The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 89

Golden Glow-T

The outrage in Iva’s voice struck Caleb like a spark thrown into dry tinder.

For a brief, dangerous moment his temper flared.

His jaw tightened, the muscles in his shoulders drawing taut as something primal stirred beneath his skin. Her accusation, the sharpness of her tone, the way her eyes flashed at him as if she had the right to challenge him-every bit of it scraped directly against the instincts of the Lycan inside him.

Chaos did not like being challenged.

Not by anyone.

Especially not by the fragile girl sitting in his bed wearing his shirt

A dark edge crept into Caleb’s expression, and for a heartbeat his instinct was simple and brutal: to remind her exactly who she was speaking to, to reassert control, to put her firmly back in her place before her defiance pushed him past the fragile line of restraint he was barely maintaining.

But before the words could leave his mouth-

Something in her expression changed.

The anger drained from her face as suddenly as it had appeared.

Confusion rushed in to take its place.

Then disbelief.

Her fingers drifted slowly back to her neck, touching the mark again as if hoping it might disappear under her skin if she pressed hard enough.

Her voice, when she spoke again, had lost its fire.

Now it trembled.

“…You marked me?”

There was something painfully vulnerable in the question.

As if she still couldn’t believe what had happened.

As if the reality of it had not fully reached her yet.

Caleb watched her silently.

す

He could see the thoughts racing through her mind, the way realization slowly unfolded in her eyes.

And he knew what she was thinking.

He was the Crown Prince of the Lycans.

One of the most powerful beings in their world.

14

Claim

<Golden Glow-

And she-

A lone wolf.

A dishwasher.

A girl who had already told him once how a previous mate had rejected her.

The contrast between them could not be sharper.

For a moment something like uncertainty flickered through her gaze.

Then something else.

Hope.

It appeared so suddenly that it caught Caleb off guard.

A fragile, trembling light in her hazel eyes.

As if, despite everything, some part of her believed the mark meant something permanent.

Something real.

Something she had never received before.

And Caleb destroyed that hope with few words.

“It’s temporary.”

The effect was immediate.

It was like watching a fragile glass structure shatter in slow motion.

Her expression collapsed.

“What…?” she whispered confused.

Her fingers remained frozen against her neck.

“What do you mean temporary?”

Caleb crossed his arms slowly, his voice calm but firm.

“It’s a temporary mate bond.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

“I’ve never heard of something like that.”

“That’s because most haven’t,” he replied evenly.

す

“It’s an ancient tradition. A hidden one. It can only be performed by pure-blood Lycans.”

His gaze flicked once toward the mark on her neck before returning to her face.

47

Golden Glow-+-

“It’s not a full mating. It’s a … verification.”

The word hung heavily in the air.

Iva stared at him.

Processing.

Trying to understand.

“But… why?”

Her voice was softer now.

Almost fragile.

And Caleb answered with a brutal honesty.

“Because I needed to know if you were telling the truth.”

The words landed like a blade.

Iva felt them slice straight through her chest.

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