The Mate They Tried To Bury의 모든 챕터: 챕터 21 - 챕터 30

AUTHOR’S POV "She ruined it!"Sera burst through the oak doors of the drawing room. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. She clutched a fistful of tangled silver and shattered diamonds against her chest.Rowan dropped his glass of brandy. The amber liquid spilled across the Persian rug. Callum shot up from his leather armchair, his alpha instincts flaring instantly.Sitting by the crackling fire, King Valerius did not move. He watched the performance unfold with cold, calculating eyes."What happened?" Callum rushed forward. He wrapped an arm around Sera's shaking shoulders.Opening her palm, Sera revealed the royal gift. The diamond necklace Valerius presented to her yesterday lay in ruins. The thick silver chain was snapped in multiple places. Several diamond settings were crushed flat."I caught her in the garden," Sera sobbed, burying her face into Callum's shoulder. "Marie stole it from my vanity. When I chased her outside, she threw it onto the cobblestones and smashed it wi

MARIE"You are not leaving this estate. That is my final word."Callum’s voice echoed sharply against the stone walls of the narrow corridor as he intercepted me later that day just before my work ended. He stepped directly into my path, forcing me to stop. Behind him, two large estate guards stood at attention, their hands resting heavily on their sword hilts.Adjusting the strap of my canvas bag, I looked my brother in the eye. "My debt to Isolde is paid in full. Her fever broke yesterday. Pack law grants any unmarried female the right to leave if she holds no official title.""Pack law also grants the acting Alpha the right to detain a flight risk," Callum shot back. His jaw clenched so tight the muscle jumped beneath his skin. He did not sound angry. He sounded desperate, though he covered it with a thick layer of authority.Turning his head, Callum glared at the two guards."Post men at the front iron gates and the garden walls," he ordered roughly. "Alert the border patrols. If

AUTHOR’S POV"He knows."Sera paced the length of her private bathroom. Her silk slippers slapped softly against the marble tiles. Panic clamped around her throat, tight and suffocating. Valerius did not look at her with pity during the necklace incident. He looked at her with clinical, terrifying disgust.Thinking about that cold stare made her stomach twist. Crying worked on Callum. Whining worked on Rowan. But the Lycan King demanded facts. He saw right through her carefully constructed victim act. If he kept watching Marie, if he kept digging into the past, Sera’s entire future would burn to ash.She needed a permanent solution.Stopping in front of her vanity mirror, Sera stared at her own pale reflection. Marie could not just be pushed away anymore. The King forbade the mating contract. He trapped Marie inside the estate. Therefore, Marie had to disappear in a way nobody could question. A tragic accident. A sudden illness.Reaching under her sink, Sera pulled out a small wooden

MARIE"What are you doing in here?"Callum’s voice snapped through the cold air of the estate quartermaster’s storage room. He stood in the doorway, blocking the only exit. A flickering oil lamp hung from the ceiling, casting harsh shadows across his broad shoulders.My fingers froze. Tucked behind my back, a small leather waterskin and a steel flint pressed against my spine."Looking for lye," I answered smoothly. My voice gave nothing away. I kept my chin level, refusing to break eye contact.Callum stepped into the cramped room. He smelled of rain and wet leather, fresh off a border patrol. Narrowing his dark eyes, he scanned the wooden shelves surrounding me. Jars of preserved fruit, stacks of rough linens, and iron tools filled the tight space. It was not a place a maid usually visited past dusk."The lye is kept in the scullery," Callum stated. He took another step forward. His boots crunched over spilled grains of wheat. "Try again, Marie. What are you actually hiding in here?"

AUTHOR’S POV"Breathe," Valerius murmured against her lips.Shock anchored Marie’s feet to the hardwood floor. His mouth felt scorching hot, creating a violent contrast against the freezing rainwater dripping from her wool cloak. Survival instincts screamed at her to push him away. Striking the Lycan King, or even rejecting him so brutally, usually earned a swift execution. But as his large hand cradled the back of her head, locking her firmly in place, the urge to flee simply evaporated.He did not kiss her like a fragile glass doll. He kissed her like a starving man finding a feast.Her hands came up, pressing flat against his solid chest. She meant to shove him backward. She needed to shove him backward. Instead, her freezing fingers curled into the dark fabric of his shirt. A quiet, desperate sound vibrated in her throat.Two years inside a silver cage left her starved for basic human contact. Guards only touched her to inflict pain. Callum only grabbed her to enforce his will. Sh