MARKED FOR PRETEND - Chapter 31: Chapter 31
You are reading MARKED FOR PRETEND, Chapter 31: Chapter 31. Read more chapters of MARKED FOR PRETEND.
Kael wouldn’t shut up, he was pacing inside him again.
Not quietly. Not in the background like he used to. This time, the wolf snarled, clawed, begged for her.
For years, silence. Not a whisper, not even a growl. The wolf had buried himself so deep, Kaden almost believed the rumors—that he’d gone feral. That he’d lost his wolf entirely.
But now?
Now Kael wouldn’t shut up.
She’s close,” Kael growled. “And you’re wasting it. Again.”
She’s awake. She’s changed. Go to her.
Smell her skin. Touch her. Take her.
She’s ours.
Kaden stood in the center of his war room, fists clenched at his sides, breathing hard. His control was a thread. A fraying one.
He’d locked the door behind him an hour ago and still hadn’t sat down. His palms ached from how hard he’d gripped the desk, his teeth sore from the tension in his jaw.
His veins burned with the bond. It wasn’t gentle anymore. It was savage.
He had felt bonds before—fleeting, quiet connections that faded with time or rejection. But this?
This was devouring.
A second heartbeat. A second scent. A second self that wasn’t him, but was.
And it throbbed whenever she was near.
" Chelsea". The girl he should have walked away from. The girl he never should’ve marked.
The girl whose scent now wrapped around him like a snare, sweet and wild and awakened.
Kael surged again, pressing against his mind like claws against glass.
She’s not a girl anymore, Kael said, voice vibrating through him. She’s power. She’s memory. She’s ours.Touch her. Touch her or I will.
Kaden slammed a fist against the wall. “You will do nothing unless I say so.”
You’ve said nothing for years. Look where that got us.
That shut him up. For all of five seconds.
The air was thick tonight, charged. The kind of stillness that came before lightning split the sky. Even the guards had started glancing over their shoulders. Wolves were restless. The bond—that bond—was no longer a whisper.
It was a scream under his skin.
It tugged. It ached.
And every time she walked past him in the halls with those wide, wary eyes, his self-control bled thinner. He didn’t sleep. He barely ate. And his scent—his damn scent—was all over her room.
He knew because he’d stood outside it last night.
Stood and stared at the door like a man seconds from burning down his own house just to feel the heat.
It wasn’t just instinct anymore.
It was Chelsea.
And the truth he’d run from since that night in the library was now clawing through him like Kael himself.
You said you couldn’t love her, Kael growled. Liar.
He swallowed hard. His gaze drifted to the window, and gods help him, he looked.
There she was.
The balcony doors to her chambers were cracked open, and there she stood—bathed in moonlight like it worshipped her. Her hair tangled from sleep, her nightgown too thin to be decent, and gods help him—
She was glowing.
Faint, like the embers of something divine burning under her skin. Lit like moonfire beneath her skin. Alive in a way she never had been before
His knees nearly buckled
Kaden’s lungs forgot how to breathe.
Kael didn’t growl this time. He purred.
Go to her. Before someone else does.
Touch her, Kael whispered, Touch her or I will. You’ve kept me caged for too long, Kaden. You made me disappear after her. I won’t vanish again.
And Kaden remembered.
The moment Kael went quiet.
Years ago.
Another girl. Another betrayal. Another broken vow.
That night, Kaden had buried his wolf in grief.
And now?
Now Kael wanted revenge.
Not on her.
On him—for keeping them both from what was theirs.
He tried to look away. Tried to lock the door. Tried to drown himself in anything but her.
But the bond pulled harder. Her name echoed like a curse in his throat.
Kaden’s heart kicked like a beast behind his ribs. When she stepped back inside, the light from her room lit up her silhouette—and Kaden snapped.
He was at her door before he realized it.
His hand was already on the door handle before his mind caught up.
The hallway was quiet. Her scent pulled him like a rope around his ribs.
He walked.
Each step heavier. Slower. He could hear his blood now.
Then—
Her door.
He didn’t raise his hand immediately.
Kael pushed at the surface, not roughly—but with need.
She’s waiting.
Kaden’s fist curled, his hand hovered near the wood, fingers flexing like they didn’t belong to him.
Kael surged beneath his skin. Claim her. Show her she was never meant for anyone else.
Kaden closed his eyes.
He couldn’t touch her.
If he touched her… he wouldn’t stop.
You think you’re protecting her by staying away? Kael snarled. No. You’re punishing us both.
And then—he knocked.
Just once,not twice.
A single, solid thud. A command. A plea. A warning.
Hard enough for her to hear it.
Soft enough to let her choose if she wanted to open it.
She was on the other side. He could hear her heartbeat—wild, uncertain.
So was his.
Mine, Kael whispered, low and reverent.
Not quietly. Not in the background like he used to. This time, the wolf snarled, clawed, begged for her.
For years, silence. Not a whisper, not even a growl. The wolf had buried himself so deep, Kaden almost believed the rumors—that he’d gone feral. That he’d lost his wolf entirely.
But now?
Now Kael wouldn’t shut up.
She’s close,” Kael growled. “And you’re wasting it. Again.”
She’s awake. She’s changed. Go to her.
Smell her skin. Touch her. Take her.
She’s ours.
Kaden stood in the center of his war room, fists clenched at his sides, breathing hard. His control was a thread. A fraying one.
He’d locked the door behind him an hour ago and still hadn’t sat down. His palms ached from how hard he’d gripped the desk, his teeth sore from the tension in his jaw.
His veins burned with the bond. It wasn’t gentle anymore. It was savage.
He had felt bonds before—fleeting, quiet connections that faded with time or rejection. But this?
This was devouring.
A second heartbeat. A second scent. A second self that wasn’t him, but was.
And it throbbed whenever she was near.
" Chelsea". The girl he should have walked away from. The girl he never should’ve marked.
The girl whose scent now wrapped around him like a snare, sweet and wild and awakened.
Kael surged again, pressing against his mind like claws against glass.
She’s not a girl anymore, Kael said, voice vibrating through him. She’s power. She’s memory. She’s ours.Touch her. Touch her or I will.
Kaden slammed a fist against the wall. “You will do nothing unless I say so.”
You’ve said nothing for years. Look where that got us.
That shut him up. For all of five seconds.
The air was thick tonight, charged. The kind of stillness that came before lightning split the sky. Even the guards had started glancing over their shoulders. Wolves were restless. The bond—that bond—was no longer a whisper.
It was a scream under his skin.
It tugged. It ached.
And every time she walked past him in the halls with those wide, wary eyes, his self-control bled thinner. He didn’t sleep. He barely ate. And his scent—his damn scent—was all over her room.
He knew because he’d stood outside it last night.
Stood and stared at the door like a man seconds from burning down his own house just to feel the heat.
It wasn’t just instinct anymore.
It was Chelsea.
And the truth he’d run from since that night in the library was now clawing through him like Kael himself.
You said you couldn’t love her, Kael growled. Liar.
He swallowed hard. His gaze drifted to the window, and gods help him, he looked.
There she was.
The balcony doors to her chambers were cracked open, and there she stood—bathed in moonlight like it worshipped her. Her hair tangled from sleep, her nightgown too thin to be decent, and gods help him—
She was glowing.
Faint, like the embers of something divine burning under her skin. Lit like moonfire beneath her skin. Alive in a way she never had been before
His knees nearly buckled
Kaden’s lungs forgot how to breathe.
Kael didn’t growl this time. He purred.
Go to her. Before someone else does.
Touch her, Kael whispered, Touch her or I will. You’ve kept me caged for too long, Kaden. You made me disappear after her. I won’t vanish again.
And Kaden remembered.
The moment Kael went quiet.
Years ago.
Another girl. Another betrayal. Another broken vow.
That night, Kaden had buried his wolf in grief.
And now?
Now Kael wanted revenge.
Not on her.
On him—for keeping them both from what was theirs.
He tried to look away. Tried to lock the door. Tried to drown himself in anything but her.
But the bond pulled harder. Her name echoed like a curse in his throat.
Kaden’s heart kicked like a beast behind his ribs. When she stepped back inside, the light from her room lit up her silhouette—and Kaden snapped.
He was at her door before he realized it.
His hand was already on the door handle before his mind caught up.
The hallway was quiet. Her scent pulled him like a rope around his ribs.
He walked.
Each step heavier. Slower. He could hear his blood now.
Then—
Her door.
He didn’t raise his hand immediately.
Kael pushed at the surface, not roughly—but with need.
She’s waiting.
Kaden’s fist curled, his hand hovered near the wood, fingers flexing like they didn’t belong to him.
Kael surged beneath his skin. Claim her. Show her she was never meant for anyone else.
Kaden closed his eyes.
He couldn’t touch her.
If he touched her… he wouldn’t stop.
You think you’re protecting her by staying away? Kael snarled. No. You’re punishing us both.
And then—he knocked.
Just once,not twice.
A single, solid thud. A command. A plea. A warning.
Hard enough for her to hear it.
Soft enough to let her choose if she wanted to open it.
She was on the other side. He could hear her heartbeat—wild, uncertain.
So was his.
Mine, Kael whispered, low and reverent.
End of MARKED FOR PRETEND Chapter 31. Continue reading Chapter 32 or return to MARKED FOR PRETEND book page.