs, the taste of steel heavy on my tongue. For the first time in months, my heartbeat wasn’t trembling in fear. It was steady. Purposeful. Ready.Kaelus knew. He felt the surge of my power. And if his fury was the first ripple, the tidal wave would follow soon. That was why I could no longer wait."This isn’t just about survival anymore," I murmured, my voice swallowed by the wind. "This is war."Julian and Cassian exchanged a look behind me, a silent conversation passing between them. They had seen the change in me since the ritual. The woman they had once carried, broken and bleeding, was gone. What stood before them now was something else entirely."Are you sure about this?" Cassian asked, stepping closer. "We’re walking straight into dangerous territory. Old alliances don’t forgive easily.""They don’t have to forgive," I replied,