All Chapters of My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Sera"I am not doing that for you," my mother said.I shook my head. I expected this exact pushback. I had walked into this freezing guest room fully prepared to drop to my knees on the stone floor and beg her. I knew what was at stake. Fenris’s life was on the line. But there was a massive issue with bringing her into this mess. If she helped me, she would be completely aware of what we were about to do. We already had too many witnesses in that council chamber. The two guards. The healer. I was already trying to figure out how to manage their silence. Adding the Valdris Queen to the list of loose ends was dangerous.But for some reason, the gods had just dropped absolute leverage right into my lap.I knew for a fact that King Aldric was not aware of the affair between his wife and Lord Torin. I also knew that if Aldric ever found out, my mother would suffer greatly. He would not just banish her. He would publicly execute her for treason.I didn't want to stoop that low. I didn't want

Sera"What is she doing here?" Fenris demanded.Yvara stepped up behind Fenris. She glared at Irina. "We already have too many suspects for this mess, Sera. We don't need her involved."I shook my head quickly. "Do not worry about her. She isn't going to say a word. She won't betray us."Fenris and Yvara stared at each other for a brief moment. They looked at my mother, then looked back at me."So what is the plan?" Fenris asked, stepping back to let us inside.I walked into the room and pulled my mother in behind me. Fenris shut the cracked doors and locked the iron latch.I looked at my mother, ready to explain exactly what she needed to do. But Irina wasn't looking at me. She stood completely motionless.She was staring directly at the center of the room.Kael was still lying on the stone floor. The healer was kneeling beside him, his hands slick with blood, pressing hard against the elder's twisted, broken neck. Kael was struggling to breathe. A wet, horrific gurgling sound filled

Sera“Do it.”Irina raised the mask. She pressed the inside of the hardened clay directly against Bram's face.She slammed her palms against the outside of the mask, locking it into place. She started the chant again.Bram’s entire body went rigid. His massive hands clamped down onto his own kneecaps, his knuckles turning stark white. A low, guttural groan tore out of his chest.Then came the sound.It was horrific. It sounded like heavy boots crushing dry tree branches. It was the sound of Bram's actual facial bones cracking, shifting, and breaking under the surface of his skin. The magic forced his cartilage to snap and reform. It dragged his flesh across his skull to fill the exact dimensions of the clay mold.Bram's boots scraped violently against the stone floor. He shoved himself back into the chair, fighting the pure, unadulterated agony of his skull restructuring itself. Blood began to drip from his nostrils, sliding down his chin and pooling under the edge of the mask.The bon

Sera"You look like you spent the entire night rolling in a grave."Mina was sitting cross-legged in the center of my bed when I walked into my room. She held a brushed iron comb in her hand, but she lowered it the second the heavy door clicked shut behind me. She looked at my face, then down at the dirt and dried blood caked onto the knees of my leather pants."Good morning to you too, Mina," I said. My voice sounded completely hollow.I was entirely numb. I had just walked away from a dark, secluded patch of the eastern woods where Fenris, Yvara, and I had watched a man’s headless body burn to ash. I had stood in the freezing snow, feeling the intense heat of the pyre against my face, knowing I was the one who ordered the execution. I had pushed the guilt down so deep into my stomach that it felt like a swallowed stone. I had to. If Kael lived, Fenris would have eventually died. I chose my mate over an elder."Seriously, Sera," Mina said, her brow furrowing in genuine concern as she

SeraThe heavy oak door of the den clicked shut.The loud, roaring noise of the Great Hall vanished instantly. The sudden silence in the room left a faint ringing in my ears. I stood near the center of the floor, staring at the dark wood of the door. The adrenaline that had kept my spine straight during breakfast finally started to drain out of my system.Fenris walked past me. He didn't say a word. He went straight to the large stone hearth, picked up a thick iron poker, and jabbed at the dying embers. He threw two heavy logs onto the grate. The fire caught, casting a sharp, flickering orange light across the stone walls.He set the iron poker down. He turned around and leaned his lower back against the stone mantle. He crossed his massive arms over his chest and looked at me."Your mother is a witch," Fenris said.His voice was calm. It wasn't an accusation. It was a simple statement of fact, delivered with a trace of genuine surprise."She prefers the term healer," I replied, my voi