All Chapters of Maeve: Marked By Blood, Chosen By Fate.: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Maeve.The floor shook beneath my paws as the light poured from Johan’s body, the walls trembling with the roar of something I had no name for, and I could not move, I could not breathe, because I had seen death in his eyes when his throat broke beneath my teeth and yet here he stood alive in a way that was not alive at all. His wounds were gone, his chest smooth where blood had once poured, his body tall and straight, and his eyes glowed with that white fire that burned so bright I had to turn my head away.I forced air into my lungs, my chest heaving, and through the bond Carson’s heartbeat thudded against mine, steady and desperate, his voice whispering through me, Maeve, what is happening, what do you see?I wanted to answer him, I wanted to speak, but the words caught in my throat because Johan’s lips curled into that twisted shape again, not a smile and not a snarl, but something worse, something that promised I would never be free.“You tried to kill me,” the voice said, layere

Carson. The chamber reeked of blood and smoke, the stone floor slick beneath my boots as Roy’s lifeless body lay broken at my feet, but I could not even look at him anymore. My chest burned with something worse than fury, something I could not cage, because the bond had turned into fire inside me, sharp and raw, and I felt Maeve’s pain as if it were my own. I staggered forward, clutching the wall with one hand, my claws biting into the stone, and Marcus stared at me from across the room, his chest heaving, his eyes wide. He had seen me tear Roy apart, he had seen what the bond could do when fury pushed me beyond the edge, and I could smell the fear rolling off him now. But none of it mattered. None of it touched me. All I could feel was her. Maeve’s scream echoed through me. Maeve’s breath broke. Maeve’s voice whispered my name before it faded again. I dropped to my knees, my chest tearing open with the sound that ripped from my throat, half roar and half cry, and my vision b

Carson.The night was cold, the stars sharp above the trees, and every step felt heavier than the last as I pushed through the woods toward the river cliffs. The bond inside me still burned faint and weak, flickering like a dying flame, but it was enough to keep my feet moving, enough to remind me that she still lived, that she was still fighting.Marcus trailed behind me, limping and bloody, his breath ragged from the blows I had left him with, but he kept up, his eyes on the ground as if he knew that if he faltered I would leave him behind.“You do not understand what you are walking into,” he said after a long silence, his voice rough, shaking with something that was not only pain but fear. “The cliffs are cursed. The mirror stone is guarded. Those who seek it do not return.”I did not look back at him. My eyes stayed fixed on the trees ahead, my claws flexing at my sides. “Then I will be the one who does. I do not care what waits there. If it leads to Maeve, I will face it.”Marcu

Carson.The light from the mirror stone blinded me until I felt as though fire itself had swallowed me whole. My body felt heavy and light at the same time, my feet no longer on the ground, my claws reaching for stone that was no longer there. The roar of the river faded and in its place came silence, deep and suffocating, as if the world itself had ceased to breathe.When the light dimmed I found myself standing inside a chamber I knew well. The packhouse. Except it was wrong. The walls were cracked, the air smelled of ash, and the hallways echoed with whispers that made my fur rise. My chest tightened as I turned slowly, my claws flexing, my eyes glowing faint.“Carson,” a voice whispered, so faint it sounded like wind through broken glass.I spun, my heart leaping, and saw Maeve.She stood in the center of the room, her arms bound in chains of fire, her body trembling, her eyes hollow. “You did not come,” she said, her voice raw, breaking. “You promised and you did not come.”I sta

Carson.The fire swallowed me whole again, and for a moment I thought I would lose myself to it. The heat pressed into my chest until it felt like my ribs would crack, and the voices of the dead wolves rose around me, whispering my failures, spitting every doubt I had ever tried to bury.But through it all I felt her.Maeve’s voice cut through the fire like a blade. Her scream at first, raw and sharp, but then her defiance, her words steady even as the flames burned her. I will not let you go. I will burn with you if I must, but I will never leave you.The bond pulsed strong, stronger than it had since she was taken, and I fell to my knees, gasping as tears burned my eyes. I pressed my hand to my chest as if I could hold the bond in place, my breath shaking, and whispered into the fire, “Maeve, I hear you. I am with you. Always.”The chamber shifted again, the void pulling me deeper, and the guardian’s voice thundered all around me. “You cling to love. You cling to fire. But fire cons