All Chapters of Marked by fate: Chapter 621 - Chapter 630

Tobias's POVI keep hold of Zahra's presence for another few seconds anyway, letting the steady awareness that she's there settle some of the pressure in my chest before I force myself to concentrate on the warrior waving us towards an empty space. I triple-check my fuel gauge. It's still reading as full. I should be able to make it most of the way to Daemon's borders without needing to stop, especially at the easy speed we've been travelling at.I pull in and switch off the engine. For the first time since leaving Shadow, the vibration beneath my feet disappears, and the sudden silence inside the car feels wrong. Engines continue rumbling outside as the rest of our section pulls in around us, doors opening and closing, voices carrying across the forecourt, but inside the car there's suddenly nothing to distract me from the fact that my mate is miles behind us.Lincoln reaches for his door.“Wait.”He pauses and looks at me as I pull my phone from the holder.Nothing.No message from Z

Tobias's POVWe head towards the food court with everyone else, keeping enough distance between us that nobody looking our way would see anything more than the Crown Prince walking beside Shadow's Alpha. After twelve miles sitting alone together in the car, where touching him had already started to feel natural, having to remember that nobody knows about us is fucking strange. Lincoln isn't ready for his pack to know yet, though, and after everything he's already asked them to accept tonight, I'm not about to take that choice away from him.The mundane normality of the place feels fucking bizarre. Bright signs advertise burgers, fried chicken, coffee and sandwiches as though there aren't armed warriors positioned outside every entrance. Music plays quietly through speakers in the ceiling, almost drowned out by the voices of Shadow wolves moving through as quickly as possible, and the smell of chips, coffee and grilled meat hangs heavily in the air.Nobody is treating this like a prope

Tobias's POVEvery muscle in my body locks, and beside me Lincoln jerks upright at exactly the same moment, his half-finished coffee forgotten in his hand.“What the fuck?” he breathes, his eyes snapping to mine.I don't answer because he already knows.The anxiety we've been feeling from Zahra all night changes so violently there can be no mistaking it. This isn't worry about Max anymore. It isn't frustration, impatience or fear of what might happen. This is panic, sharp, sudden and fucking real.Thor surges forward so hard that my vision flickers, and a growl tears from Lincoln's chest beside me as Lex reacts to exactly the same thing.“She's in trouble,” Lincoln says, his voice suddenly hard.“I know.”My phone is in my hand before the words are properly out of my mouth. I call Zahra and press it straight to my ear, listening as it rings with no answer.“Come on,” I mutter, ending the call and immediately trying again. “Come on, angel. Fucking answer me.”Still nothing.“I'm callin

Max's POVPain. Fuck, the pain is back. I feel like my body is encased in cement. It's heavy and almost impossible to move. My body still feels restrained somehow, but that fact doesn't seem to fully register. It's like my mind flits onto other observations before I've processed what it means.The billowing roar is still there, as are the vibration and the bumping, but there's no more scent of blood and no more sound of fighting wolves.Zahra!Her beautiful face flashes through my mind, and I reach for her down the bond. It's shadowed. Gentle emotions drift down it like they are muted, dialled down from usual, and the difference confuses me. It's more like what I was getting back in Eclipse, but I can scent her here, close to me. Her heartbeat reaches me beneath everything else, steady and familiar, and some of the tightness in my chest eases before I can stop it. I know it's not distance that's turned down the focus.Is she asleep?I check the emotions again. She's calm, exhausted. T

Zahra's POVThe rest stop appears bright on the horizon as we approach it. After the dark, tree-lined roads, it almost looks like a space station, it's so lit up.Zanthe is restless. She keeps pacing and whining, and it's not helping my anxiety at all. Every turn she makes seems to scrape against my already frayed nerves. I can feel her agitation beneath my skin, the constant urge to turn around, go back to Max and put my hands on him. It's exhausting trying to hold her back when I can barely manage my own emotions.‘Will you cut it out?’ I snap at her.‘Will you?’ she all but snarls back at me. ‘What's your problem?’I startle, shocked by her tone. ‘What do you mean, what's my problem?’ I've never heard or felt anything like the animosity I can feel from her now.‘What's wrong?’ I try again.‘He's our fucking mate! He's injured, and he's back. Medus is barely holding himself together. I can feel him, Zahra. He's right there, and you're sitting here pretending you don't want to go to