Lahat ng Kabanata ng “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”: Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

When adults think children are asleep, they say important things.I learned that early.Mostly because Daddy carries me after bedtime when he thinks I won’t notice.And because Uncle Devourer is physically incapable of whispering.“I’m telling you,” he said loudly from the kitchen, “the child is definitely listening right now.”“I AM CERTAIN SHE IS,” Guardian answered.Mama laughed softly.I stayed very still against Daddy’s shoulder.Professional strategy.Daddy rubbed my back gently while standing on the balcony beneath the lantern sky.The Quiet Stars shimmered above the city tonight.Soft silver-gold lights drifting endlessly across the dark.I liked watching them.Sometimes they whispered.Not scary whispers.Warm ones.Like hearing people smile.Daddy looked tired tonight.Not sad-tired.Thinking-tired.Adults got that look a lot.Especially when they thought children couldn’t tell.I opened one eye slightly.Yep.Definitely thinking-tired.The city below us glowed softly.Music

Elias stayed until sunrise.Not because he fully trusted us yet.Because Hope refused to let him leave hungry.Apparently that trait runs in the family.“You need snacks,” she informed him seriously.Elias looked deeply confused by this concept.“I don’t think I can eat anymore.”Hope gasped softly.“That’s terrible.”Void quietly hid his face behind one hand while I tried not to laugh.The apartment slowly woke around us.First the guardian emerged from the hallway already suspicious.Then the creator stepped out carrying six books and emotional instability.Finally the Devourer wandered in wearing one of my hoodies for reasons nobody understood.All three froze immediately seeing Elias sitting nervously at the kitchen table.The creator reacted first.Very carefully setting the books down.Golden eyes wide with realization.“A manifested remembrance echo…”The Devourer blinked sleepily.“Oh, we’re adopting ghosts now.”“I AM PREPARING BREAKFAST,” the guardian announced solemnly.Eli

I stayed in the apartment for eleven days before my sister found me.Not because nobody wanted me there.Because I didn’t know where else to go.Hope said that was okay.“Families can start accidentally,” she explained while teaching me how crayons worked.I still wasn’t completely sure what a crayon was supposed to do.Mine kept breaking.Hope called that “creative enthusiasm.”Void quietly replaced the broken ones without comment.The apartment felt strange at first.Too warm.Too loud.Too alive.I wasn’t used to people asking if I slept well.Or saving me food.Or noticing when I got quiet.The forgotten don’t expect those things anymore.But this family noticed everything.Especially Hope.“You’re doing the sad-eyes thing again,” she informed me one afternoon.I looked up from the balcony railing in confusion.“The what?”Hope pointed at my face seriously.“That.”Void, sitting nearby with a book, murmured softly:“She is unfortunately very observant.”Hope looked proud of this.

Hope disappeared for exactly fourteen minutes.They were the worst fourteen minutes in existence.It started quietly.Which somehow made it worse.One second she was in the living room teaching Elias how to braid friendship bracelets badly—the next—silence.No laughter.No tiny voice explaining incorrect crafting techniques.Nothing.Mira noticed first.“Where’s Hope?”The apartment froze instantly.The guardian dropped an entire tray of tea.The creator stood up so fast reality flickered nervously.The Devourer stopped mid-sentence.Even the Quiet Stars outside dimmed slightly.I checked the hallway.Bedroom.Bathroom.Balcony.Empty.The bond between us still existed—but distant somehow.Fuzzy.Like hearing someone through heavy rain.Fear hit so hard my hands shook immediately.“Hope?”No answer.The creator’s expression darkened sharply.“I can’t track her directly.”Cold flooded the apartment.Because nothing blocked the creator completely anymore.Nothing except—“No,” the vo

Nobody slept that night.Not after the children appeared.The tiny lanterns hovered beneath the Quiet Stars like frightened fireflies.Watching.Waiting.Every light carried a presence.Small.Lonely.Terrified of being seen and desperate for it at the same time.The city noticed immediately.People gathered silently beneath the lantern sky across rooftops and streets.Nobody celebrated tonight.The atmosphere felt too delicate.Like approaching wounded animals.Hope sat curled beside the apartment window wrapped in a blanket while Noah leaned nervously against the couch nearby.The void remained close to both of them.Protective without making it obvious.Though honestly, nobody in this apartment understood subtlety anymore.The creator paced endlessly through the living room.Golden equations spiraling around him in anxious circles.“The remnants of the Silence are still active around fragmented child-memory clusters—”The Devourer held up a hand.“You need to stop explaining emotio