บททั้งหมดของ The Alpha's Rogue Mate : บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 59

Mara’s POV The cottage looked like grief. That much, at least, was true.The thatch slumped in two places where the winter had weighed too hard and too long. The hearth smoked because we had narrowed the flue with a stone months ago to make the air sting the eyes. We had learned where to pile ash so it would look as though the fire had been starved, not managed. We had learned that one bowl left with a crust of porridge told a cleaner lie than three scrubbed and stacked. We wore dresses we had torn at the hem with careful hands and left the threads so they would catch on the stool and worry themselves worse.When the wind shifted, we winced at the smell like honest women who had gotten used to clean water and must now drink from the ditch.As evening softened the edges of the room, Lila stood in the middle of the floor and let her hair fall loose. She bent her head as if in prayer and looked up at me through it, a pale curtain.“Do I look empty?” she asked.“You look tired,” I said.

Lucas’s POVOnly when I was sure the sisters were out of earshot did I finally turn to Jake and Clara. Both waited without speaking, the former because silence was part of his nature, the latter because her fury was still finding words sharp enough to carry it.“She hugged them,” Clara said at last, voice taut. “Right there in front of everyone. I could smell it—their fear, yes, but there was something else. Something that didn’t belong.”Jake folded his arms. “Confidence.”She shot him a look. “You saw it too.”He nodded. “They’ve practiced. The tremors, the tears. I’ve seen rogues lie for bread before—but never that cleanly.”I exhaled slowly, rubbing the bridge of my nose. The hall still smelled of dust and rain from their arrival, and beneath it, the faint sweetness of honey that Rose had insisted the kitchens prepare. My mate’s mercy would one day save us all—or damn us if I wasn’t careful.“She believes them,” I said quietly.Jake’s jaw ticked. “She wants to. That’s different.”

Rose’s POVThe garden had always been my favorite place in the fortress.It was the only part of this stone kingdom that still felt alive — untamed. The vines along the courtyard walls had grown thick despite the caretakers’ efforts, and the scent of damp soil after dawn always reminded me of something old and forgiving.This morning, the sky was pale blue and full of promise. The roses had begun to bloom early this year, white and pink and red, crowding the archway like an apology for every winter before it.Mara stood beside me, silent for a long while.Her gaze moved over the flowers, her expression distant but soft. “You planted all this?” she asked finally.“Lucas did,” I said with a small smile. “But he says the moon goddess sent the first seed the day peace was declared.”She smiled faintly. “It suits you. I remember when you couldn’t even keep a single potted herb alive.”I laughed, the sound light and startled. “You remember that?”“Of course.” She looked at me then, and for

Mara’s POVThe fortress slept in uneasy peace. From the upper corridor, it looked calm enough — the torches along the walls burning in even lines, the sentries moving in quiet rhythm, the banners barely shifting in the soft wind. But peace in a place like this was never skin deep. Beneath it, the air still carried the scent of smoke and iron, a faint reminder that this kingdom had been built on ashes.I had learned to listen for the small things. The breathing of guards at their posts. The way a wolf’s claws dragged when exhaustion began to dull instinct. The sound of heavy doors locking for the night.By the time I reached the west tower, all of it had gone silent. The stone steps were slick with dew that had crept in through the narrow slits of the wall. The cold was sharper here, untouched by fire. I climbed slowly, careful with my footing, my cloak trailing behind like a shadow that had grown tired of pretending to belong to me.The top of the tower opened into a small circular ro

Jake’s POV“Something doesn’t sit right with me,” Clara said, her voice low as she crouched by the old brick wall of the northern courtyard.I leaned against the pillar beside her, folding my arms. “You mean besides the fact that Rose’s sisters suddenly decided to forgive and forget?”She glanced over her shoulder at me, a strand of dark hair falling across her face. “Exactly that.”Her tone was sharper than usual, but I’d come to know that when Clara was angry, it wasn’t the fire you had to fear — it was the silence right before.She ran her fingers across the stone, frowning. “Jake, doesn’t this look… different to you?”I pushed off the pillar and crouched beside her. The bricks were old, stained from rain and age, but beneath the surface I could see faint etchings — symbols burned so lightly they looked like shadows.“What the hell…” I muttered, brushing my thumb across one. It pulsed faintly, a dull crimson glow that vanished as quickly as it came.“See?” Clara whispered. “I told