All Chapters of My Husband’s Brother Is My Mate?!: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The casket pulsed in my hands like a living heart.Gold light leaked through the silver wire and washed over the courtyard stones. Guards stood frozen in a ring around us, torches trembling. Cain knelt on the cobbles with both hands pressed to his chest, his whole body shaking."I can hear him," he whispered. "He is calling me."A crowd had gathered. Servants. Warriors in their night clothes. Elders peering from the colonnade. No one spoke. They watched their Alpha weep on his knees, and I saw in their faces the same disbelief I felt in my own bones."Mother Maren!" I called. "Please!"She was already crossing the yard, leaning on her staff, her silver eyes fixed on the casket. She stopped in front of it and stared for a long moment without touching it."Yes," she said at last. "It is real.""Can you open it?""No." She sighed. "This is Redfang work. A soul-vessel, bound by blood magic. It opens only to two things. The blood of a Redfang chief's line, and the presence of the wolf's ow

I ran.Down the spiral stairs, through the dark halls, past startled guards and flickering torches. My bare feet slapped the stones. My cut palm throbbed. Behind me, I heard Dane's heavy boots and Mara's breathless shouting."Selene! Wait!"I did not wait.The great wolf was a silver blur ahead of me. He ran as though pulled by a rope, never slowing, never turning. He took the cellar steps in two bounds, skidded around the corner into the cell corridor, and slid to a stop.Before a single iron door.I skidded to a halt behind him, panting. The torch on the wall hissed. The wolf stood with his huge head lowered, nose pressed to the bars. His flanks heaved. A soft, high whine escaped him, so unlike the growl in the tower that my heart ached.I knew whose cell it was."Vivienne," I whispered.A rustle came from inside. A small, sleepy voice."Who is there?"A pale face appeared at the bars. Vivienne's hair was tangled. Her eyes were swollen from weeping. She wore the same gray dress she

Pell was seventeen and shaking like a leaf.She sat at the kitchen table of an empty Ashford cottage, wrapped in Bryn's coat, hands clamped around a cup of hot milk. A single lantern burned. The shutters were closed. Outside, the wind rattled the thatch.She was a slight, mousy girl with a smattering of freckles and enormous hazel eyes. Every few seconds she glanced at the door."I did not know," she whispered. "I swear I did not know.""Start at the beginning," I said gently.Mara and Bryn sat on either side of her. Bryn looked like a stern guard dog. Mara kept patting Pell's hand and handing her biscuits."I work in the east wing," Pell said. "I do the lord's rooms. Lord Rhys's. I tidy, I clean the washstand, I change the linens.""When did the man first speak to you?""Three weeks ago. After the battle in the village. I was in the garden hanging sheets. He came up behind me. I did not turn around. He said, 'Do you want to earn ten silver pieces?'""Ten." Mara whistled. "That is a y

They gave us one minute.One minute, under the iron arch of the main gate, in the cold gray light before sunrise. Guards stood ten paces back, spears crossed, looking elsewhere. Mara and Bryn stood a little farther off, Elsie between them. Cain waited by Rhys's horse, with a long bundle in his arms.I stood in front of Rhys with my hands clasped to keep them from shaking.He wore a plain traveling cloak, black, without a clasp. A leather pack hung from his shoulder. His hair was damp from the morning mist. He was looking at me as if he were trying to memorize every line."One year," he said."One year.""I will be back sooner.""You had better.""I will find Venn." His jaw set. "Varek's wolves know every road in the north. Venn cannot hide forever. If he runs, we will follow his tracks. And when we find him, we will make him talk.""About the man with the cane.""About everything."I swallowed. "Rhys...""Do not say anything." He smiled, painfully. "If you say something, I will not be

"I forbid it."Cain's voice cracked across the council hall like a whip.He stood in the great doors in his shirtsleeves, hair wild, eyes blazing silver. Behind him, Mother Maren leaned on her staff, and Dane hovered at her elbow. I clung to the door frame, legs shaking, a shawl wrapped around my shoulders. I had not meant to come. But I could not stay in bed while they voted on my life.Twelve heads turned.Corvin sat at the center of the dais. He rose, slowly, with a pleasant smile."Alpha. We did not expect you.""I am sure you did not." Cain walked down the aisle. His boots rang on the stone. "I am told you are naming a regent.""A formality." Corvin spread his hands. "By the old law, when an Alpha leaves the pack's seat for more than three days, a regent must be named. The Priestess has ordered seven days of seclusion. We would not leave the pack leaderless.""Dane will serve.""Beta Dane has been nominated," Corvin said. "As have I. The council will vote.""I do not recognize th