All Chapters of Marked by fate: Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

Zahra's POVWe pull up to a large ranch-style house with a wide veranda, tucked into the suburbs of Westchester. The team comprises Edwardo, Morgan, O’Hara, Lieutenant Webster, Captain Mitchel, Captain Ross, Captain Avon, and Captain Delmont.We were finally introduced properly before loading into the cars yesterday, so we still don’t really know one another yet.We’re posing as a large family while we’re here in the suburbs. Edwardo is the father. Or foster father. Webster and Morgan both have similar features, dark hair, olive skin, rich dark eyes, so we’re going with mother and daughter. Apparently, Webster was a teenage mother. She’s also Edwardo’s sister, who moved in after the death of his wife to help out. It’s doing a lot of heavy lifting, but fine.O’Hara, Mitchel, and Ross, are all tall, broad, dark-haired, and built like they eat smaller men for breakfast, are going to pose as Edwardo’s grown sons. It sort of works, mostly because people generally don’t want to ask too many

Zahra's POVO’Hara shuffles again, slower this time, the rhythm steady. Chips click softly as people reset their stacks.“Same blinds,” he says.The cards slide out once more.I wait before looking this time. Long enough to remember what Morgan said about being hard to read. Long enough to stop acting like every thought in my head belongs on my face.When I lift the corners, my breath stills.Nine of spades. Nine of diamonds.Is that a pair?I think I know what that means now. Two of the same number. A starting hand that doesn’t look impressive, but it isn’t weak either. My pulse bumps once, sharp and pleased, and I force it back down. Zanthe hums with approval in my mind.I lower the cards carefully, keeping my face blank.“First betting round,” O’Hara says.Ross folds almost immediately, shoulders sagging as he reaches for his beer. His heart rate barely changes. He never even pretends.Mitchel calls. Avon studies his cards longer than last hand before calling as well.Webster raise

Zahra's POVWhen I wake the following morning, my eyes feel scratchy. We stayed up too late the night before. The beer has burned off without an issue thanks to my wolf metabolism, but I’m tired.I pull on a pair of denim shorts and a pale blue linen T-shirt, then grab my old Converse and head downstairs. I turn on my phone as I go. Arriving last night, I’d completely forgotten I could text now, but at least I remembered to charge it.It powers up and beeps repeatedly.I sigh. I’ll read through them all over coffee.The kitchen is empty when I walk in. I can’t see or scent anyone. I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s 0700.I guess I’m the first one up. Zanthe snores loudly in my mind.After spending two days in a car, I’m itching to get out and go for a run, but no doubt I wouldn’t be allowed out on my own. I need to check that with Edwardo later.I approach the coffee machine and try to work it out. It’s one of those pod ones, but I haven’t seen any pods. I search through cupboard

Max's POVI gaze across the ballroom at the sea of well-dressed people and sigh. I dreamed of having Zahra on my arm this year, of walking in with her beside me and feeling like I belonged here because she did, and she’s not fucking here. I miss her so damn much it makes my ribs ache, like my chest is too tight for my own lungs.I look down at the tumbler in my hand. It’s empty, and the realisation annoys me more than it should, because it means I’ve been standing here long enough to drain it without noticing. I sigh again, then I force myself to stop, because if I keep doing that, I’m going to look pathetic, and I’m not giving anyone that satisfaction.My gaze shifts to the bar area. Xander, Zach, Ralph, Noah, Eliot, and Oscar are all there, talking to Alpha Lucas and Luna Alison, with mates tucked close against them. Well, not Xander, but the others. The sight of it makes something hot and sour coil in my stomach, not because I begrudge them what they have, but because I can’t stop

Max's POV 🌶️🌶️Xander dismisses the rest of our unit with a few clipped words, but he stays by my side. I inhale deeply, trying to clear my senses and the nausea, but the cold trace of her scent still feels like it’s stuck to the inside of my nose.“Are you alright?” he asks quietly when it’s just us.I shake my head. I don’t even try to pretend. Not with him. Not right now.“Come on,” he says, gentler than I expect, and he takes my elbow, steering me back towards the castle.He doesn’t take me towards the ballroom. He angles us away, back to the family side of the castle, and through one of the downstairs doors. The corridor is quieter here, the noise of the party fading behind thick walls, but my skin still feels clammy, feverish, and I’m still so fucking sick I can taste it.We climb the stairs, and before I have time to work out where we’re going, Xander pushes open a door and guides me inside.It’s a large, well-appointed suite, or a series of rooms. There’s a small sitting are