Marked by Desire

Chapter six

ALINA’S POV

The moonlight fell across my bed in pale streaks, cutting through the shadows in my room, but it did nothing to calm the storm in my chest. I lay awake, eyes fixed on the ceiling, and tried to breathe evenly. My father’s words echoed in my mind, relentless and sharp: “It’s time to start thinking about a mate, Alina.”

I hated them. Hated the expectation, hated the implication, hated the way my chest ached every time I pictured someone else—someone approved by him, someone I didn’t love. Rhett’s face flashed in my mind unbidden, and a bitter ache twisted through me.

The bond throbbed, insistent, alive. I knew he felt me—my irritation, my panic, my resistance. He’s here, the connection whispered, pulling at me like a tide I didn’t want to follow. And I could feel him trying, subtly, quietly, to lure me out—to the river, to wherever he was waiting.

I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to shove him away, to shut the bond down. I couldn’t. My pack, my duty, the unspoken rules of obedience burned in my mind. If I left—even for a moment—it would be a betrayal. I would be defying my father, my pack, everything I had been raised to honor.

Go to me, the bond murmured. I need you.

I clenched my teeth. No. I willed him away, but he was stubborn, relentless, and every heartbeat only drew me closer to him in mind and spirit. My chest tightened, and a low growl of frustration slipped from my throat, though I was alone.

I tried to reason with myself. I am the alpha’s daughter. I have responsibilities. I cannot allow my heart to rule me tonight—or any night—no matter what he wants, no matter how strong the bond pulls.

Still, he lingered, pressing at the edges of my mind, teasing, tempting, tugging with that maddening patience that made my resolve weaken by the second. I could feel him, and part of me wanted to give in, wanted to follow him to the river and let the world disappear. But another part, the part that had been drilled into me since childhood, screamed to resist.

I pressed my palms harder to my eyes, biting my lip until it hurt, willing him out, willing the bond to sleep. I will not betray my pack. I will not betray my father.

Minutes passed—or was it hours? Time had become irrelevant. The moon shifted, shadows crawling across the floor, and still, he lingered, but I forced myself into silence, into stillness, into obedience. Slowly, almost painfully, I let my body settle, pulling the blankets tighter around me like a shield.

Finally, I whispered to no one, and to him, and to myself: “Go. Leave me.”

The bond flared one last time, sharp, and then faded to a quiet hum. My chest still ached, my mind still racing, but I forced myself to lay down, face to the pillow, and pretend I was asleep. Tomorrow, I told myself, I would be the daughter my father expects. Tonight… tonight, I could only survive.

RHETT’S POV

I could feel her before I even thought to look for her. The bond pulsed, heavy and tense, twisting at me like a storm coiling in my chest. Alec, my brother and beta, noticed it too, leaning casually in the doorway of my room with that knowing smirk that always made my patience snap.

“You’ve been on edge lately,” Alec said, voice easy but eyes sharp. “Something’s bothering you. You’re… distracted.”

I clenched my jaw, irritated that he could see it so clearly. “I’m fine,” I snapped, though my chest throbbed with the pull of her emotions. Fine? Hardly. Every heartbeat of hers, every wave of her distress through the bond, left me raw and restless.

Alec raised an eyebrow but didn’t push further. Not yet. I stormed past him, needing the open air, needing the river. It was the only place that felt like it could clear my mind.

The night was cold, but the chill didn’t touch the fire inside me. My paws pounded the familiar path until I reached the riverbank—my sanctuary, my waiting place. And yet… she wasn’t there.

I froze, teeth grinding, frustration twisting in me. The bond flared again, insistent and sharp. I felt her—Alina. Her fear, her frustration, her stubborn refusal to come to me. She was trying to shut me out, and it hit me like a knife in the chest.

“Alina,” I whispered into the bond, low and fierce. Come to me.

Her resistance was immediate. She was there, connected, but pushing me away, holding me at a distance I couldn’t breach. My chest tightened, hands trembling. Why are you pushing me away?

I growled softly, more to myself than to her. The anger flared, sharp and helpless. I could feel her discomfort, the weight of her duty, her loyalty to her pack, her need to obey her father—but I couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t stand that she was suffering and hiding it from me.

I paced the riverbank, water reflecting the moonlight in jagged silver shards, every beat of her heart echoing in mine, teasing and frustrating me. I didn’t understand why she was resisting me. Why the bond, which should have drawn her here without question, was being denied.

And yet I couldn’t stop reaching. Couldn’t stop feeling her, even through her stubbornness. My frustration mixed with longing, with helplessness, with a burning need I had never felt so sharply. She should want me. She should come. But she didn’t. And it was maddening.

I leaned over the water, jaw tight, paws digging into the soil. She was here. I could feel every inch of her emotion. And still, she fought me.

I shook my head, growling low and bitter. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to reach her without breaking her, without shattering everything she was trying to uphold.

But I wouldn’t stop trying. Not tonight. Not ever.