CHAPTER THREE
1178 Words
THE HIDDEN MARK
Mira
The crash outside the door still echoed in my ears.
Luka stirred beneath the covers. I clutched his hand tighter, feeling my heart beat in my throat.
“Stay here,” Cian said, moving toward the hallway. His eyes had already shifted; part wolf, part man. Cold and focused.
“Don’t leave him,” I snapped, stepping between him and the door. “You said someone’s after him.”
“I’ll end whoever tries,” he said without blinking. “But I need to know what we’re up against.”
His voice was calm, but something about his posture told me this wasn’t just a rogue attack.
He knew more than he was saying.
The healer rushed back into the room, breathless. “The guards said there’s movement near the Moon Garden. Three unknown wolves, fast and masked.”
“Rogues don’t usually wear masks,” I said.
Cian’s jaw clenched. “That’s because they’re not just rogues. They’re trained.”
His meaning hit me fast.
“They’re assassins?”
He gave one sharp nod. “Sent by someone inside these walls. Maybe the High Council. Maybe worse.”
The healer gasped. “But why would anyone want to harm a child?”
“Because he’s not just a child,” I said, my voice trembling. “He’s the child of the Hidden Mark.”
Cian didn’t deny it.
He turned to the healer. “Lock the South Wing. Post two wolves at every corner. No one gets in or out unless I say so.”
Then he turned to me. “You can fight, right?”
“Enough to keep my son alive.”
“Good. Don’t trust anyone.”
With that, he disappeared into the hallway like a shadow, boots echoing on stone, growls rising in the distance.
The healer closed the door behind him, her eyes wide.
“I’ve seen wars,” she whispered. “But never seen the Alpha look like that.”
I picked up the dagger I kept hidden under my travel bag. It was short but sharp, etched with runes from the old forest.
Luka was still asleep, but his forehead was sweating.
The mark above his heart had faded again, but I knew better now.
That mark wasn’t gone. It was hiding.
Just like mine had, once.
The next hour felt like forever.
Shouts echoed through the castle. Claws on stone. Furniture breaking. Wolves howling in the distance.
I sat on the edge of the bed, dagger in one hand, the other resting on Luka’s chest.
Please let this pass. Please let him sleep through it.
Then… a sound.
Not loud. Not close.
But wrong.
A whisper of feet across stone. A soft breath that didn’t belong.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
I looked at the healer.
Her eyes were wide. She’d heard it too.
Then the door creaked.
Just a little.
Not enough for someone to enter.
But enough to mean it wasn’t locked anymore.
My body moved by instinct. I grabbed Luka and pulled him behind me, still wrapped in blankets. The healer grabbed a silver rod from her satchel.
And then they stepped inside.
Three of them.
All in black. Faces hidden. No pack scent. No words.
Just eyes glowing under hoods and claws already drawn.
The first lunged.
I ducked fast, rolling over the floor, pushing Luka beneath the bed. He didn’t wake, too weak from the fever. Too deep in the moon-daze.
The second attacker came from the left. The healer threw the silver rod straight at his face. It cracked against his mask, and he stumbled.
I rose with the dagger in my hand and slashed at the first. He dodged but hissed when the blade nicked his side.
“You picked the wrong room,” I said through clenched teeth.
They didn’t answer.
I kicked the edge of the bed, forcing it back against the wall to block Luka from view.
They were fast, but I was faster.
For someone they thought was weak, I fought like a wolf who had something worth dying for.
Because I did.
The third one caught my arm.
I twisted free, barely dodging the claw that swiped at my face. My sleeves ripped.
The dagger flew from my hand. I dove after it, skidding across the stone floor.
Too slow.
He grabbed me by the throat, slamming me back into the wall.
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
His voice was low. Cold. “The prophecy ends tonight.”
He raised his claws.
And then something strange happened.
A burst of wind exploded from behind the bed.
It knocked all three assassins backward.
The windows rattled. The candles blew out.
I gasped, spinning toward the bed.
And saw Luka.
Awake.
Standing.
His eyes are glowing white.
His small body was trembling with energy that crackled like lightning.
“Don’t touch my mama,” he said quietly.
And then the entire room lit up.
The three assassins were thrown against the walls like puppets. One hit the stone so hard, his mask shattered.
The healer dropped to the floor, covering her head.
I could barely breathe.
Luka stood there, chest rising and falling, hair whipping in wind that had no source.
His little hands were glowing.
And on his chest…
The mark.
The crescent moon burned bright and clear, like silver fire across his heart.
The door burst open again.
Cian stormed in, blood on his arm, fury in his eyes until he saw what I saw.
He froze.
“What…” His voice caught. “What is that?”
“My son,” I whispered, not taking my eyes off Luka. “And your heir.”
Luka swayed. His knees gave out.
I rushed forward, catching him before he hit the floor.
His eyes fluttered closed again, but this time, he was breathing steadily.
The power faded.
The wind stopped.
The room was still.
The assassins were out cold.
And Cian knelt beside me, eyes wide.
“I’ve seen power,” he said softly. “But never like this.”
I held Luka against my chest. “Now do you believe me?”
He nodded slowly.
But then his face darkened.
“I do,” he said. “Which means others will too.”
The healer stood, face pale. “Alpha, what now?”
Cian looked between her and me.
And then said something that chilled my blood.
“Now, we leave Frostfang.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“We can’t protect him here. Not anymore. Not with what he just did. Not with who he is.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he was already on his feet, already calling orders to the guards, already moving like war had just been declared.
Because maybe it had.
I looked down at Luka.
Still small.
Still fragile.
But no longer just a boy.
Something bigger had awakened in him tonight.
Something dangerous. Something sacred.
And I knew, at that moment…
This was just the beginning.
- Writer
