All Chapters of Mark Me, Reject Me, Beg Me: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

74 Chapters

CHAPTER 21: Excavations

The northern ritual site team returns three days later.I'm in the library with Asher, helping him sound out words in a picture book about the Moon Goddess, when Kieran appears in the doorway. His expression is carefully neutral, but I've learned to read the tension in his shoulders."They're back." He says simply. "Conference room in ten minutes."I look at Asher, who's completely absorbed in trying to pronounce "celestial.""Buddy, I need to go to a grown-up meeting. Can you stay here with the book? I'll be back soon.""Can I go find Luna Ava instead? She promised to show me the garden.""Sure. But stay with her, okay? Don't wander off."He's already scrambling down from the chair, book forgotten. I watch him dart off, his white and black hair catching the light, before following Kieran to the conference room.The team is assembled when we arrive—Helena, Alpha Chen, Kade, Thorne, and three wolves I don't recognize. They look exhausted, covered in dirt and smelling of earth and old m

Last Updated : 2026-08-29

CHAPTER 22: Tightening the Circle

The message sets off a flurry of emergency protocols.Within an hour, the pack house is on lockdown. Warriors patrol every corridor, magical wards are reinforced, and every entry point is monitored. Kade convenes another emergency meeting, this time with expanded security leadership."The message came from a burner phone, untraceable." Thorne has his laptop open, running tracking software. "Sent from a cell tower near Council headquarters, which means whoever sent it has access to that area.""Ashcroft." Helena's voice is tight. "He knows we're investigating. He's sending a warning.""Or he's fishing for information." Morgan counters. "The message asks how far along she is, like he's not sure. He knows she's pregnant but doesn't have details.""Which means his intelligence is incomplete." Kieran leans forward. "How did he find out about the pregnancy at all?""Pack members know." Kade's jaw is clenched. "Word spreads. All it takes is one wolf with loose lips talking to the wrong perso

Last Updated : 2026-08-30

CHAPTER 23: Grief and Grounding

Luna Vera dies at 3:47 in the morning.I wake to the sound of a mournful howl echoing through the pack house—Kade's wolf, giving voice to grief too big for human form. Within moments, other wolves join him, the ancient tradition of mourning a Luna carrying through the predawn darkness.I slip out of bed, checking on Asher. He's still asleep somehow, the exhaustion of childhood letting him sleep through what's waking the entire pack.The howling continues for exactly one hour, as tradition dictates. When silence finally falls, it's heavy and absolute.I find Kade in his office at dawn, still in the clothes he wore last night, staring out the window at nothing. Kieran sits in one of the chairs, equally silent, a bottle of whiskey on the desk between them.Neither acknowledges my entrance.I pour myself water from the pitcher on the side table and settle into the third chair, giving them space but offering presence.We sit in silence for long minutes."She waited until we were both there

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

CHAPTER 24: Life and Death

The morning of the appointment, I wake before dawn with nerves churning in my stomach.Ten weeks pregnant. Still early enough that anything could go wrong. Still fragile enough that I'm terrified of what the ultrasound might show.Or not show.I've been so focused on external threats—the Covenant, Ashcroft, Council politics—that I haven't let myself fully acknowledge the vulnerability of early pregnancy. The statistics about miscarriage in the first trimester. The ways bodies can fail even when you want something desperately.My hand presses to my still-flat stomach. "Please be okay in there. Please."Asher is still asleep when I slip out for a shower. The hot water helps calm my nerves marginally, but I'm still jittery as I dress in comfortable clothes suitable for an ultrasound—loose pants, a simple shirt that pulls up easily.Margot insisted I eat before the appointment, so I force down toast and tea, though my stomach protests.Kade appears at eight-thirty, looking exhausted but d

Last Updated : 2026-08-31

CHAPTER 25: Revelations

The next morning, I wake to find Asher already up, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the sitting room with his ultrasound photos spread out in front of him.My heart stops."Asher, where did you get those?""They were on the table." He looks up, eyes wide with curiosity. "Mama, what are these pictures? They look weird."I should have put them away. Should have hidden them until we were ready to have this conversation. But exhaustion from the funeral had me collapse into bed without thinking, leaving the photos where Kade set them down last night.Too late now.I settle onto the floor beside him, taking a steadying breath."Those are special pictures from my doctor appointment yesterday. They're called ultrasound photos.""What are they pictures of?" He traces the grainy image with one small finger.No point delaying now. He's asking. We're doing this."They're pictures of a baby, sweetheart. A baby that's growing in Mama's belly."Asher's eyes go huge. "You have a baby in your bell

Last Updated : 2026-09-01

CHAPTER 26: Sanctuary

We leave at sunset.It feels wrong—leaving Blackthorn Pack the night before the Council revelation. Like I’m abandoning the fight at its most crucial moment.But logic wins over pride.If Ashcroft makes a desperate move when the evidence is revealed tomorrow, I don’t want Asher anywhere near it.The convoy arrives exactly on schedule—three matte-black SUVs and one armored transport from the Alpha King’s compound. The vehicles look less intimidating than they did the first time I saw them. Maybe because I’m not arriving broken and desperate this time.I’m arriving by choice.Asher is thrilled.“Are we going on another adventure?” he asks as I buckle him into the backseat.“Short one,” I answer. “Two nights. Then we come home.”Home.The word doesn’t hurt anymore.Kade stands outside the vehicle, jaw tight, watching the Alpha King’s guards with open distrust. He kneels beside Asher’s window.“I’ll call you tomorrow morning, okay?”“Okay.” Asher grins. “Can you work on the fort without m

Last Updated : 2026-09-03

CHAPTER 27: Eclipse

The sky shouldn’t look like that.It’s mid-morning, clear skies, bright sun—and yet above the Alpha King’s compound a black disc is swallowing the light, slow and deliberate.An eclipse.But not the natural kind.The air hums.Magic vibrates through the stone walls, deep and wrong, like something ancient pressing against a barrier.“Mama?” Asher’s small voice trembles. “Is the sun broken?”I drop to my knees in front of him, forcing calm into my expression even though my heart is slamming against my ribs.“No, baby. It’s not broken. It’s… someone playing tricks with the sky.”“Bad tricks?”“Yes.”Thorne steps closer, his face grim. “We need to move. Safe room protocol, now.”“No.” I stand. “Safe rooms are containment, not protection. If this is Covenant-level magic, they’re not going to bother with small attacks. They’re here for something bigger.”“For you,” Thorne says quietly.The intercom crackles again.“Isla.” Alaric’s voice, sharper than I’ve ever heard it. “Report to the comma

Last Updated : 2026-09-03

CHAPTER 28: Fracture Point

The ground stops shaking.The eclipse tears apart like burning paper and the sky snaps back to blue, too bright after the unnatural dark. For one suspended second, everything is still.Then the screaming starts.Covenant operatives collapse across the field, some writhing, some unconscious. The sigil carved into the earth splinters into cracked lines of dead magic.Lilith is gone.Not dead.Gone.I’m still standing in the center of the broken ritual circle, but my knees feel hollow. Silver light bleeds from my skin in faint threads, flickering like a dying flame.Then the pain hits.Sharp. Deep. Wrong.My hand flies to my stomach.Blood.Just a thin line beneath my palm.But enough.“No,” I whisper.Kade is at my side before I fall.He catches me as my legs give out, lowering us both to the ground.“You’re bleeding.” His voice is tight with panic.“I know.”Morgan slides in beside us, already assessing. “It’s not heavy. Stay still. Don’t shift. Don’t channel.”Channel.Right.I force

Last Updated : 2026-09-03

CHAPTER 29: Control

The compound does not sleep.Neither do I.By dawn, the war room is still lit, still buzzing with analysis and repositioning. The Covenant retreat left behind more than cracked earth and residual magic.It left intent.Morgan stands over the holographic projection of the region surrounding the compound. Five red pulses blink in a slow rhythm.“Secondary anchors are stable,” she says. “They’re not active yet, but they’re primed. Each one is feeding faint energy into a larger unseen pattern.”“Which means what?” Kade asks.“It means Eclipse was phase one.” Morgan glances at me. “They weren’t attempting ascension. They were mapping response variables.”“They stress-tested divine blood under eclipse pressure,” Thorne translates quietly. “Measured reaction strength, anchoring capacity, resilience under pregnancy strain.”I cross my arms tightly over my chest.“So next time,” Kieran says, “they won’t test. They’ll calculate.”“Yes,” Morgan confirms. “And they’ll design around what they obse

Last Updated : 2026-09-03

CHAPTER 30: The Leak

The first sign isn’t magical.It’s logistical.Morgan is the one who notices.She storms into the training chamber just as I finish another controlled anchoring exercise. Sweat drips down my spine, but for the first time since Eclipse, the silver current feels contained rather than volatile.“We have a breach,” she says without preamble.My heart rate spikes. “Another ritual node?”“No. Internal.”That’s worse.Kade appears seconds later, Kieran behind him.“Three hours ago,” Morgan continues, “we fed three different versions of tomorrow’s patrol route to three different officer clusters.”Thorne steps into the room, already holding a tablet.“And exactly one of those routes was intercepted by Covenant scouts.”The air goes cold.“Which one?” I ask.“The version given to the inner perimeter security captains.”“Names,” Kade demands.Thorne lists them. Five captains. All long-serving pack wolves. Trusted.“You’re sure it wasn’t coincidence?” Kieran asks.“We changed the route five minu

Last Updated : 2026-09-04

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