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Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Marked Mate of the Lycan King: Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

159 Kabanata

Chapter 141

THE FIRST WAVEThe air felt too heavy. It wasn't just the humidity of the forest or the smell of damp earth. It was the waiting.I stood at the edge of the tree line, my fingers digging into the bark of an old oak tree. My heart was a drum, beating a rhythm I couldn't slow down. Down in the valley, the human army looked like a giant silver snake, cold and unmoving."Esme."I didn't have to turn around to know it was him. Demetrius’s voice was the only thing that could cut through the fog in my head. He stepped up behind me, his chest pressing against my back. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close for a second."They're moving," I whispered. My voice sounded small to my own ears."I know," he said. He rested his chin on my shoulder. I could feel the heat radiating off him. He was already half-shifted in his mind, his wolf pacing just under the skin. "But we are ready. You are ready."I turned in his arms, looking up at him. I reached up and touched the scar on his jaw.

Chapter 142

THE SILVER FOGThe screaming noise from the machines hadn't stopped, but we were learning to live with it. It was like a constant, dull throb in the back of my skull now.I was leaning against a rock, trying to catch my breath. My hands were stained with dirt and someone else's blood. I didn't even know whose. Everything was moving too fast."Esme! Look!"I looked up. It was Sarah again. She was pointing toward the base of the valley.At first, I thought it was just the morning mist rolling in late. It was a thick, shimmering white cloud. It looked almost beautiful, the way it caught the light. It looked like a blanket of diamonds being pulled across the grass."Is it smoke?" someone asked."No," I whispered. I stood up, my legs shaking. "It’s too heavy for smoke."The wind shifted. It blew toward us, carrying the first taste of the mist.The moment it hit my skin, I felt like I had walked into a fire. It wasn't a heat that warmed you; it was a heat that bit. My arms started to itch,

Chapter 143

THE HEALER’S SHIELD The air on the ridge wasn't as thick, but it was still there. Every time the wind picked up, a fresh wave of that sparkling death would drift toward the wounded. I looked around at the people lying on the dirt. They were coughing, their skin turning gray and mottled."We can't just sit here," I whispered to myself. My throat felt like I had swallowed hot coals.Demetrius was trying to stand. He was using a broken branch as a crutch. "We need... to move them further back. Into the caves.""They won't make it," Sarah said. She was kneeling over Leo. The young wolf's breathing was wet and shallow. "The moment they move, they’ll breathe in more of it. Their lungs are already failing."I looked at my hands. They were shaking. I could feel a strange heat deep in my chest, right where my heart was beating. It wasn't the burn of the silver. It was something else. It was like a spark that wanted to become a fire."Demetrius," I called out.He turned his head, his face tigh

Chapter 144

THE CHARGE The sun was trying to peek through the gray, but it looked sickly. I sat there on the dirt, my back against a jagged rock, holding Esmeralda. She was so light. Too light. Her breathing was steady now, but her face was pale, and her hands were cold."Demetrius."I looked down. Silas was standing a few feet away. He looked like he’d crawled through a coal mine. His armor was dented, and one of his eyes was swollen shut."The men are ready," Silas said. His voice was a low growl. "The wind is blowing the rest of that silver junk toward the river. If we move now, we catch them while they’re reloading those canisters."I didn't answer right away. I just looked at Esmeralda. I didn't want to let her go. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand."Demetrius," Silas said again, softer this time. "They’re waiting for their Alpha.""I know," I snapped. I didn't mean to be mean to him, but the thought of leaving her here, vulnerable, made me want to howl at the sky.I

Chapter 145

TRACKING STERLINGThe dirt under my fingernails was cold. I sat there, clutching my own arms, watching the spot where Demetrius had vanished into the gray haze. My heart felt like it had gone with him. Every time a loud crack echoed from the valley—a gunshot or a falling tree—my breath hitched."He’s going to be okay, Esme."I turned my head. Sarah was kneeling beside me, wiping blood off her forehead with a damp cloth. She looked exhausted, her eyes rimmed with red, but she was trying to smile for me."I know he is," I said, though my voice sounded thin even to my own ears. "But knowing it and feeling it are two different things. It’s like a string is tied between us, Sarah. And right now, that string is being pulled so tight I think it might snap.""You did your part," Sarah said firmly, reaching out to squeeze my hand. "You saved hundreds of us. If you hadn't held that shield... well, we wouldn't be sitting here talking. You need to rest. Your soul is tired.""I can't rest," I whis

Chapter 146

THE DUELThe air around the command vehicle was thick with the smell of burnt ozone and gasoline. My lungs burned with every breath, but I didn’t stop. I couldn't stop. I had crawled and stumbled my way down that ridge, driven by a feeling I couldn't even put into words. It was just him. The pull of Demetrius was like a physical rope leading me through the smoke.I stepped into the clearing just as the heavy doors of the black vehicle hissed open.A man stepped out. But he didn't look like a man. He looked like a nightmare made of polished silver. The armor was bulky, clicking and whirring with every move he made. It covered him from head to toe, glowing with a faint, sickly blue light at the joints.Victor Sterling.He pulled his helmet off, letting it hang by a cable. His face was pale, his eyes cold and calculating. He looked at me like I was a bug he had found under a rock."You should have stayed on the hill, Esmeralda," Sterling said. His voice was amplified by a speaker on his

Chapter 147

THE TWIN SEIGEThe scent of silver was everywhere. It was a sharp, metallic tang that scratched at the back of my throat and made my wolf snarl in pain. Every breath felt like swallowing needles, but I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was the pull in my chest—the invisible thread that tied my soul to Esmeralda’s.And right now, that thread was screaming."Alpha! They're closing in on the left flank!" Marcus shouted, his voice barely audible over the sound of gunfire and the clashing of steel."I don't care about the flank!" I roared back. I shoved a soldier aside, the silver-lined mesh of his uniform burning my palms. I didn't shift. Not yet. I needed my hands. I needed to feel the ground. "Push through! We are going to that command vehicle, or we are dying on this patch of dirt!"I was exhausted. My muscles felt like they were made of lead, and my vision kept swimming. We had been fighting for hours, a twin siege where we were being hunted just as much as we were hunting. Bu

Chapter 148

THE FINAL STRIKEDemetrius was here. His skin was cold from the night air, but his heart was beating against my chest like a drum. I could smell the forest on him—pine, damp earth, and that heavy metallic scent of the silver that had tried to keep him away. He was shaking, and I knew it wasn't from fear. It was the silver poisoning his blood."You're bleeding," I whispered, my hands shaking as I touched the gashes on his arms."It doesn't matter," he said. He pulled back just an inch, his eyes searching mine. "Esme, look at me. Are you whole? Did he... did he touch you?""I’m here, Demetrius. I’m whole because you’re here." I reached up and cupped his face. His beard was rough under my palms, a grounding reality in the middle of this nightmare. "But we aren't safe yet."A harsh, mechanical grinding sound came from the mud a few yards away. Sterling was pushing himself up. One of the glowing blue plates on his chest was cracked, sparking with angry white light, but the rest of the suit

Chapter 149

THE COLLAPSEThe world didn't end with a bang. For me, it ended with a hum. A long, low hum that vibrated in my skull and drowned out the sound of the wind.I was on my back. The mud was cold, soaking into my clothes, but I couldn't feel the chill. My body felt like it was made of lead. I tried to lift my hand, just to see if it still worked, but it fell back into the dirt with a wet thud."Demetrius?" I tried to say. It came out as a dry cough.I turned my head. It felt like my neck was filled with glass. A few feet away, he was lying there. He wasn't moving. My heart stopped for a second—a real, physical stop that hurt in my chest."Demetrius! Answer me!"He groaned. It was a small, pained sound, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. He rolled onto his side, his breath hitching. He looked like he had been through a meat grinder. His shirt was mostly gone, and his skin was covered in soot and blood."Esme..." he wheezed. He didn't look at the crater. He didn't look at

Chapter 150

THE VICTORYMy eyes felt like they were glued shut. When I finally forced them open, the world was too bright. It was a sharp, stinging white that made my head throb. I groaned, trying to roll over, but a sharp pain in my ribs reminded me exactly where I was.The mud had dried on my skin, stiff and itchy. I looked down. My hand was still locked in Demetrius’s. His grip was loose now, but his fingers were still curled around mine."Demetrius?" I whispered. My throat felt like I had swallowed a handful of sand.He didn't move. I panicked for a second, my heart jumping into my throat. I reached out with my free hand and pressed it against his neck. It was warm. His pulse was steady. He was just deep in sleep—the kind of sleep you only get when you’ve given every single thing you have to a fight.I looked up, and that’s when I saw it.The smoke was clearing. The heavy, choking fog of the battle was lifting, and through the gaps in the trees, I saw the valley. The human army—the Great Army

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