The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 86

Ragging Fire 11-2

“No.”

But the denial sounded weaker this time.

Because another memory had just surfaced from the depths of his mind.

An old scroll.

Ancient teachings he had studied years ago in the royal archives.

+25 Points

Lycans had always been meticulous record keepers, preserving knowledge about their species across generations.

And somewhere within those dusty texts-

There had been something about heat cycles.

Something rare.

Something unusual.

Caleb’s mind strained to recall the exact wording.

The memory surfaced slowly, like ink rising through water.

A passage about bond-triggered heat.

A phenomenon that appeared only under specific circumstances.

When a she-wolf encountered the one her soul recognized as mate.

When proximity awakened instincts too powerful to ignore.

When the bond itself demanded acknowledgment.

The water continued to fall around them as the realization settled into his thoughts.

Caleb stared at the woman standing in his arms.

At her wet hair clinging to her cheeks.

At the faint exhaustion in her hazel eyes.

At the trembling she was trying so hard to hide.

And for the first time since this entire situation began-

A dangerous possibility took root in his mind.

What if…

She had been telling the truth all along?

195

Ragging Fue

+25 Points

Caleb’s thoughts were spiraling into dangerous territory.

Even as the freezing water continued to cascade over them, his mind was no longer in the present moment. It had drifted backward-years back-into the dusty halls of the royal archives where ancient knowledge of their kind was preserved.

Old scrolls.

Fragile parchment.

Centuries of accumulated wisdom written in fading ink.

He could almost see the narrow wooden table where he had once studied those texts under the watchful eyes of the royal historians.

Back then he had not cared much about them.

Those scrolls spoke of rare bonds.

Ancient traditions.

Myths that many believed had faded with time.

But now…

Fragments of those teachings returned with unsettling clarity.

There had been something about verification.

About how a Lycan could confirm the truth of a claimed mate bond.

Not the ceremonial mating bite.

No.

Something else.

A primal test.

A reaction between blood and instinct that could not be faked.

Caleb tried to remember the exact instructions.

The exact words.

But his thoughts were tangled with contradictions.

Her claim.

Chaos’s reaction.

The pull he felt toward her.

Her heat beginning almost immediately after their proximity.

25

Ragging Fue

None of it made sense.

+25 Points

None of it should be possible… as the Moon Goddess took away the possibility of recognizing your fated

one.

Yet the evidence was mounting like pieces of a puzzle he did not want to assemble.

His gaze lowered slowly to the woman still standing in his arms beneath the cold water.

Iva’s head was bowed slightly, her wet hair clinging to her cheeks and neck.

She looked exhausted.

Vulnerable.

Small.

Too small.

He could still feel faint tremors running through her body despite the cold water soaking them both.

For a moment Caleb wondered if he was losing his mind.

Because the alternative-the possibility that she might actually be telling the truth-was even more unsettling.

Then suddenly-

Iva’s body jerked.

A soft cry escaped her lips as another wave hit.

Her fingers tightened reflexively against his shirt.

A tremor passed through her frame, stronger this time.

The heat was returning.

Caleb felt it immediately.

す

The scent rising again.

Stronger.

Sharper.

The cold water was losing its effect.

Iva winced, pressing a hand against her abdomen as her breathing quickened.

“—”

Her voice trembled.

“I thought it was getting better…”

395

Ragging Fue

Choos surged inside Caleb like a predator catching fresh scent.

The test.

The Lycan’s voice rumbled with certainty.

See if she is indeed our mate.

Caleb’s jaw tightened.

The idea felt reckless.

Dangerous.

But Chaos pushed harder.

What do we have to lose?

His rational mind fought back.

Everything.

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