All Chapters of FALLING FOR THE ALPHA'S SHADOW: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Kairos’s POV“If this is a trick, show yourself.”My voice bounced across the white space, but the sound faded too fast, as if the walls were swallowing it. I took another step forward, boots scraping a floor that glimmered like glass covered in frost.The Mirror Hall.I could feel it.The air hummed. The light was too soft. My reflection kept moving even when I did not.Marek growled inside my mind. “This place wants to break you.”“I know.” My jaw tightened. “But it failed with Seren. It will fail with me.”The silence shivered. A ripple of cold brushed the back of my neck, like fingers trying to turn my head. I refused to look.Not until I heard her voice.“Kairos.”I froze.Her voice. Her tone. The soft lilt she used when she was tired and pretending she was not. Every part of me knew it.I turned slowly.And she stood there.Seren.Except not my Seren.This one was dressed in silver threads that moved like they were alive. Her eyes gleamed with a strange brightness, almost metall

Kairos’s POV“If he touches you, I lose myself.”That was the truth ripping out of me as the Chainbearer’s shadow rose behind me. The air trembled. The runes on the ground flared with cold light that made my skin tighten.Seren stood only a few steps away. Her eyes were wide, bright with fear and something deeper. The Silver Thread inside her pulsed in a sharp wave that hit the floor like a heartbeat.The Chainbearer smiled.A slow and cruel curve of his mouth.“Good,” he said. “Let us see who breaks first.”He moved.Not like a wolf.Not like a man.Like a shadow dragged by chains that cut the floor as he rushed forward.I blocked his strike.The impact rattled my bones.My boots slid back on the stone. My palms burned. My wolf roared inside me, pushing against my ribs in a burst of heat.Seren shouted, “Kairos, move!”I shifted my weight and dodged as another chain cracked through the air. It sliced the space where my head had been. The sound echoed like steel dragged over bone.The

Seren’s POV“If I stay still, he will reach me faster.”That was the thought circling my mind as the house shook again from the wind outside. It was not a regular wind. It moved like breath. Like something alive. Something watching.Kairos stood close enough that our shoulders brushed. He kept scanning the corners of the room as if expecting the shadows to shift. Rowan had already pulled the curtains closed again, but that did nothing to calm the air inside.I whispered, “He is trying to find my exact location.”Kairos’s head snapped toward me. “How do you know?”“The Thread tightens every time he gets closer. Like a cord pulling at my spine.” I pressed a hand to my chest. “Right now it feels like a hand gripping my ribs.”Kairos cursed under his breath. “We are leaving. Now.”Rowan nodded. “I will get the scouts.”“No,” I said sharply. “Not through the outer paths. He marked the forest. If we follow the usual route, he will trap us between the ridges.”Lily stepped forward, voice tre

Kairos’s POV“If he knows where to find her, then he knows where to strike first.”That thought burned through my mind as I held Seren in the north tower. Her breathing was too shallow. The color had drained from her face. The Thread inside her flickered like a flame fighting to stay alive.I pulled her close. “You are safe. Stay with me.”Her fingers curled weakly into my cloak. “I did not let him touch me.”“I know.” I brushed her hair back gently. “You did well.”But inside, I felt the fear she was trying to hide.Fear that she was slipping.Fear that he was pulling stronger.Fear that the Thread was beginning to obey something older than her will.I lifted her into my arms. She tried to stand, but her knees buckled. “Do not fight me,” I whispered. “Let me carry you.”She rested her forehead against my shoulder. Her breath trembled against my neck.“Rowan,” I said without turning, “go ahead of us. Gather the healers. Warn Vaughn.”Rowan nodded and sprinted down the stairs.As I car

Kairos’s POV“If he is already here, then every second we stand still is a mistake.”The moment the words left my mouth, the forest shifted. Not with sound. Not with movement. With pressure. Heavy. Slow. Cold. Like something enormous was pushing against the world from the inside.Seren’s breath caught beside me.She grabbed my sleeve. “Kairos. Do you feel that?”“Yes.”The ground under our boots trembled. Not enough to shake snow loose, but enough that I could sense the wolves in the kernels stir and whine.Lily backed away. “This feels wrong.”Rowan drew his blade. “Where is he?”“Everywhere and nowhere,” Seren whispered. “He is not walking. He is reaching.”The Thread inside her glowed faintly. I hated how it pulled at her. I hated how it sensed him even from here. I moved in front of her without thinking.“Stay behind me.”She shook her head. “No.”“Seren.”“Kairos.”We stared at each other in the cold wind. Snow swirled around us like restless spirits. The forest pressed in tighte