All Chapters of THE ALPHA'S FORBIDDEN MATE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The snow was falling harder now.Fat, wet flakes that clung to my eyelashes and melted against my skin. The wind bit through my cloak like a thousand tiny needles. I pulled Draven's arm tighter around my shoulder and kept walking.He was heavy. Dead weight. His feet dragged through the snow, leaving two long trenches behind us. His breathing was shallow. His skin was cold—too cold."Draven," I said. "Talk to me."He didn't answer."Draven. Wake up."His eyelids fluttered. A sliver of gray. "Sera...""I'm here. Keep talking. Tell me something. Anything."He coughed. A wet, rattling sound. "Cold.""I know. We're almost there.""Almost where?"I didn't have an answer. There was nowhere to go. The cave was behind us. The fortress was miles away. And Kaelen's wolves were out there, somewhere, tracking us through the snow.But I couldn't stop. If I stopped, we'd freeze. If I froze, we'd die.So I kept walking.---The forest opened into a clearing.I nearly collapsed with relief. A cabin. S

He pulled his hand away. It was a small movement. Subtle. He didn't even seem to notice he'd done it. But I noticed. I noticed everything now. Every micro-shift in his expression. Every flicker of his gaze. Every tiny withdrawal that told me what I didn't want to know. He didn't remember. He looked at me with those steel-gray eyes—the good one, the one that still worked—and there was nothing behind it. No warmth. No recognition. Just... emptiness. A careful, polite emptiness, like I was a stranger he'd just met. "Where are we?" he asked. His voice was steady. Professional. The voice of an Alpha, not a mate. "The mountains," I said. "A cave. Selene's cave. She's a healer. She saved you." He nodded slowly. "The wolfsbane. I remember that. I remember getting stabbed." He paused. "Everything after that is blurry." "That's normal. You've been out for a while." He looked around the cave. At the glowing crystals. At the altar. At the shadows where Selene had disappeared. "Selene,"

The first wolf died before he knew I was there.My blade punched through his throat—quick, clean, silent. He crumpled to the snow, his eyes still open, still surprised. I didn't stop to watch him fall. I was already moving, already spinning toward the next one.They came at me in a wave. Gray fur and snapping jaws, their breath steaming in the cold air. I ducked under a set of claws, drove my elbow into a snout, felt teeth graze my arm. The pain was distant. Muffled. Like it was happening to someone else.Draven was beside me. His movements were slower than before—the wolfsbane had taken more out of him than he'd admitted—but he was still fighting. Still standing. Still protecting my flank.A wolf lunged at him. He caught it mid-air, his claws sinking into its belly. It yelped, a high, keening sound, and went limp."Behind you!" Finn shouted.I spun. A massive black wolf was charging at me, its eyes blazing with fury. I didn't have time to dodge. I didn't have time to think.I just ra

I woke up to sunlight.It streamed through the window, warm and golden, painting stripes across the stone floor. The fire had burned down to embers, glowing softly in the hearth. The room smelled like wood smoke and dried herbs and something else—something that smelled like home.I rolled over. Draven was beside me, still asleep. His dark hair was mussed, falling across his scarred face. His breathing was slow and even. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.I watched him for a long moment.He looked younger when he slept. Softer. The weight of leadership, of war, of a thousand years of pain—all of it faded away, leaving just him. Just the man I'd fallen in love with.I reached out. Brushed a strand of hair from his face.His eye fluttered open. Blinked. Focused on me."Morning," I said.He smiled. A slow, lazy, beautiful smile."Morning, Luna."I felt my heart flutter. "You're in a good mood.""Shouldn't I be? I just married the most beautiful, fierce, incredible woman in the wo

The creature disappeared. One moment, it stood in the center of the blue flames. The next, there was nothing but fire. I stared at the mountain peak, unable to move. The words remained in my mind. The doors are open. The things that were locked in the dark are crossing over. And worst of all— The war isn't over. Draven stepped beside me. His shoulder brushed mine. "What did it say?" I swallowed. "That Kaelen broke the balance." Draven's jaw tightened. "Kaelen is dead." "I know." "Then whatever balance he broke died with him." I looked at the blue fire. "No." The word came out before I could stop it. Draven turned toward me. "No?" I shook my head slowly. "Kaelen didn't create that fire." The flames twisted violently. "They were already here." A low growl came from Orion. "I don't like the sound of that." Finn raised his sword. "Neither do I." The warriors around us shifted uneasily. Nobody spoke. Then the fire changed. The blue flames suddenly turned