Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Marked Mate of the Lycan King: Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

THE CONFRONTATIONThe High Council chamber was a room built for intimidation. The stone walls were thick, and the long table in the center was heavy and dark. The men sitting around it were even colder. They were the ones who had watched the kingdom bleed and done nothing but count their coins.I stood by the door, my hands folded in front of me. I tried to look small, like a servant, but my heart was doing a frantic dance in my chest. Demetrius stood beside me. He was wearing a simple tunic, his hair messy, his skin still pale. He looked nothing like the terrifying King these men remembered.Rhys was already there, sitting at the head of the table. He looked smug. He hadn't seen us yet; he was busy reading a scroll and drinking wine."Where are the guards?" one of the councilmen asked, looking around nervously. "The city is in chaos, and we are sitting here like sheep.""The guards are where they belong," Rhys said without looking up. "Protecting the perimeter. Demetrius is... indisp

SELENE’S FINAL MOVEThe palace was screaming. That was the only way to describe the sound of stone breaking and people dying. But in the lower vaults, the air was thick and still. Selene stood before the great iron doors of the treasury, her breath coming in short, sharp hitches.She didn't have her crown on. She had traded it for a heavy wool cloak and a pair of sturdy boots she had stolen from a maid’s quarters. Her fingers fumbled with the heavy ring of keys she had taken from the treasurer’s cold belt."Open, you stupid piece of metal," she hissed, her voice cracking.The lock clicked. The sound felt like a gunshot in the quiet hallway. She pushed the doors open.Gold. It wasn't just money to her. It was her ticket out of this nightmare. It was the power to buy a new name, a new life, and a new kingdom in the south where nobody knew she had been a failed queen."I built this," she whispered, stepping into the vault. The torchlight flickered off the stacks of coins and bars. "I kep

FINN’S SACRIFICE The air in the throne room was thick with dust and the smell of old tapestries burning. Esmeralda could barely breathe. Her sword felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, her fingers cramped around the hilt. Across the room, the last of the King’s elite guards were circling them like wolves."They just won't stop," Finn panted, stepping up beside her. His face was streaked with soot, and his left sleeve was torn away, showing a nasty scrape. "How many more of them are there?"Esmeralda didn't look at him. She couldn't afford to. If she saw the fear in his eyes, she might lose her own. "As many as it takes, Finn. Keep your shield up.""I’m trying," he said, forcing a small, dry laugh. "But my arm feels like lead. Hey, Esmeralda?""Not now, Finn.""Just listen," he pushed on, his voice shaking just a little. "If we actually get out of this... if the sun actually comes up tomorrow... I want to go back to the coast. I want to smell the salt again. You should come with me.

THE KING COMMANDSThe stairs felt longer than they ever had before. Esmeralda’s legs were heavy, her boots leaving faint, reddish prints on the white stone steps. The palace was quiet now. The screaming had stopped. The sound of metal hitting metal had faded into a low, distant hum of voices from the city below.She pushed open the heavy doors to the King’s private room. It didn't smell like a palace in here. It smelled like old dust, bitter medicine, and the end of something.The King was sitting in a chair by the window. He wasn't wearing his crown. He looked smaller than he did in the stories—just an old man in a robe that was too big for his thinning shoulders. He didn't turn around when she entered."I heard the shouting," the King said. His voice was like dry leaves scraping together. "It’s a loud sound, isn't it? The sound of a world changing."Esmeralda stayed by the door. She held her breath, her heart drumming against her ribs. "It’s over," she said. "The gates are open. You

THE INNER SANCTUMThe air in the inner sanctum was thick and tasted like old dust and iron. It was supposed to be a place of peace, a hidden room where the spirits of the past rested. But now, it was filled with the heavy boots of the Hunters.Esmeralda stood at the heavy stone archway. She could hear them inside. They were throwing things. She heard the smash of a clay jar—something that had probably sat untouched for hundreds of years."They're looking for the source," Kael whispered beside her. He was gripping his sword so hard his knuckles were white. "If they find the heart of the sanctum, they'll try to drain it. They don't want to lead us, Esme. They want to eat us."Esmeralda didn't feel the panic she usually felt. The silver hum in her blood was steady. "They won't find anything but me," she said.She stepped into the room.The lead Hunter, a man named Silas with a jagged scar running across his throat, turned around. He held a crossbow, leveled right at her chest. Behind him