All Chapters of STOLEN BY THE MATE I DIDN'T WANT: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Liora lay flat on her back, hair spread out against the grass. She stared at the stars with wide, curious eyes. Beside her, a boy with a soft smile and gentle face sat cross- legged, plucking clovers and weaving them between his fingersOn her other side sat Draven. His posture was rigid, his arms folded across his small chest, golden eyes sharp. He wasn't lying down like liora or playing like kaelen.Liora tilted her head towards Kaelen, her lips curling into a smile. “When I grow up, I want to see the world” she whispered, her voice carrying softness. “The mountains, the rivers, everything beyond the packs”Kaelen chuckled, fumbling as he tried to finish the little crown of clovers. His brown hair fell into his eyes and he pushed it back sheepishly. “When we grow up, I'll be taller and when I'm taller, I will marry you. Then I will take you everywhere you want to go”Liora’s cheeks warmed, she covered her mouth with her hands, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Marry me? You're barely

“Abomination” someone shouted“Her father must be ashamed of her that he allowed her participate in the tournament.”“She is a taboo.” One screamed, throwing dirt at her. Liora's heart bled as she watched their eyes trying to rip her apart.Draven stood and watched, his eyes scanning through the crowd, staring at Kaelen's shocked features. He smirked“That's why she had a mask.”“She also changed her voice too? Why didn't the other player felt anything”“A woman beating our top warrior. Isn't that a bad omen?”“Moon goddess please forgive our sin– that we allowed her”“She's a woman” another roared“A princess for that matter” one said.Wolves surged to their feet in the stands, snarling, spitting, throwing scraps of food and rocks towards the arena floor. Dust filled the air as the mob pressed forward, their outrage justified.Liora's body locked, every instinct screaming to run..her hands trembled as stone skidded across the dirt around her. Her wolf whimpered inside her.“She shoul

The last time she saw Draven ripping off a wolf's hand that held her. “Touch her again, and I'll gut you where you stand!” He snarled, removing his sword from the belt.She fainted.Liora didn't know how long she had been out until cold water splashed her. She screamed while waking up.“Who is there?” She said, shaking. Her body was curled in the corner of the cell, her hands trembling, her legs bound by rough iron chains that bit through her skin.“Finally, the very obstacle I wanted to remove, the Moon goddess, helped me,” Kaelen said, smiling and revealing himself.“Kaelen?” She called out in a whisper. “What are you saying?”“For God's sake, Liora. I was never going to marry you, never going to make you my Luna. You were sick in the head, talking to the air and drifting off sometimes. You were too reckless….too much for me,” he said, lying down with one knee touching the damn floor. “You were so full of yourself.”Liora pressed her palms against her ears, trying to block the sound

The news traveled like wildfire. The whispers had traveled in every passageway, every market stall, every training ground. The princess is pregnant.By noon, rumor was proclamation: the accursed princess bears life, though none saw a mating ritual.Kaelen overheard it first from the lips of two guards at the training grounds. Their thoughtless laughter, their whispered incredulity, cut his ears like knives. He stood frozen in the middle of a spar, his sword shaking in his hand.“Pregnant?" he muttered. His chest rose and fell, breath ragged and harsh. With no word, he discarded his sword, his boots thudding against the earth as he strode toward the hall.Servants darted out of his way. The storm brewing in his eyes was sufficient to keep anyone from looking his way.As Kaelen swung open the large doors of the council room, the sound lashed against the stone walls like a whip.Tame, seated on his blackwood-hewn throne, lifted weary eyes. His hand, which rested against his temple, dropp

The council bell tolled, Liora followed the sound, her heart racing in her ears, her steps quick as if she could outrun fear itself.As she entered the great hall, tension already suffocated the air. Elders sat in their carved chairs, shoulders stiff, lips pursed in disapproval.Warriors lined the walls, fists clenched at their weapons although no swords were drawn. In the center, under the weight of some dozen pairs of eyes, Draven stood—his golden eyes blazing like a caged beast's.Chains bound his wrists, thick iron links that dug into his flesh. He did not wince when the guards shoved him forward, but the vein in his jaw pulsed, and his chest rose and fell with slow, soothing breaths.“Alpha Draven of Duskbane," began one of the elders, his voice a rasp that broke the silence,"you are accused of shattering the sacred balance. You marked our princess without leave. You carry a curse that has murdered all mates before her. And now she bears your child—an omen of war."Liora's stom