All Chapters of FATED BY FIRE: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Lucian’s POVCyran’s voice grates in my ears long after he speaks. The protective tone he uses when he says her name burns hotter than fire in my chest.“Get away from her, Lucian.”The command lingers in the air, weak compared to the authority of a true Alpha. He isn’t her mate. He isn’t her future. Yet here he stands, puffing his chest like he has any right to challenge me.Kai snarls inside me, pacing, claws dragging at the edges of my control. He touches her again, I’ll take his throat out. Ours. She’s ours.My jaw clenches so tight I hear the crack of my teeth grinding. Cyran takes another step forward, putting himself between me and Cara. My mate. My wolf howls, furious at the sight. Cara presses her hand to his arm as if he is the one protecting her. My vision reddens at the betrayal.“I said get away,” Cyran repeats, his voice lower, but firm.I chuckle, a sound far more dangerous than laughter should ever be. “Or what, little Alpha?” My gaze slides to Cara, trembling, her wid

Cara’s POVThe training yard was slick with rain from the night before, the mud clinging to my boots as I sparred with two warriors at once. Sweat ran down my spine, my arms burning from blocking and countering blows. My father’s voice echoed in my head, pushing me harder than even the men in front of me.“Focus. Precision. Control.”I ducked under a strike, slammed my shoulder into one opponent’s ribs, and used the momentum to sweep his legs out. The second came at me from behind, but I twisted, using his own weight to throw him into the mud. Both men groaned, defeated, and I stood panting, fists clenched, waiting for the next order.Lucian’s gaze was on me. I felt it like a touch across my skin.Every time his eyes tracked me, I grew restless. Stronger, faster, sharper. Like I wanted to prove something to him, though I wasn’t sure what. His approval? His attention?I hated myself for caring.Liam hadn’t shown up for training that morning, and his absence only made the pull toward Lu

Cara’s POVSleep never came.I tossed under my sheets, staring at the ceiling until the shadows bled into gray dawn. My body was tired, aching from yesterday’s training and the endless weight of my father’s expectations, but my mind was restless. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard Lucian’s voice echoing.You don’t belong to me yet. But you will.It unsettled me. Infuriated me. But beneath the storm of emotions was a traitorous truth—I hadn’t pushed him away. I had let him say it, let him brush his hand against mine, let myself feel that pull like a live wire humming under my skin.When I dragged myself out of bed and into the training yard, the air was already thick with tension. The warriors drilled in tighter formations than usual, their movements sharp, efficient, deadly. Fear lingered in the pack like smoke after a fire. Everyone had heard the news: rogues were pressing closer.I shoved my hair into a braid and forced my body into the motions of training. My father’s voice cut t

Lucian’s POVThe moment her hand slipped into mine, something inside me locked into place. Not peace. Not relief. Possession.Her palm was cold from the rain, her grip unsteady from the fight, but she didn’t pull away. That was all I needed. She had chosen me, even if she didn’t know it yet.I tightened my hold, anchoring her against the storm around us. The captured traitor writhed in the mud, bloodied and beaten, but I didn’t look at him again. He was already a dead man. What mattered was the woman beside me.The Guardian. My Guardian.“Bring him back alive,” I ordered the warriors. My voice cracked across the ridge like a whip. “Chain him, gag him, and do not let him speak unless I command it.”They moved fast. Fear was stronger than loyalty sometimes, and in my pack, fear of me kept them loyal enough.I turned to Cara. Her face was pale, blood streaking down from a cut near her temple. Her wolf stirred under her skin, I could feel Artemis pressing close, restless, protective. She

Cara’s POVThe days bled into one another, though I could no longer tell where night ended and morning began. In the infirmary, time was measured by the rise and fall of Lucian’s shadow when he entered, by the bitter sting of the healer’s tonics, by the aching silence that pressed against me when the room was empty.The wound across my ribs had knitted enough that I could walk short distances, though every step carried the ghost of fire. Lucian hated that I insisted on standing. He said my body was still too weak. But lying helpless had worn me raw, and I would not be treated like porcelain.Tonight, the fortress felt strangely alive. I heard whispers in the halls. Warriors pacing. The scent of iron and woodsmoke drifted through the air. Tension hung like a storm cloud, heavy and unyielding.I pushed myself upright, ignoring the flare of pain. The moonlight spilling through the tall windows painted the room silver, and for a heartbeat, I wondered if the goddess herself was watching.