All Chapters of Shattered by three, claimed by none: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Sage's POVI walked to the door and opened it. Vex stood in the hallway, his dark eyes scanning the room behind me before settling on my face."What do you want?" I asked.Vex crossed his arms. "I thought I saw you with someone. I was not sure. I came to see if you were in some kind of trouble. Or difficulty."I shook my head. "No. The person left already." I paused, then added, "How did you know I was with someone? I did not see you when I was outside."Vex's expression did not change. "The truth is that Kael called me. He told me you were with someone. He sounded... concerned." He looked past me again, as if expecting to see someone still hiding in the room. "Do you know this person?"I felt a flicker of irritation. "This is not the time for that. Can we continue this talk tomorrow? It has been a long day."Vex's eyes searched my face. "Is everything alright? The way Kael spoke to me made me feel like something was off.""Everything is fine," I said. "There is nothing to worry about.

Sage's POVSome hours later.The meeting was over. Tom had given us a detailed plan. And I discovered gym room on the first floor. It was empty at this hour, the equipment unused, the windows letting in the last light of the setting sun.I sat on a bench near the wall and stared at the punching bag in the corner. My mind was not on exercise. It was on the opportunity to catch the smugglers in the act. It sounded like the break we had been waiting for.But something else was nagging at me. A small voice in the back of my head that would not shut up.The men could be right.I hated admitting that. I hated the thought of agreeing with Kael, Vex, or Cass about anything. But the questions they had raised kept circling back. I haven't seen him for a year, not had any contact with him since we separated.What had he been doing in this community for two months? He said he had been tracking the smugglers, gathering evidence, waiting for the right moment. But two months was a long time. Long e

Sages POVFew hours later, I sat in the meeting room. it was chaos. Everyone was arguing with one another.The council members, young and old, arguing among themselves. I just sat there. My body was exhausted, my mind was numb, and my arms still ached from wrestling Zoe to the ground. Clara had been taken to the medical wing. Milo was safe in a secure location with the other children.Elder Tomas was trying to get everyone's attention. He slammed his hand on the table, called for order, begged for silence. No one listened. The arguing continued.Then Kael stepped forward. His voice covered the room."I said enough."The room went silent. Everyone turned to look at him. His face was hard, his eyes cold, his posture radiating the kind of authority that came from being an Alpha King.Elder Tomas let out a breath. "Thank you," he said. "Now, no amount of arguing is going to help us solve this issue. We need to focus on what we can do, not who we can blame."A younger council member stood

Sage's POVI looked down at my clothes. "Our outfits are not something we would wear to an all-night bar club," I said. "We will stand out the moment we walk through the door."Before anyone could respond, we heard noise and laughter coming from the bar club entrance. A group of drunk men stumbled out, their arms around a few women who were laughing just as loudly. They did not see us. They were too busy with their own revelry, heading off into the night.Kael watched them pass, and a slow smile spread across his face. "Our solutions have just walked right to us."***Some time later, I stood in the shadows of a narrow alley, wearing an outfit that I was not comfortable in at all. The dress was short, ending well above my knees, and tight in ways that made me want to tug at the fabric every few seconds. The shoes were heels, impractical and annoying. I had switched outfits with one of the women after Kael and the others had knocked out the drunk men and dumped them somewhere out of s

Sage's POVI raised my hands in surrender. My heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my face calm. I had not sensed him at all. "Get in," the man said, gesturing with the gun toward the open door.I walked into the room slowly, my hands still raised. The space was larger than I expected, dimly lit by bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Crates and boxes were stacked against the walls, and in the center stood four people, dressed in tactical gear, their weapons holstered at their sides. They were all looking at me.And I recognized them immediately.The hunters that have been chasing me for 6months now.Their leader stepped forward. Zane. Tall, broad-shouldered, with cold eyes and a cruel smile. I had seen his face in too many nightmares.The drunk man who had led me here saw that I had been caught, and his entire demeanor changed. His shoulders straightened, and the fear in his eyes was replaced by smug satisfaction. He pointed at me and spoke quickly, his voice dripping with self-importanc