All Chapters of Guarding His Forbidden Mate: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I stood by the pillar in the dining hall, my hands clasped behind my back. Anyone looking at me would have just concluded I was the mutt who did his job and didn't ask questions. But inside, my head was a war zone.When I first took this job, it was supposed to be simple. Guard the Princess. Keep her safe until she married the southern Alpha. I didn't expect the Moon Goddess to play a cruel trick on me. I didn't expect that the moment I inhaled her scent—that sweet mix of lavender and something like jasmine—my world would tilt on its axis.MATE.The word echoed in my mind, growled by a voice that wasn't entirely my own. Fenris, my wolf, was scratching at the back of my brain, his claws drawing phantom blood across my consciousness. He had been restless for weeks, pacing in the cage of my ribs, howling for me to do what every instinct told me to do.‘Claim her. Bite her. Mark her. Tell the world she belongs to you, and not that bastard,’ Fenris would snarl.I squeezed my eyes shut for

Nathan aimed for his thigh, firing the crossbow at him. He had done it just to pin Kaelen down without having to be defensive. Kaelen let out a scream of agonizing pain that made the birds scatter from the trees, and the sound ripped through my own chest like I had been pierced."Kaelen!" I yelled in terror as I watched him bear the pain for my sake.Nathan walked closer, pulling another bolt from his quiver. I looked at Kaelen; he was trying to push himself up, trying to growl, trying to be the protector he always was, but his body had become too weak to do that. He could only watch me through a haze of pain, his eyes widened.Nathan looked down at him, his face twisted into a mask of pure satisfaction."You're a tough dog, I’ll give you that," Nathan sneered. "But sadly, silver doesn't give a damn about that. It just kills."He turned his gaze to me. I was trembling, my hands already stained with Kaelen’s blood."Step away from him, Jessica. Move, or the next one goes through your s

The pain started in my thigh and began to eat its way upward through my bones. The more my heart beat, the more the toxin pushed its way to the center of me. I laid there on the ground, staring up at the sky, and wondering for a moment if this was how fate was going to play its game in me. But amidst the chaos, her voice was the only thing that kept me conscious."Stay with me, Kaelen! Everything is going to be alright!"Jessica was sobbing. I could feel her hands pressing against my skin. Her voice was like a healing balm, a cool wave that fought back the fire in my veins. If I stayed, it was because she was asking me to.I wanted to reach up. I wanted to wipe the tears from her face and tell her to stop. I wanted to tell her that even if I died, I would never truly leave her. 'I’ll find you,' I promised her in the silence of my own head. 'If this is the end, I promise that in the next life, I will love you without hesitation. I won't care about packs, or what the world says. I’ll

Lena had told me she was exhausted from the shift and the healing, and that she needed to rest for at least five hours. I didn't mind, because I needed the silence. I hadn't moved an inch from where I sat, staring at the almost fading sun, and letting everything Lena had said replay in my mind. 'He loves me. He's just scared.' I wanted to believe her, but the coldness of his words back in the hospital room felt more real than a wolf’s intuition. How long was I supposed to wait? How long do you hold your breath before you realize you’re suffocating? I felt a strange sort of calm wash over me. I lay back on the pillows, thinking about the "someone else" Lena mentioned. Who could desire Kaelen as much as I did? Did he have a secret life before he came to the Silver Moon pack? An ex-lover? A woman from his past who was still hunting for him? He didn't seem like the type to notice anyone, let alone have a string of broken hearts behind him. Maybe Lena was just trying to keep me on my t

Thankfully, the urgent situation at the gate wasn't an invasion, yet as Julian led the way, my pulse refused to settle. Kaelen followed a few paces behind me, and even though he had acted too difficult a few minutes ago, the memory of his eyes would stop replaying in my mind.When we reached the gate, a small group of guards had surrounded a lone figure. It was a woman. She was wearing a traveling cloak, but it was stained with the dust of the road. And even through the grime, her beauty was undeniable. I stepped forward, staring at those big eyeballs that felt like she could see right through my chest. "I am Princess Jessica. I was told there was a messenger with an urgent seal."But the woman wasn't looking at me. Rather, her gaze was locked on the man standing behind my left shoulder. "Kaelen?" she whispered.I felt Kaelen stiffen, and that stone-faced expression he'd been putting on since morning shattered, turning to a look of shock and surprise."Elara?" He called, shocked.In