Semua Bab Marked by fate: Bab 561 - Bab 570

Aubrey's POVThe meeting drones on and on. Nothing more of interest is said, at least I don't think so. I'm so on edge, desperate to get back to my tent and contact Christoph, and trying so hard not to pass out from the amount of evil within this tent. My vision starts to swim at one point, but I manage to claw it back with some deep breathing exercises and by digging my nails into my palms, the sharp bite of pain enough to centre me slightly. It's only delaying the inevitable. If this meeting goes on much longer, I don't know how much more of Monvar I can endure.I study the disfigured man next to Catalina. They seem close. She leans in to him as he talks, and I catch the occasional look from him when someone else is speaking. Those are definitely not the looks of acquaintances.Interesting.I wonder what the history is there. I've never seen him before a few days ago, but I've known Catalina for weeks now... where's he been?I'm jolted out of my wandering thoughts by a disturbance a

Max's POVThe water's cool as it runs over my heated skin. A cold shower sometimes helps take the edge off the bond as it's waning, but I can't work out if it's helping yet. The grey of early morning is beginning to creep in through the bathroom window as I stand here.I examine my cock. Yep, I'm fairly sure that's a friction burn. The skin is tender and raw in places, and I wince as I accidentally stroke my finger over it. Medus will heal it once he's awake, but fuck, I've literally wanked so much tonight I've burnt my own cock.Fuck knows what they were up to tonight. I close my eyes against the onslaught of images and sensations I received as my brain catalogues them.Yeah, they're having a fucking wonderful time, wherever they all are.I sigh, my head falling back and hitting the tiled wall behind me.Gammy says I should write her a letter, that I need to be the first to reach out and communicate. She says a letter will let me say everything I want and need to say without getting

Max's POVThe angle of the sun slanting through the curtains tells me it's afternoon by the time I wake up. I yawn, stretching. Goddess, I've not slept that well in a long time. I feel like I've been passed out ever since I laid my head down. No dreams, no... bond shenanigans. Nothing. Even Medus is still half asleep somewhere in the back of my head, which might be a first since we were mated to Zahra.I head into the shower and turn it slightly colder than usual to wake myself up. I showered the grime off before I went to bed, but I'm going to need to be alert when I re-join the world. No early morning allowances in the afternoon.I head straight to my uncle's study when I get downstairs and knock on the door.“Enter,” he calls, and when I push open the door, I see Harrison lounging in the chair in front of the desk and my grandfather leaning against the wall by the window.“Ah, Max, feeling rested?” Grandfather asks, his face warm as he looks me over.“Yeah, thank you. I think I sle

Max's POVWe file inside, and the moment the girl sees Christoph, she cries out, her face crumpling and her eyes welling. The relief on her face is almost painful to look at.“Thank the Goddess, you're here. We have to hurry!”I don't take a seat, instead choosing to stand by the window as my uncle, grandfather and Christoph take seats beside her bed. The other two stand around the walls like me.“Why didn't you contact me?” Christoph asks, taking Aubrey's hand from the bed.“I couldn't. That bitch tricked me into drinking something that stripped away the communication spell. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or a coincidence, but I couldn't. The only way I could get the message out was to run, and they hunted me.”My skin prickles. A spell inside her w

Zahra's POVI watch as Xander stares blankly into his mug, absent-mindedly stirring it with a spoon. He's been like this ever since he found out about his bond with Max. He puts on a brave face at times, but I can feel the ache behind it, that constant hollow pull of a bond reaching for someone who isn't there.I know it because I still carry it too.Time has taken the sharpest edges off mine. Having Xander, Tobias and Lincoln beside me helps more than I could ever explain, and most days I can push the emptiness Max left behind somewhere deep enough that it doesn't consume me. But it hasn't gone away. The bond is still there, still incomplete, still quietly hurting in a place none of my other mates can reach.For Xander, though, it's new. Raw. He's only just discovered the bond exists, and now he has to live with it calling for someone who isn't here. That's the part I don't know how to fix for him.I reach out and gently place my hand on his forearm. He doesn't move.“Hey,” I say, bu