MARKED FOR PRETEND - Chapter 56: Chapter 56

The gathering was meant to be peaceful.
A ceremonial offering. A formal welcome. A table shared by witches, wolves, and outsiders all for the sake of “diplomacy.”
But Chelsea felt it in her bones before the first cup was lifted.
Something was off.
The flicker of a rune.
The gleam of silver dust in a pitcher.
The way one of the Flame marked refused to look her in the eye.
Kaden stood behind her chair like a shadow forged from war. One hand rested on the back of her seat. His body was relaxed.
Too relaxed.
Which meant he’d already noticed it, too.
⸻
They didn’t wait long.
A woman from the Hollow Flame Order stood, lifting a silver goblet.
“To the one who crossed Kaelvarin. To the girl who rose from myth.”
“To Chelsea Krippa,” others echoed.
Chelsea didn’t drink.
Neither did Kaden.
And then....boom
The room cracked.
⸻
It wasn’t just a sound, It was magic.
Chelsea’s skin lit up with heat. Her mark flared not in warning, but in defense.
A spell had been woven into the toast. A cloaking spell.
“DOWN!” Kaden barked.
Before the first blade even flew.
⸻
It happened in a blink.
A guard lunged from the far wall blade drawn, aimed at Chelsea’s throat, but Kaden was already there.
Not shifting.
Not warning.
Just moving, with the fury of a wolf who had already imagined this moment too many times in his mind.
He slammed the attacker into the wall with a crunch of bone. The man dropped, gasping.
Another came.
Kaden caught his arm mid-swing, snapped it backward without blinking, and threw the man into the fire pit.
The room erupted.
⸻
Someone screamed.
Another spell surged but Chelsea caught that one, fingers flaring with Nyra’s power. Her eyes burned silver. She sent the hex collapsing back into its caster’s throat.
The caster dropped, choking.
⸻
The hall was chaos except for Kaden.
Kaden wasn’t panicked.
He was calm. And calm Kaden was worse than furious Kaden. He stepped over bodies, blood dripping from his hand.
And then his voice dropped to a growl that silenced the entire chamber.
“Who touched her?”
No one answered.
So he shouted louder.
“WHO. TOUCHED. MY. MATE?”
Every word echoed with Kael’s voice beneath it.
The sound of a wolf unleashed.
Some fell to their knees.
Others backed away, instinct warring with pride.
Kaden walked forward, body trembling not from rage, but from the restraint of not ripping everyone apart.
“You dare raise your hand against her in my house?”
How dare you !!!!!
“You think you can touch what’s mine and live?”
His canines were already showing. His eyes had gone full gold.
“Look at me. Every single one of you.”
He swept the room.
“Try it again. I will tear kingdoms down and salt your ashes.”
⸻
Silence.
Only the crackle of the fire.
Chelsea stood slowly, still breathless, her magic still coiling around her like a shield.
She looked at him — Kaden, furious and raw and shaking.
But when their eyes met, something in him cracked again.
He reached for her.
Not with claws.
With hands.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, voice hoarse.
“No,” she whispered.
He exhaled like the world had been holding him under.
Then turned to the crowd.
“Get out.”
And they did.
Even the ones who weren’t guilty.
Because none of them wanted to see what would happen if they stayed.