MARKED FOR PRETEND - Chapter 55: Chapter 55
You are reading MARKED FOR PRETEND, Chapter 55: Chapter 55. Read more chapters of MARKED FOR PRETEND.
The moonlight slid across the floor like silver spilled from a wound.
Kaden sat at the edge of the bed, bare-chested, elbows on his knees, hands hanging still. He hadn’t moved in over an hour.
He hadn’t spoken.
Not since the last outsider bowed to Chelsea like she was something divine. Not since the Flame-marked whispered about gates and gods.
He could feel her across the room. Breathing. Watching.
Alive.
But his wolf still hadn’t settled.
Not really.
⸻
Chelsea stepped closer.
“You’re quiet.”
“I’m thinking.”
“About the war?”
“No.”
His voice came rough. Strained. The kind of voice people leaned forward to catch — not because it was soft, but because it sounded like it was hiding a wound.
She came to stand in front of him, and even then, he didn’t lift his eyes.
“You can talk to me.”
Kaden gave a slow exhale, finally raising his head.
“I thought I’d lost you.”
Not a dramatic statement. Just a quiet, devastating truth.
“Every day you were gone, the bond… it kept thinning. Like a thread unraveling. And I told myself you’d survive, that your magic was enough. But by the fifth day…”
He clenched his jaw.
“It felt like you were dying.”
⸻
Chelsea dropped to her knees in front of him, hands gentle as they reached for his.
He let her touch him.
“I’m here now,” she said softly.
“But for how long?”
His voice cracked.
“They all want something from you. Your power. Your blood. Your name. I see the way they look at you—like they own a piece of you already. But they don’t. I—”
He stopped himself.
She leaned in closer, her voice steady.
“Say it.”
He closed his eyes.
“I love you.”
⸻
The words didn’t echo. They didn’t need to.
They settled in the air like dust catching firelight. Warm. Dangerous. Irrevocable.
Chelsea touched her forehead to his, and he inhaled slowly, like her presence was the only thing keeping his chest from breaking apart.
“Just let me keep you,” he whispered. “Even if it’s just for now. Even if the world tries to take you again.”
Her fingers curled around his.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
And for the first time since Kaelvarin cracked open, Kaden’s wolf quieted.
Not tamed. Not silenced.
Just still — because she was here.
Kaden sat at the edge of the bed, bare-chested, elbows on his knees, hands hanging still. He hadn’t moved in over an hour.
He hadn’t spoken.
Not since the last outsider bowed to Chelsea like she was something divine. Not since the Flame-marked whispered about gates and gods.
He could feel her across the room. Breathing. Watching.
Alive.
But his wolf still hadn’t settled.
Not really.
⸻
Chelsea stepped closer.
“You’re quiet.”
“I’m thinking.”
“About the war?”
“No.”
His voice came rough. Strained. The kind of voice people leaned forward to catch — not because it was soft, but because it sounded like it was hiding a wound.
She came to stand in front of him, and even then, he didn’t lift his eyes.
“You can talk to me.”
Kaden gave a slow exhale, finally raising his head.
“I thought I’d lost you.”
Not a dramatic statement. Just a quiet, devastating truth.
“Every day you were gone, the bond… it kept thinning. Like a thread unraveling. And I told myself you’d survive, that your magic was enough. But by the fifth day…”
He clenched his jaw.
“It felt like you were dying.”
⸻
Chelsea dropped to her knees in front of him, hands gentle as they reached for his.
He let her touch him.
“I’m here now,” she said softly.
“But for how long?”
His voice cracked.
“They all want something from you. Your power. Your blood. Your name. I see the way they look at you—like they own a piece of you already. But they don’t. I—”
He stopped himself.
She leaned in closer, her voice steady.
“Say it.”
He closed his eyes.
“I love you.”
⸻
The words didn’t echo. They didn’t need to.
They settled in the air like dust catching firelight. Warm. Dangerous. Irrevocable.
Chelsea touched her forehead to his, and he inhaled slowly, like her presence was the only thing keeping his chest from breaking apart.
“Just let me keep you,” he whispered. “Even if it’s just for now. Even if the world tries to take you again.”
Her fingers curled around his.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
And for the first time since Kaelvarin cracked open, Kaden’s wolf quieted.
Not tamed. Not silenced.
Just still — because she was here.
End of MARKED FOR PRETEND Chapter 55. Continue reading Chapter 56 or return to MARKED FOR PRETEND book page.