All Chapters of Loving The Enemy Alpha : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Mollie’s POV"Kaelen!" I cried out again, pressing my body tight against the cold iron bars of the inner cell door.My voice echoed down the stone corridor, bouncing off the damp walls, but the figure sitting on the rot-scented floor did not even flinch. He sat in the center of the gloom, his wrists bound by thick silver cuffs that burned red against his pale skin, his head hanging low between his knees."Kaelen, please look at me," I sobbed, reaching my right hand through the narrow gap between the bars, stretching my fingers until my wrist scraped raw against the rusted iron edge. "It is me. It is Mollie. We came to get you out."Slowly, his shoulders shifted. The heavy iron chains rattled against the flagstones with a dark, hollow sound that made my chest tighten. He lifted his head, turning his face toward the thin beam of light coming from my torch.My breath caught in my throat, a knot of absolute horror locking in my chest.His eyes, which had always been a warm, bright hazel l

Mollie’s POVI gripped the cold leather hilts of my daggers until my knuckles turned stark white, stepping up until my left shoulder pressed firmly against Brian's side. The wet fabric of his tunic felt heavy and slick where he leaned into me, his body burning with a harsh, feverish heat that made my heart race with pure terror. Rain pelted down through the pine canopy in heavy, freezing drops, but the air in the clearing felt suffocating, thick with the sharp tang of copper blood and the heavy stench of wet horse leather."Did you really think you could sneak into my fortress, slaughter my guard posts, and walk across my border like night thieves?" Arthur asked, his voice cutting through the steady roar of the storm like a rusted blade.He nudged his massive black warhorse forward two slow, deliberate paces, the iron shoes crushing fallen branches and pine needles with a heavy, sickening crunch. Behind him, thirty armored soldiers closed the semicircle around our small group, their s

Mollie’s POV"Kaelen!" I screamed again, reaching my arms out into the empty rain as the thick pine branches snapped shut behind my brother's retreating shadow."Mollie, leave him!" Brian barked, his voice choked with blood and mud as he grabbed my belt from behind, pulling me back into the shelter of the massive granite boulder. "Arthur’s cavalry is turning down the ridge! If we chase him into those woods right now, we all die in the dark!""He is out there alone, Brian!" I sobbed, twisting in his grip as the tears mixed with the freezing water pouring down my face. "He doesn't know where he is! He doesn't even know who he is!""We cannot save him if we are dead!" Brian yelled back, coughing violently as he clamped his left hand back over his gushing ribs. "Help me with Julian! Grab his legs!"I forced my eyes away from the pitch-black tree line, wiping the water from my face with a trembling hand as I dropped down beside Julian’s motionless body. The three heavy black arrows were st

Mollie’s POVI stepped past Brian into the silent chamber, my boots crunching softly over the splintered oak remnants of the door. The heavy linen curtains were pulled tight across the tall windows, casting the spacious room into a dim, shadow-filled gloom. The grand four-poster bed sat tucked against the far wall, its heavy velvet covers thrown back to reveal a crisp white sheet that held no body, no warmth, and no imprint of a sleeping form."Mother?" Brian called out, his voice sharp and laced with a growing panic as he rushed to the side of the empty bed, pressing his palm flat against the mattress. "She is gone, Mollie. The sheets are completely cold."I didn't answer right away, my gaze dropping to the dark hardwood floorboards near the center of the room. A strange, metallic smell hung heavy in the stagnant air, mixing with the sharp odor of burnt ash and ozone. Etched deep into the polished grain of the floor was a massive, circular pattern of scorched sigils, the dark wood st

Mollie’s POV"She was here," I whispered, reaching out to touch the soft white puddle pooling around the base of the tallest silver candle.The wax gave way beneath my index finger, warm and slick against my skin, leaving a deep imprint. My pulse hammered violently against my ribs as I looked up at the massive granite altar, the carved serpents seeming to twist under the weak yellow glow of my brass lantern."Mollie, do not touch anything else on that table," Brian commanded, his voice tight and raspy as he grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand away from the melting wax."Brian, look at these pages," I said, pointing my lantern beam toward an open, iron-bound tome resting right beside the stone bowl.I leaned closer, my eyes skimming the jagged red ink scribbled across the thick parchment pages. "These are bloodline rituals, Brian. Look at the diagrams drawn along the margins. They bind the life force of an ancient royal line directly to another pack's throne.""I don't care what is writt