บททั้งหมดของ Too Late, My Mates : บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

The bells rang at dusk, and my heart sank before I knew why.Nobody rings the Silverfang gate bells for small things. I was in the east hall hanging banners for the Moon Festival, something I still did myself after three years as Luna. Then the mate bonds pulled tight in my chest, one, two, three, all in a panic. Kael. Dorian. Ronan. They were running to the gate.Sable? I asked my wolf.Her, she growled. Something about her is wrong.I dropped the banner and ran.The courtyard was packed. Warriors, elders, even the pups stood in a ring, and in the middle of it was a woman in a white cloak. She had long gold hair and soft grey eyes, and she looked like she had never been hurt a day in her life. I knew her from the portrait Kael kept hidden in his study.Isolde Marrow. The first love. The one who vanished five years ago, the night before her mating ceremony with all three of them."Kael," she whispered, and her voice cracked. "I'm home."I watched the Alpha of Silverfang, a man who onc

The lower cells were just as cold as I remembered.I had only been down here once, years ago, when a rogue wolf was held for a night. I remember thinking how dark it was, and how I would never wish it on anyone. Now the iron door slammed behind me, and the sound went through my bones."Wait!" I grabbed the bars. "How long?"The guards did not answer. Their boots echoed up the stairs, and then there was only the drip of water somewhere in the dark.I sat down on the stone bench and pulled my knees to my chest. The cell was tiny. A thin blanket, a drain in the floor, and one small window high up, no bigger than my hand. Through it I could see a single square of grey sky.I waited to cry. I thought the tears would come, since everything inside me felt too full to hold. But all I felt was a strange, heavy quiet. Three years of marriage, and he had not even asked me what happened. He had only asked me to swear it, and when I swore, he did not believe me.Sable, I whispered. Am I a fool?No

The Moon Festival began at dusk.Lanterns hung from every tree in the courtyard. Long tables were piled with roasted meat and honey bread. The pack laughed and sang, and children ran between the legs of the warriors with ribbons in their hair. It was the happiest night of the year in Silverfang.I stood at the back of the crowd in a plain grey servant's dress, holding a tray of cups. Nobody looked at me. A few women turned away when I passed, as if my shame might be catching.My hand rested against the small silver key hidden in my sleeve. Hazel had slipped me a bag of bread and dried meat that morning, and I had tucked it under the floorboards of my room. I had everything I needed. I was only waiting for one thing.Are you sure? Sable asked quietly.I have never been more sure.Then I am ready. A pause. I have been ready for a long time.At moonrise, the drums began.The crowd went silent. At the top of the Moon Altar, a tall white stone platform at the center of the courtyard, Kael

I woke up warm for the first time in two days.The healer, Odette, sat beside my bed with a cup of milk. "Both heartbeats are strong," she said. "Your wolf shielded them. You must not shift again until they are born."I let out a breath that shook my whole body. Then I cried, and she let me.Cassian was waiting in the stone room down the hall. He did not waste words. He set a black arrow on the table between us. Silver fletching. A white feather below the head."It killed the rogue before he could name his master," he said. "Do you know it?"My stomach dropped. "It belongs to the Alpha's guard. Twelve men. Kael chose each one himself.""Then someone in your pack house followed you into the woods." His blue eyes held mine. "Wren, you are safe here. No debts, no bargains. Stay as long as you need."I stared at him. Three days ago, a man had made me promises in a warm voice, and I had believed every one."Why?" I asked."Because I watched a woman walk out of a pack with blood on her face

Cassian did not want me on the wall."She wants you to show your face," he said. "That is the whole point of this.""Then I will show it.""Wren.""If I hide, every wolf at that border will think she is telling the truth." I pulled his fur cloak tighter around my shoulders. "I am not hiding anymore."He looked at me for a long moment. Then he sighed and held out his arm."Stay behind the shield wall," he said. "And if I say down, you go down.""Agreed.""You are lying.""A little."His mouth twitched, almost a smile. It was gone in a heartbeat.We climbed the stairs together. Behind us came Kael, Dorian, and Ronan, pale and silent, with two Frostveil guards watching their every step.The sight from the wall made my stomach drop.Three hundred warriors stood in perfect ranks across the snowy plain, torches burning against the grey dusk. The banners of Silverfang snapped in the wind, black wolf on silver. At the center of the line waited the white carriage, its silver curtains drawn.In