All Chapters of Reborn as the villain's obsession [MM romance]: Chapter 181 - Chapter 187

The great hall smelled of pine smoke and roasted meat, filled with the low hum of a hundred voices. Tonight was the Mating Ceremony, the one night each year when every unmated wolf in the territory gathered under one roof, waiting to feel that pull toward their fated partner.Adrian stood near the back wall, half-hidden in shadow, the way he always stood at these events. He was not tall or strong like the others. He worked in the kitchens, not the training grounds. Nobody expected much from him, and most nights, he preferred it that way.Then the doors at the far end of the hall opened, and everything in Adrian's chest went still.A tall man walked in, flanked by guards, his dark eyes sweeping the room like he owned every inch of it. Power rolled off him in waves, thick enough to taste. Adrian's wolf rose inside him at once, a sharp, aching pull toward this stranger that felt like nothing he had ever known.Mate.The word rang through his whole body, clear and certain. He gripped the

Morning light filtered through the cabin's small window, and Adrian woke to find Selena already sitting across from him, watching him with quiet, careful eyes."You slept for almost twelve hours," she said. "Your body needed the rest. Healing this kind of power takes real energy, even when the power itself has barely woken up."Adrian sat up slowly, testing his shoulder. The wound from last night's attack had already closed into a thin pink line, healing far faster than any normal injury should. He stared at it in disbelief."How is this possible?" he asked."Your blood," Selena said simply. "Now that the seal has cracked, your body is finally healing the way it always should have.""The seal," Adrian repeated. "You mentioned that last night too. What exactly was sealed, and why?"Selena rose and moved to the small fire, adding another log before settling back down across from him. Her expression grew distant, weighted with old memories she clearly did not enjoy revisiting."Long ago,

The howls faded into the distance without coming closer, and after a long, tense hour of waiting in silence, Selena finally allowed herself to relax."They moved on," she said, lowering the small blade she had kept ready in her hand. "Rogue wolves, most likely, drawn by the surge but too cautious to investigate directly. We were fortunate tonight."Adrian let out a shaky breath, his claws slowly retracting back into ordinary fingers as the adrenaline drained from his body. "Will that happen every time I use this power?" he asked. "Attracting danger, I mean.""Until you learn control, yes," Selena said. "Raw power calls to other predators, the same way blood calls to sharks in open water. This is exactly why training matters so much."She led him back inside the cabin, settling by the fire once again, though her expression remained thoughtful, calculating. "We begin properly tomorrow," she said. "Tonight, you should rest. Real rest, not the exhausted collapse you experienced last night

"What do I do?" Adrian whispered again, his voice barely audible over the pounding of his own heart.Selena studied him carefully, lowering her blade slightly, though she kept her body positioned between Adrian and the door. "That depends on what you actually want," she said quietly. "Not what the bond wants. Not what anger wants. What you want, Adrian."Adrian closed his eyes, searching past the painful pull in his chest, past the fresh fury from learning about Alaric's crimes. Underneath all of it, something steadier remained. A need for answers. A need to look Cassian in the eye and understand exactly how much he knew, how much guilt he actually carried."I want to talk to him," Adrian said finally, opening his eyes. "Not because I forgive him. Because I have questions only he can answer."Selena nodded slowly, respect flickering across her expression. "Then we do this on our terms," she said. "I will remain close. If anything feels wrong, say the word, and this conversation ends i