Lahat ng Kabanata ng Fated to My Ex's Brother-In-Law: Kabanata 191 - Kabanata 200

"I'm showering," I announced the second we got to our room, already heading for the bathroom before Xavier could respond.The hot water helped wash away some of the road grime, but not the weight pressing on my chest. Where even was home anymore? I couldn't go back to either of my old packs like nothing happened. As steam filled the tiny bathroom, a hazy memory surfaced - a woman in a blue sundress, the fabric dancing in the wind. She called my name with that warm, safe voice I could barely remember anymore.Mom.I hadn't seen a photo of her in years. Hadn't heard her voice since childhood. All that remained was this ghost of a feeling - the love we'd shared before she disappeared.Shutting off the water, I realized my mistake. In my hurry to escape Xavier, I'd left my damn clothes bag on the bed. Perfect. Now what? Call for him like some helpless pup? Or walk out in a towel like it's no big deal?It should've been no big deal. He'd seen everything before. But everything was different

That voice..."Who is it?""AlphaXS32," Xavier answered.The door swung wider. The woman inside—veiled, draped in bohemian nonsense—turned away without looking at us. "Lock it behind you."Every hair on my arms stood up. I didn't know her... but I knew her. The way she moved. That voice. Even through the ridiculous costume, something screamed familiar.Her "apartment" looked like a witch's flea market exploded—herbs dangling from the ceiling, a cauldron bubbling over fake flames, pentagrams drawn in what I hoped was ketchup. She gestured vaguely at the clutter. "Sit somewhere."Then she turned. Our eyes met. A feather slipped from her fingers."MJ?" The name left my lips before I could stop it."Zo?" Her voice cracked.Xavier's head whipped between us. "Maisie?"Time stopped. The veil came off, revealing my best friend's face—paler than I remembered, dark circles under those mismatched eyes, but undeniably her.We crashed together like colliding stars. I clung to her, breathing in the

I placed my hand over Maisie’s, trying to offer some comfort. I could feel her trembling under my touch, her fear and sorrow almost palpable.“We did escape together. We were chased. We ran together,” Maisie began, her voice slow, like she was trying to piece together what happened, but it was hard. “Then, what went wrong? Luca was ordered to protect you. He would never abandon the post,” Xavier’s voice broke through, filled with a mix of confusion and concern.“For a couple of days, everything was quiet. We were staying at one of your safe houses up North. And then, one night he left to get some firewood.” Maisie paused, her face tightening, like she was reliving that moment. She took a shaky breath before continuing, “He never came back.”“What do you mean, he never came back? Did you go looking for him? Where did he go?” Xavier pressed, his voice more insistent now.“I waited for him until dawn,” Maisie replied, her eyes looking distant. “I swear I have no idea where he went or why

"I thought you were taking me out of this jungle. Did you just bring me to your home? Or the center of the jungle?" Maisie asked confused but stepped closer nonetheless.The roots of the huge tree were spread on the forest floor. The moment Maisie accidentally stepped on a protruding root and slipped, falling face-first to the forest floor. She tried to hold something in vain. There was nothing to stop her from falling as she saw the ground get closer. Again, she closed her eyes but tried not to scream. Screaming had brought her problems so far.She fell, but instead of hard and moist ground, she felt a soft, dry, furry rug on her face. It still hurt but not as much as falling into the insect-infested forest floor might have.Confuzzled, Maisie opened her eyes and quickly got up only to stop stunned.She was now in a different location. The open jungle had vanished and she now stood in a cozy cottage that looked very normal at first glance.Then, she noticed the brown bird that had l

I didn’t know how to change the subject, so Xavier just blurted it out: "We need to find a way to get into a human-only club. Can you do that?"Maisie and I exchanged a look, like, Seriously? Now? But Xavier didn’t seem to notice. He just raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry."I almost snorted. Yeah, like an apology fixes anything."You're right, Zoe," Spike’s voice echoed in my mind. "Anyone would feel abandoned. You left her in our hands, and look what happened."I bit back a sigh. "What do you want now?" Xavier muttered under his breath.Spike didn’t hold back. You know I’m right. Zoe left her behind, and now we’re paying for it.Maisie had turned her back to us again, fiddling with random things on a shelf, clearly trying to ignore the tension in the room."Maisie," I started softly, "we are really sorry for what happened to you." I nudged Xavier to continue, "And we want to make things right. No matter how hard it is."Xavier added, his voice quieter now, "It starts with you com