MARKED FOR PRETEND - Chapter 64: Chapter 64
You are reading MARKED FOR PRETEND, Chapter 64: Chapter 64. Read more chapters of MARKED FOR PRETEND.
Dawn.
The sky was red, it wasn't from sun, but from fire.
The Ones Who Never Bowed had arrived without horns, without chaos only certainty. The kind that didn’t need an army, just conviction sharpened into blades.
Chelsea stood at the front of the war line.
Her mark burned.
Her spell circle was already etched into the earth behind her pulsing. Waiting.
⸻
“They’ll come for you first,” Bevy whispered.
“Let them,” Chelsea answered. “That way I won’t have to chase them.”
The moment the first foot crossed the line, the Keep exploded into movement.
Wolves shifted.
Arrows flew.
Spells cracked the sky.
And the war began.
⸻
Kaden’s POV – Mid-battle
Kael was barely contained.He was faster now. Deadlier, more brutal.
Kaden moved like a storm tearing down masked enemies with his claws, leaving broken bodies in his wake.
But it wasn’t enough.
Because they kept coming.
And they didn’t care about dying.
Only about reaching her.
“They’re not fighting us,” he realized. “They’re burning a path to the bridge.”
⸻
He caught a glimpse of her across the battlefield palms outstretched, casting the mirror spell into the ranks.
It was working. Enemies dropped to their knees.
Others screamed. Some clawed at their own skin, seeing horrors they’d once caused.
And Chelsea?
She stood at the center of it all still, glowing, and slowly draining.
⸻
“Chelsea—”
Kaden took a step—
And then the blade found him.
From the side.
Clean. Deep.
A sound tore from his throat as his knees hit the ground.
⸻
Chelsea’s POV – Seconds Later
She felt it before she saw it. A crack in the bond. A sharp, shattering silence.
“Kaden?”
Nothing.
She turned.
And then, she saw him fall.
⸻
Kael was not rising.
He was retreating.
The Alpha wolf wild and ancient was slipping.
And Chelsea…
Chelsea broke the circle.
The spell snapped. The mirror closed.
And she ran.
By the time she reached him, he was pale.
“Kaden. Kaden, no—no, no—”
He tried to speak. Blood on his lips.
“Kael… he’s…”
“Don’t you say it,” she sobbed. “Don’t you even try.”
⸻
The mark on her arm pulsed again, and in that moment, she knew.
There was one way to finish the spell. One way to save him, to win the war, and stop the Ones Who Never Bowed.
She had to give it something more than power.
It needed her.
⸻
Chelsea turned to Bevy, who had just cut through two enemies.
“Get him out of here.”
“What are you doing?”
“Ending this.”
⸻
She walked back to the spell circle.
Hands shaking.
Eyes wide.
Not afraid.
Not anymore.
“You tried to burn the bridge,” she said into the chaos.
“Now you’ll see what happens when a bridge burns back.”
She pressed her palm to the final rune.
The spell accepted her.
And the light swallowed everything.
The sky was red, it wasn't from sun, but from fire.
The Ones Who Never Bowed had arrived without horns, without chaos only certainty. The kind that didn’t need an army, just conviction sharpened into blades.
Chelsea stood at the front of the war line.
Her mark burned.
Her spell circle was already etched into the earth behind her pulsing. Waiting.
⸻
“They’ll come for you first,” Bevy whispered.
“Let them,” Chelsea answered. “That way I won’t have to chase them.”
The moment the first foot crossed the line, the Keep exploded into movement.
Wolves shifted.
Arrows flew.
Spells cracked the sky.
And the war began.
⸻
Kaden’s POV – Mid-battle
Kael was barely contained.He was faster now. Deadlier, more brutal.
Kaden moved like a storm tearing down masked enemies with his claws, leaving broken bodies in his wake.
But it wasn’t enough.
Because they kept coming.
And they didn’t care about dying.
Only about reaching her.
“They’re not fighting us,” he realized. “They’re burning a path to the bridge.”
⸻
He caught a glimpse of her across the battlefield palms outstretched, casting the mirror spell into the ranks.
It was working. Enemies dropped to their knees.
Others screamed. Some clawed at their own skin, seeing horrors they’d once caused.
And Chelsea?
She stood at the center of it all still, glowing, and slowly draining.
⸻
“Chelsea—”
Kaden took a step—
And then the blade found him.
From the side.
Clean. Deep.
A sound tore from his throat as his knees hit the ground.
⸻
Chelsea’s POV – Seconds Later
She felt it before she saw it. A crack in the bond. A sharp, shattering silence.
“Kaden?”
Nothing.
She turned.
And then, she saw him fall.
⸻
Kael was not rising.
He was retreating.
The Alpha wolf wild and ancient was slipping.
And Chelsea…
Chelsea broke the circle.
The spell snapped. The mirror closed.
And she ran.
By the time she reached him, he was pale.
“Kaden. Kaden, no—no, no—”
He tried to speak. Blood on his lips.
“Kael… he’s…”
“Don’t you say it,” she sobbed. “Don’t you even try.”
⸻
The mark on her arm pulsed again, and in that moment, she knew.
There was one way to finish the spell. One way to save him, to win the war, and stop the Ones Who Never Bowed.
She had to give it something more than power.
It needed her.
⸻
Chelsea turned to Bevy, who had just cut through two enemies.
“Get him out of here.”
“What are you doing?”
“Ending this.”
⸻
She walked back to the spell circle.
Hands shaking.
Eyes wide.
Not afraid.
Not anymore.
“You tried to burn the bridge,” she said into the chaos.
“Now you’ll see what happens when a bridge burns back.”
She pressed her palm to the final rune.
The spell accepted her.
And the light swallowed everything.
End of MARKED FOR PRETEND Chapter 64. Continue reading Chapter 65 or return to MARKED FOR PRETEND book page.