All Chapters of His Mate, His Enemy: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

MARCUS’S POVWhile Saphra was practicing how to control her powers I focus on our battle strategy. I return to the palace, Lucien is still in the same condition that I left him, still possessed. Lady Seraphine is still giving orders in the pack. They both seemed like they didn’t know i was gone for a while.Good. I stay in the palace and then after I decide to leave. By the time I reach the hideout, night has already swallowed the forest whole.The air is colder than it should be or maybe that’s just me.Everything inside me feels worn thin, like I’ve been stretched too far for too long, and something is finally starting to tear.I don’t remember the last time I slept properly. Don’t remember the last time I closed my eyes without seeing Lucien or what is left of him.The small clearing comes into view through the trees, faint firelight flickering between the branches. My shoulders loosen slightly not from relief, but from reaching the next step in something I don’t have the luxury to

SAPHRA'S POVSleep won’t come.I try.I lie on the thin bedroll, staring up at the rough wooden ceiling of the hideout, listening to the quiet sounds of the forest outside. I listen to the wind threading through branches, the faint crackle of the dying fire, the soft shift of movement from the others.But my mind won’t stop.It keeps circling the same thoughts.The same images.Lucien.The palace.Tomorrow.Every time I close my eyes, I see him. Not just the monster he’s becoming but the man he was.The man he still is somewhere beneath all of it. And the thought that I might be too late. It drags me back awake every time.I exhale slowly, turning onto my side.This is useless.I’m not going to sleep.Not like this.Carefully, I push myself up, ignoring the dull pull in my stomach where the wound still hasn’t fully healed. It’s better than it was, but not enough to forget.Nothing about this lets me forget.The hideout is dim, lit only by the fading glow of embers. Marcus sits near th

SAPHRA’S POV When we reach the palace Mara leaves us and heads to the servant quaters to create a distraction for us. We wait in the darkness. Every step echoes faintly, a reminder of how exposed we are despite the darkness wrapping around us. Then, a voice cuts through the silence above us. Sharp and loud. Familiar. “I told you I left it there!” Mara. I freeze for half a second, my heart jumping into my throat. Her voice rises again, louder this time, edged with frustration. “Don’t lie to me! I know it was here!” The sound carries through the stone above us, distorted but clear enough. Marcus doesn’t stop. If anything, he moves faster. “It’s working,” he murmurs. Above us, more voices join in. Confused, arguing. “What are you talking about?” “I didn’t take anything.” “You’re accusing me now?” The noise builds quickly, overlapping shouts echoing faintly down through the tunnels. Servants. Guards. Exactly what we need. My chest tightens, I know Mara is up there

LADY SERAPHINE'S POVForce and threats should have worked.It always does.That’s how order is maintained.That’s how power functions.But as I stand in the center of the courtyard, watching Marcus refuse to yield, watching the guards hesitate, watching the servants linger instead of scattering.I feel it.Power slipping, breaking.No.I won’t let it.If brute command won’t bend them, then I will remind them why they should kneel.I straighten slowly, drawing in a breath, forcing the rage back beneath the surface where it belongs.Control.Always control.“Guards, stop.”My voice cuts through the noise, sharper and carrying across the courtyard with practiced precision.It works, partially.The murmurs quiet not fully but enough.I take a step forward, lifting my chin, letting them all see me clearly. Letting them remember who I am.“You forget yourselves,” I say, my tone measured now, deliberate. “All of you.”My gaze sweeps across the gathered crowd.“I am not some passing authority

LUCIEN’S POVThe noise reaches me before I reach it.Distant at first.A low, restless hum beneath the heavy silence that has consumed the palace these past weeks.Then louder.Voices.Too many voices.Raised.Uncontrolled.I sit in the dark of the throne room, unmoving, staring at nothing as the sound builds and builds until it presses against my skull like something trying to claw its way inside.Make it stop.The thought isn’t entirely mine.It never is anymore.My fingers curl slowly against the arm of the throne. There’s something inside me that stirs at the chaos.Something that likes it.Feeds on it.No.I push the feeling down, grinding my teeth as a sharp pulse of pain cuts behind my eyes.Focus.But focus is getting harder.Everything is getting harder.Voices blur together.Memories slip.Time fractures.Sometimes I blink and hours are gone. Sometimes I open my hands and there’s blood on them I don’t remember spilling.Sometimes...No.Don’t think about that.Don’t think ab