Marked by Mistake

Chapter 6: Between Fire and Ice

Everything blurred.

Tessa could barely breathe through the fever curling in her chest, the pulse between her legs turning into something fierce and wild. Her skin felt too tight. Her senses were flooded—scents, heat, movement. Every sound felt like it was inside her skull. She wanted to scream, cry, beg for something—but didn’t even know what.

Lucien and Rowan were still standing above her, both frozen, both staring at her like they didn’t know what to do.

“Tessa,” Rowan said softly, crouching down. “I’ve got you.”

She shook her head, her hands pressed to the floor, knuckles white. “No, no… you need to leave. You both need to go.”

Lucien didn’t move. His eyes were like stormclouds. “Your body’s not asking us to leave.”

“Don’t say that,” she whispered, trembling. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want—”

She choked on her breath as another wave hit her. A rush of scent filled the room. Hers.

Both Alphas inhaled it. She saw it in the way their shoulders tensed. In the way Rowan swallowed and Lucien's jaw clenched.

“Stop breathing me in,” she cried, humiliated.

“You’re in a second wave,” Rowan said, steadying her shoulders. “This is rebound heat. It’s too much for your system. You need help riding it out.”

“I can do it alone,” she lied.

“No, you can’t,” Lucien said, voice low and rough.

“I’m not letting him touch her,” Rowan snapped.

“And you think you should?” Lucien snapped back.

Tessa gasped, her body trembling again, and both their arguments cut off instantly.

Rowan gently wrapped her in a blanket from the couch, lifting her carefully into his arms. She wanted to fight it, but she was shaking so badly she couldn’t even stay upright. He carried her back into the bedroom and laid her down, keeping his touch light, careful.

Lucien followed. He didn’t ask for permission. He didn’t even pretend to.

Tessa whimpered as the warmth of the bed only made things worse. The blanket brushed her oversensitive skin like fire. She buried her face in the pillow, tears prickling her eyes.

“This is what I was afraid of,” she whispered. “This is why I never went near Alphas.”

“I know,” Rowan said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “We’ll help you get through it. That’s all. Nothing more.”

Lucien stood by the door like a shadow, silent. Watching.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Rowan muttered.

“She’s mine,” Lucien growled.

“She’s not property.”

“She’s marked.”

“She’s not bonded.”

They were going to start again, and Tessa couldn’t take it.

“Stop!” she yelled, voice breaking. “Please. Please just stop.”

Silence crashed through the room like thunder.

Lucien’s fists were clenched. Rowan’s eyes were dark with worry.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. “I feel like I’m losing myself.”

Rowan leaned closer. “You’re not. You’re still you.”

“I don’t know what to trust. My body… it’s doing things without me. My wolf is waking up and she wants both of you and I don’t know how to stop her.”

Lucien finally stepped forward. “Then don’t.”

Rowan turned on him. “That’s not helping.”

But Lucien’s voice softened. “Don’t fight her, Tessa. She’s you. She’s not your enemy.”

Tessa bit her lip, her legs trembling. She clutched at the blankets like a lifeline.

“I don’t want to belong to someone I don’t love,” she said, looking at Lucien.

His eyes flashed.

“Then tell me to leave.”

She opened her mouth.

But nothing came out.

Because some sick part of her didn’t want him to leave.

Lucien took a step closer.

“I’m not going to touch you,” he said, voice lower now. “Not unless you ask me to. But I’m staying. Whether you hate me or not.”

Rowan exhaled, running a hand down his face.

“We need to cool her down,” he said finally. “It’s too hot in here.”

He got up and opened the windows, letting a gust of evening air rush in. Then he came back with a cool damp cloth, gently dabbing it along Tessa’s forehead.

Lucien watched, tense, as Rowan leaned in close and whispered to her.

“You’re not alone, Tessa. You’re going to be okay.”

She closed her eyes, letting herself breathe.

Lucien paced near the doorway like a caged animal. His wolf didn’t like being this close and not being able to act. She could feel it pressing at the edges of his skin.

“How long will it last?” she asked.

Rowan shook his head. “Could be hours. Could be a day. Depends on how hard your body rebounds.”

“I can’t do this for a day,” she whispered.

“I can take a shift,” Rowan said. “You sleep when you can. I’ll stay with you.”

“I’m not leaving her alone with you,” Lucien snapped.

“And I’m not letting you near her in this state,” Rowan snapped back.

“Then we both stay.”

Tessa groaned. “Please, both of you just shut up.”

She curled onto her side, pressing the pillow over her head. The scent of both Alphas was driving her crazy. She was stuck in the middle of them like some kind of twisted game of tug-of-war.

But worse than that… she wanted to be tugged.

Her body ached for contact. For touch. But she didn’t trust either of them fully. Not yet. Not enough.

And still, she was burning.

At some point, she must’ve drifted off—because when she opened her eyes, the room was dim. Rowan was asleep in the chair by the window, arms folded, chin on his chest.

Lucien was sitting on the floor near the bed, back against the wall. Watching her.

Her heart stuttered.

“You’re awake,” he said.

She nodded, throat dry.

“Feeling any better?”

She hesitated. “A little.”

Lucien stood and walked slowly toward her side of the bed.

“May I?” he asked.

She blinked. “What?”

“Your legs are cramping. I can tell. Let me help.”

She hesitated, then nodded once.

Lucien sat beside her and reached under the blanket, gently placing his hands on her calves. His touch was warm, careful. He started to massage the tight muscles, and she couldn’t help the soft noise that escaped her throat.

“Don’t,” she said weakly. “You’re making it worse.”

“I’m making you feel better.”

“That’s the problem.”

Lucien didn’t stop.

“I don’t know what you’re doing to me,” she whispered.

“I’m not doing anything your wolf doesn’t want.”

She bit her lip.

“I don’t trust you,” she said.

He paused, his hands still.

“I don’t blame you.”

She turned her face toward him, eyes searching.

“Then why are you still here?”

He leaned down, closer. “Because I can’t walk away. Not from you. Not now.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but then a groggy voice behind them cut through the quiet.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Rowan was awake. And he did not look calm.

Tessa sat up quickly, pulling the blanket higher. “Rowan—”

“You said you wouldn’t touch her,” Rowan said, standing now.

Lucien stood too, slow and unbothered. “She let me.”

“You’re manipulating her.”

“She’s stronger than you give her credit for.”

“Get out.”

“No.”

“Then I will—”

Rowan’s voice broke as a scent hit the room like wildfire.

Tessa froze.

Lucien’s pupils widened.

It wasn’t her scent this time.

It was his.

Her heat was triggering them both.

And Rowan—steady, rational Rowan—suddenly looked like a man on the verge of losing every ounce of control.

Lucien took a step forward, protectively.

“Back off,” he growled.

Rowan growled back.

And Tessa felt something shift deep in her gut.

The air in the room turned electric.

One more second. One more breath.

And they were going to snap.

“Tessa,” Rowan said through clenched teeth, “You have to choose. Now. Or I walk.”

Her mouth opened.

But she didn’t know what to say.

Lucien’s eyes burned into hers.

Rowan waited.

And Tessa’s heart cracked straight down the middle.