Lahat ng Kabanata ng DESTINED MATE : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

Chapter One: The dream always started with the suffocating scent of wet pine, ozone, and a wave of heat so intense it made my skin prickle with frantic, electric energy.“Time’s up, Layla,” a voice would rumble out of the absolute darkness. It wasn’t a human sound. It was a deep, gravelly vibration that shook the very core of my soul, heavy with an agonizing mixture of fierce desperation and raw authority. “The shadows are closing in on our borders. You must find me as fast as you can. Now... wake up.”I snapped my eyes open, my breathing coming in shallow, ragged gasps.I sat upright in the pitch-black quiet of my tiny basement bedroom, my hands trembling against the thin, frayed cotton sheets. I pressed a palm over my racing heart, trying to ground myself against the echo of that voice. Why did I keep having that same dream? Why did my mind invent a man covered in jagged, brutal scars—a man I didn’t even know, yet whose phantom presence made my chest ache with a terrifyingly famili

Chapter Three: The darkness didn’t bring peace. Instead, the phantom voice from my nightmares echoed louder than ever, vibrating against the very bones of my skull like a distant, frantic warning. _“Wake up, Layla... you’re running out of time...”_A sharp, stabbing ache in my chest dragged me back to consciousness. I didn’t open my eyes immediately. My body felt incredibly heavy, as if lead had been poured directly into my veins, and my throat was completely parched. I was lying in my own bed, back in the cramped, windowless basement room that smelled of damp concrete, old dust, and my own broken dreams.Before I could even muster the strength to sit up, the sound of hushed, urgent voices speaking outside my door made me freeze. It was my father and Hannah."Why did she faint like that, Dad? Has she actually been taking her meds?" Hannah demanded angrily, her footsteps pacing sharply on the floorboards above my ceiling. "The pack shaman said her core temperature was boiling when s

Chapter Five: When the darkness finally receded, the freezing woods were gone.I woke up inside a lavish, warm bedroom, lying in an incredibly plush canopy bed that smelled faintly of expensive cedar and crisp winter mint. A fire crackled warmly in a grand stone hearth across the room. Sitting in a velvet chair beside the bed was a beautiful she-wolf with sharp silver eyes, who smiled softly when she saw me stir."Oh, thank goodness, you're finally awake," she said gently, handing me a warm cup of broth. "I'm Zoe, Alpha Victor's sister. You're safe here in the Ironclaw mansion, Layla. My brother brought you in himself, and he's been beside himself making sure your feet healed properly."Despite Victor's terrifying reputation as a cold-blooded killer, he treated me with a shocking, quiet gentleness over the next few weeks. He provided me with stunning, expensive clothes and, to keep me protected and hidden from my father's reach, he enrolled me in the local pack college under his pers

Chapter Seven: The white light died down, and smoke hung in the air.The three rogues who lunged at me were on the ground, unconscious. Their fur was singed from my wolf’s power. Around the courtyard, every Ironclaw warrior was staring at me like I was a ghost.I wasn’t wolfless anymore. “Layla,” Victor’s voice was rough. He was still on his knees 10 meters away, but the Moon Mirror shard in Hannah’s hand was glowing brighter. Black tendrils were being ripped from his chest again.“Enough,” Hannah laughed, high and cruel. “The little trash dog has tricks. But can she save her mate?”Alpha Elliot stepped forward, his eyes full of disgust. “That’s the Priest blood. Kill her before she fully awakens, or all 13 packs are dead.”Two more executioners broke from the line and charged me. But this time I didn’t freeze. My white wolf howled in my head. I raised my hand without thinking. Another pulse of white light shot out and slammed them into the mansion wall. The stone cracked.Victor

*Chapter Nine: The courtyard was silent. Only the sound of rain hitting stone and three people breathing. Victor was on one knee, black blood still dripping from the wound where the shard had been. Brandon was slumped against a pillar, staring at his hands like he didn’t recognize them. The tug between us was gone. I broke it.Hannah was screaming, clutching the broken pieces of the Moon Mirror. "You ruined it! The curse was supposed to kill one of them!" Alpha Elliot raised his sword. "Then we kill her the old way."Before he could move, Victor stood. Slowly. Painfully. But he stood. His molten gold eyes weren’t on his uncle. They weren’t on Hannah. They were on me.He walked through the blood and smoke until he was right in front of me. Rain ran down his face. He looked wrecked. Cursed. And still the most dangerous man in the room."Enough," Victor said. His voice shook the walls. "This ends now."He turned to the 13 packs watching from the gates. To his own warriors.