All Chapters of Marked and Cast Out, She Came Back Untouchable : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Sable's POVTwo guards broke from the crowd immediately, moving fast toward the lower levels, and the rest of the courtyard seemed to exhale collectively once they'd gone, the tension didn't actually ease. If anything, it thickened, every eye still fixed on the space between me and Alaric like the whole pack was waiting to see what happened next.He hadn't moved any closer since giving that order. He just stood there, staring at me, and I realized slowly that whatever he was seeing when he looked at me wasn't quite matching up with something in his head.His eyes moved over me, taking in details one at a time like he was building a picture piece by piece and none of the pieces fit right. My clothes, practical leathers instead of the plain dress I'd worn that night. My stance, steadier now, weight settled evenly instead of the hunched, apologetic posture I carried my whole life at Reva's house. My face, thinner maybe, harder in ways that hadn't been there before."Alaric," Corwin's abs

Sable's POVAlaric didn't have a chance to respond before the crowd's attention shifted, murmurs rippling outward toward the courtyard entrance, where someone new had just arrived.That same instinctive tightening in my chest that Yarrow had warned me about, some raw awareness that had nothing to do with the mark and everything to do with recognizing a threat before my eyes even confirmed it.Ophelia moved through the parting crowd with practiced grace, her expression composed, elegant, exactly the picture of a future Luna everyone had described to me weeks ago at the Hollow. Then her eyes landed on me, and for one unguarded second, the color drained from her face completely.It was brief, barely a flicker, gone almost as fast as it appeared. But I saw it, and judging by the way Alaric's gaze cut sharply toward her, he saw it too."Alaric," she said, her voice smooth despite whatever had just crossed her expression. "I wasn't told we had guests.""This isn't a guest," Alaric said, his

Sable's POV"What message?" I asked."Tell Halric exactly what I told you. Payment records, the Rourke seal, Bern's forged evidence. He's the one who found the reference to your bloodline in the first place, he'll understand the weight of it immediately." Corwin's voice stayed low, urgent. "He's got the authority to call an emergency council session if he believes the evidence is credible enough.""And if Ophelia finds out before I reach him?""Then we've already lost whatever advantage surprise gives us." Corwin's grip on the bars tightened further. "You need to move fast, and quietly. Don't let her see you approach the Elders' quarters directly."Alaric had gone very still beside me, his jaw tight, something working hard behind his exhausted expression."I should be the one delivering this," he said."She's watching you closer than anyone else right now," Corwin said. "If you go straight to Halric, she'll know something's wrong immediately. Sable's less predictable to her. Use that.

Sable's POVI didn't answer him immediately. I couldn't, with his hand hovering that close, my whole chest caught somewhere between wanting him to touch it and wanting to shove him back across the room."Don't," I said, though the word came out weaker than I meant it.He didn't listen. Or maybe he heard something else in my voice, something underneath the warning that told him to keep going. His fingers brushed the mark, barely there.The room went white for a second.Not literally, but close enough that my knees buckled and I grabbed the edge of the bed to keep from going down. Warmth shot through my chest, nothing like the dull ache I carried around for weeks. It felt like something long asleep had just opened its eyes.Alaric made a sound low in his throat, something between a gasp and a groan, his own hand jerking back like he touched fire."What was that," I said, my voice unsteady, my hand pressed flat against my own collarbone now, trying to hold whatever had just happened insi

Sable's POVWord of the poisoning didn't stay contained for long. Yarrow insisted on reporting it straight to Halric, and within an hour, half the pack seemed to know their Alpha's rejected mate had nearly died from tainted stew inside the very walls meant to be watching over her now.Alaric came storming into the guest chamber before I even finished drinking the tea Yarrow had brewed to settle my stomach."Tell me everything," he said, dropping into the chair across from me, his face pale with something closer to fear than anger.I told him. The bitterness. The dizziness. Yarrow confirming wolfsbane in a dose too precise to be accidental. He listened, jaw tightening with every detail, and by the time I finished, his hands had curled into fists against his knees."This ends today," he said. "I'm calling the council session Halric's been postponing. Now. Whatever excuses have been holding it up, they stop mattering after this."He left fast, and word spread even faster after that, wolv