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Lahat ng Kabanata ng GIVING HIM A SECOND CHANCE : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

121 Kabanata

Chapter 11 – The Wedding Ceremony

Beneath the silver glow of lanterns that was strung high in the pines, The sacred grounds shimmered. Moonlight streamed through gaps in the trees, washing the clearing in a pale blessing that should have felt holy, but to Ella it felt like a spotlight for trapping prey. Wolves from every corner of the Silver Claw’s territory filled the seats that circled the ceremonial platform, their voices a low hum of anticipation, the air was thick with incense and pine resin.At the edge of it all, Ella stood. Her hands were clutched together, it was clutched so tightly that her nails were able to dig into her palms. The pale silk dress the Luna had chosen for her clung to her shoulders and spilled like liquid light to the ground. It was meant to make her look radiant, ethereal, a human elevated and accepted into their world but to Ella all it felt was like a costume stitched over her skin, hiding the truth of what she was: a girl who didn’t belong here, forced to play bride to a man who despised

Chapter 12 – The Wedding Night Aftermath

The cabin smelled faintly of cedar and new paint, it was as though it had been made hurriedly to be finished for the occasion. The grounds were lined with fresh rugs, candles flickered on polished tables, and garlands of pine twined along the mantel. It should have felt warm, even welcoming, it should be the beginning of a new chapter. To Ella, all it felt like, was like a cage gilded with silver ribbons.The door shut behind her with a soft thud that seemed to sound too final. She lingered just inside, clutching the folds of her dress in both hands, uncertain whether to step farther in. Without even sparing her a glance, Cole strode past her, his boots sounded heavy against the wooden floorboards. He pulled at the collar of his ceremonial robe and carelessly tossed it onto a chair, the crest of his house sliding sideways with the motion.Ella’s heart gave a small, foolish flutter. Despite everything part of her had hoped that that maybe, just being away from the crowd, away from the

Chapter 13 – The Morning After

Ella wasn’t sure when night slipped into morning.The fire had burned to embers, faint orange glow pulsing in the hearth like a dying heart. Cole’s breath had been hot against her neck, whiskey-laced and unsteady, his weight pressed into the mattress beside her. She though he would simply collapse on his side of the bed and leave her untouched, behaving like two strangers sharing a bed. But then his hand had found hers, his rough fingers closing too tightly, and the bond had flared between them like a spark she couldn’t smother even she had tried to.She remembered the memory in fragments, the press of his lips, feeling desperate and bitter, the pull of his body against hers. She had yielded, not out of desire, but because trying to resist the bond felt like trying to stop the tide. In the darkness, just for a fleeting moment, she had almost believed he had actually wanted her. But when it all came to an end, when his breath steadied and his body grew heavy with sleep, the last wo

Chapter 14 – Fractures in the Bond

The first thing I felt when I wake up is not the pounding in my skull, nor the sour taste of whiskey that lingered on my tongue. It was the weight that I felt in my chest.It felt Heavy, dragging, relentless.The room was filled with scent of her, it was soft, and smelled faintly of wildflowers and for a moment I let my eyes slip shut again, I wished the scent belong to someone else, I wished it was Sasha’s scent that cling onto the sheets not the quiet, unassuming fragrance of the human girl which fate had chained me to. Beside me, Ella stirs. The bed shifts, and I crack an eye open. She lies curled on her side, her back to me, her shoulders stiff as stone. I know she’s already awake. I know for certain that she is, but she doesn’t turn, doesn’t utter a word. Her silence cuts deeper than any words could.I sit up, dragging a hand through my hair. My head throbs. My chest burns. All I remember were fragments of the previous night. Her soft gasp, the way her body yielded beneath mi

Chapter 15 – Shackled by Fate

The second morning is definitely worse than the first.I wake with my mouth tasting like ash, I felt like my head was splitting in two, and in my mouth was the sour reminder of whiskey lingering on my breath. But that’s not what makes me groan and drag the pillow over my face. No, it’s the memory that’s resurfacing.The way I’d spat Sasha’s name before passing out. The way Ella hadn’t said a word in reply, she just turned her back to me, her silence felt like a knife sliding between my ribs, but slowly. I don’t need to look to even know that she’s still here, she’s still beside me. Her breathing is being steady, shallow, too controlled to be one of true sleep. She’s awake but she’s lying there trying to pretend she isn’t. She lying there with her body curled away from mine as though the space between us is a chasm.The bond comes to life in my chest. It was a pull so deep and insistent, it that makes me want to reach out, to press my hand against the small of her back, to ask her

Chapter 16 – The Silent Wound

The cabin felt quiet, but it wasn’t the kind of quiet that soothes. It is the kind that of silence that presses down on one chest, suffocating in its heaviness. The kind of silence filled with words unsaid, but were sharp enough to cut.When Cole moves about, he doesn’t look at me. His footsteps thud heavily against the wooden floor, heavy, deliberate, each one a reminder that he is here yet not here at all. We share the same roof, the same bed, the same air, but we share nothing else.At meals, he eats quickly, his eyes fixed anywhere but on mine. Sometimes by accident his hand will brush against the edge of my plate, and as though he has been burned he jerks it away, his muscles tightening, jaw clenching. Other times before the sun has even set, he pours him a cup of whiskey, swallowing it down like it’s water. I don’t comment. I wouldn’t even dare.Sometimes I feel it would be easier if he just shouts. If he would just hurl the truth at me until the walls rattled. But he doesn’

Chapter 17 – Whispers of Strength

The mornings came too quickly now. Ella woke to the sound of rain against the cabin roof, the steady tapping was like impatient fingers reminding her that another day had already begun, it didn’t care whether she was ready for it or not.Beside her, the bed was empty. Cole had left before dawn again, the faint trace of his scent still lingered on the sheets, sharp and bitter with whiskey. She slowly sat up, clutching the blanket around her shoulders, her body heavy but her mind was at alert. The silence of the cabin pressed down on her chest, it was thicker than the mist curling outside the window.She just sat there for a long time, staring at the faint outline of the wolf Marcus had carved for her. Although it’s been years now. Cub, was what he calls her. The word used to mean warmth before, even sounding like she belonged her but all it reminded her of, is what she wasn’t and perhaps will never be.Still, she managed to swing her legs over the bed, forcing her feet to the floor.

Chapter 18 – The Fractured Alpha

Cole woke to the hollow ache of a hangover. The fire in the hearth had long gone out hours ago, leaving the cabin cold and dim, across the wooden beams, shadows stretched like claws. His mouth tasted of ash and whiskey. His head throbbed in rhythm with his heartbeat.For a moment he lay still, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, trying to will away the heaviness pressing down on his chest. But the silence was louder than any noise—it carried weight, it was as if the walls themselves disapproved of him. He rolled onto his side. The bed was empty.She was gone.He wasn’t surprised that she was. Nowadays, Ella always rose before him, moving quietly through the cabin as if she were a guest instead of his wife. He told himself he preferred it that way, he tried convincing himself that he liked the space, the distance between them, the absence of her steady gaze. But the truth was so much harder to ignore: every time she left the room, a pull tightened in his chest, dragging at him like a hoo

Chapter 19 – Shackled in Silence

The whiskey wasn’t able to quiet the voices. At least not anymore.Cole woke up with the taste of the whiskey still on his tongue, bitter and clinging, the ache in his head was sharper than the firelight spilling faintly through the cracks in the shutters. He rolled onto his back, pressing the heel of his palm into his eyes, trying to force away the heaviness that never seemed to leave him now.The other side of the bed was cold. Empty.He wasn’t surprised that the other side was empty. Ella always rose up early, slipping out like she were a shadow, nothing was left behind but the faintest trace of her scent on the sheets. She never lingered on the bed, never waited for him. And yet—every time she was gone, like a wound in his chest, the bond throbbed. It felt like it had refused to heal.He hated feeling that way, Hated her for the feelings and even more he hated himself.For a long while, he sat by the side of the bed, his elbows feasting on his knees, his head felt heavy in hi

Chapter 20 – Echoes of the Bond

(Ella’s POV)Against the cabin walls, the night pressed heavy, although the silence had never felt so loud. Under the thin quilt, her eyes were fixed on the shadows that stretched across the ceiling. Something gnawed at the edges of her awareness, there was a pulse just beyond the door, like the echo of a heartbeat that wasn’t hers.Before her mind would accept it, her body was already aware of the mate bond humming, it was restless, insistent. She sat upright, clutching the quilt close to her chest. For a fleeting moment she thought about opening the door, about stepping into the unknown tugging at her, but her fingers refused to move. What was ahead was something she wasn’t ready to face.The feeling still lingered on, Cole’s presence was as heavy as a presence leaning against the wood, before it faded like smoke on the wind.Her chest tightened, though she pressed her palms against her knees, willing her breath steady. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.By the time dawn c

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