Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian : Kabanata 401 - Kabanata 410

TayaI turned the page over. There was nothing on the back of it.I picked up the next one.Kael.I'm waiting.And the next.Brother,It's been six weeks. I've sent three men and none of them come back with anything but the word that you're well and busy.If I've offended you, say so and I'll take it as it comes. If something's wrong, say that instead and I'll come. But don't leave me sitting up here reading trader gossip about my own blood.They went on like that, shorter each time. My uncle's hand stayed neat all the way through, but the letters got thinner, four lines and then three, and I could feel the man on the other end of them getting quieter and less certain, and then finally not asking anymore at all.I sat with the last few of them in my hands and something turned over in my chest.He hadn't answered.My father, who had spent three months riding out to the outer camps in the snow telling anyone who would stand still that the treaty was a knife in the North's back, who had

SeraChief Vane stood outside my door, his knuckles rapping against the wood so softly I almost missed it. "Luna, may I enter?" he called through the thick oak. His voice sounded polite enough, but I could hear the unease behind it."Enter," I called back, and I made myself sound steadier than I felt. I stayed seated in my chair, facing the door as Mina stood silent guard at my side.When Vane stepped inside, whatever confidence he'd mustered in the hall outside seemed to leave him. His shoulders stiffened as he scanned the room, taking in my darkened private chambers. His eyes touched briefly on Amara where she stood near the hearth and moved on without pausing, the way a man's gaze passes over furniture he already expects to find there. The only light came from a single candle burning beside me, and it cast long shadows across his face.He bowed his head in greeting, my title falling stiffly from his lips. "Luna."I studied him, trying to read his mood. Vane was an older wolf with s

BramI stepped into the dining room with a practiced smile, careful to keep the weariness from my eyes. Taya was already seated, a vision in candlelit silk, her hair unbound. She stood as I entered, a smile breaking across her face. "Father," she said warmly, crossing the room to embrace me.I kissed her cheek, breathing in the delicate scent of rosewater. "Daughter. You look beautiful tonight."Her arms tightened around me for a heartbeat longer than usual, and I knew I shouldn't press my luck. "Thank you," she said, pulling back. "I'm so glad you could make it tonight. I know you have a lot going on."We took our seats at the table, and the servants brought in the first course, a consomme of wild mushrooms with a hint of thyme. I took a sip, studying Taya across the table. Something about her seemed different tonight, warmer, like she was glowing from somewhere underneath."I ordered this myself," she said, as if reading my thoughts. "Mama always said it was her favorite dish when s

JaceFive godforsaken years. I can't believe I almost let it happen again. All that time wasted, drifting from crowded city to cramped tavern without a purpose. Avoiding the responsibility that awaited me. The only thing that finally pulled me back was the ore deposit, the one prize worth securing for good. I had a plan, a way to take Blackwater and guard that vein of precious metal. It was the only thing in my life I'd ever seen through to the bitter end. And now, here I am, dragged north on someone else's errand, leaving it all behind. Just like before.A soft crunch of boots on gravel, the hiss of a fire flaring to life. We'd reached the camp. A handful of lean-to tents scattered around a makeshift fire pit, the kind of rough camp a man on the run would stop at, nothing built to last. Temporary, thrown together in a hurry. It was hard to imagine anyone calling this place home for long, but it would do for what we needed.I needed to focus on the task at hand, on the prize waiting f

NadiaI stacked the last of the dinner plates and turned to the sink, water already running. Behind me I could hear Father shift in his chair."You know, if we sell the farm equipment as is, we could probably get a good price," he said. "The plow still has some life in it."Mama crossed her arms. "It's not just the equipment that's the problem. It's the fact that the crops aren't coming up. After all the work you put in."He sat back. "It's fine, a bit behind, same as every year around this time. You can't blame me for the weather." His tone was short, impatient. I turned my attention to the soap-smeared dishes, giving him space."I'm not blaming you," Mama said sharply."Sounds like you were."She sighed and walked over to pick up his empty bowl. "The neighbors' crops are growing just fine, Edran. They're not 'behind.'""Well, maybe they're not contending with the problems I am," he said, his voice rising. "You don't think I know what I'm doing?"Mama went quiet for a moment, just lo