Marked By The ShadowFang Alpha

# **📘 CHAPTER 5 — CLAIMED BY A DESTINY I NEVER CHOSE**

---

The forest felt different the next morning—too quiet, too watchful, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath. A thin veil of mist curled between the branches, touching my skin like cold fingers. Every sound around me seemed sharper, heavier… almost alive.

Maybe it was because the mark on my wrist had stopped burning and started pulsing instead—like a second heartbeat.

Kael’s heartbeat.

I didn’t know why, but I could *feel* him. Not see him. Not hear him.

But **feel** him.

Like an invisible thread tying us together.

I hated how comforting it felt.

I hugged my arms closer to myself and kept walking beside Commander Draven and the two guards who escorted me. Kael had gone ahead to “check the borders,” but I knew the truth. He needed space. After what happened last night… after the mark awakened… he was struggling as much as I was.

The memory hit me again:

His silver eyes glowing.

His hand gripping my wrist.

His voice, low and rough—*“You’re mine.”*

I tried shaking the thought away.

“What’s wrong, human?” Draven grumbled without looking at me.

“Nothing,” I lied.

He snorted. “Your scent says otherwise.”

Great. Wolves could smell emotions. Fantastic.

Before I could respond, the ground trembled—just slightly, but enough to silence us all. Draven raised his hand, signaling the guards to stop.

The air shifted.

A faint growl echoed from the shadows.

My pulse spiked.

“What was that?” I whispered.

Draven's expression darkened. “Rogues.”

The word alone made my stomach twist.

Suddenly, a figure burst through the fog—tall, ragged, with glowing yellow eyes twisted in madness. His claws were long, sharper than knives. His skin looked torn, almost rotten.

A corrupted wolf.

A rogue.

He snarled, launching straight at me.

I stumbled backward, heart choking me. The guards rushed forward but—

He was fast.

Too fast.

I screamed—

—and a blur of black slammed into the rogue, sending him crashing into a tree so hard the trunk cracked.

My breath caught.

Kael.

His eyes were glowing even brighter than before, his aura violent and cold. His muscles were tense, jaw clenched, chest heaving. But it wasn’t anger…

It was fury.

His voice thundered across the forest.

**“Don’t. Touch. Her.”**

The rogue lunged again. Kael met him mid-air, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him down. The ground shook. The rogue clawed at him wildly, leaving deep scratches across Kael’s arm, but Kael didn’t even flinch.

He was a monster.

A nightmare.

A dark god carved for war.

And yet…

I wasn’t afraid of him.

Kael snapped the rogue's neck in one clean motion. The forest went silent. Even the wind seemed frozen.

He turned toward me.

His eyes weren’t silver anymore—

They were full-moon white, glowing like burning ice.

He walked slowly, every step controlled, as if he feared I’d run away if he moved too fast.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, voice low.

I shook my head. “N–No.”

But my hands were trembling.

Kael noticed.

Without asking, without hesitating, he reached out and gently took my hands in his. His palms were warm despite the cold air.

The moment he touched me, the mark on my wrist flared to life—glowing faintly under my skin. Kael inhaled sharply, as if the bond burned him too.

“You felt it,” he whispered. “Didn’t you?”

I swallowed. “Yes.”

He closed his eyes for a second, breathing out a rough curse. When he opened them again, they were back to their normal silvery glow.

“You shouldn’t have felt it this soon,” he said. “The bond is accelerating.”

“What bond?” I demanded. “You keep talking like I already know everything.”

Kael hesitated.

The Alpha hesitated.

Finally, he spoke, voice dark and heavy.

“The mark you carry… it’s not just a warning or a claim.”

His gaze softened as he looked at my wrist.

“It’s a *link*, Aria. Between your life and mine.”

My heart skipped.

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” he said quietly, “if you die… I die.”

My breath caught in my throat.

“And because the ShadowFang bloodline is tied to ancient magic… the bond affects you too.” He stepped closer, his voice barely a whisper now. “If my emotions spike—if anger rises, or fear, or…” He paused, eyes flicking to my lips. “Or desire… you feel it.”

I froze.

That strange pull.

That heat in my chest.

That moment last night when his breath touched mine and I felt like my soul was being dragged out of my body—

It wasn’t my imagination.

It was the bond.

“Why me?” I whispered.

“I don’t know.” His jaw tightened. “But I swear I will find out.”

Before I could say anything else, Draven approached.

“We need to move. Rogues don’t travel alone.”

Kael nodded, but his eyes remained locked on me.

He stepped closer, lifting a hand. For a moment, I thought he would touch my cheek. Instead, he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers grazing my skin with painful gentleness.

“Stay close to me,” he murmured. “From now on… don’t leave my side.”

My heartbeat betrayed me—loud, wild.

Kael’s lips curved slightly.

“Good,” he whispered. “Your heart agrees.”

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to deny everything.

But when he turned and walked ahead, I found myself following him without thinking… as if the bond had already wrapped itself around my soul.

And deep inside, where I couldn’t reach—

a part of me whispered the truth:

**It wasn’t just a bond.

It was destiny.

A destiny I never chose, but one that had already chosen me.**

-