His to Hunt hers to Tame

Marked by the Alpha

Chapter Three: Marked by the Alpha

Elara should’ve stayed away.

She knew that. But some force—something deeper than curiosity—pulled her back into the woods. It wasn't just a desire to see him again; it was a need. Like gravity had shifted, and she was no longer the center of her own orbit.

The sun dipped low as she pushed through the underbrush, moving beyond the familiar trail. The same clearing from before lay ahead, quiet and still. Waiting.

“I know you’re there,” she said softly.

Nothing. No wind. No reply.

She took a step forward—and that’s when the silence shattered.

A low, snarling growl rose from behind her. She spun around just as a massive black wolf lunged from the trees. Not him. Something else. Something savage.

Its eyes burned red with rage, foam dripping from its jaws. Rogue.

She stumbled back, her scream caught in her throat. It closed the distance fast—too fast. She threw up her arms, bracing for the impact that never came.

A flash of fur. A blur of movement.

Another wolf—larger, silver-gray, glowing with raw power—slammed into the rogue mid-air, sending it crashing to the ground.

Elara collapsed to her knees, gasping.

The silver wolf stood over her, snarling. Its body rippled with tension, muscles taut, eyes glowing gold.

Her stranger.

Even in this form, she knew it was him.

The rogue recovered and lunged again. The fight was brutal—teeth flashing, claws ripping. It wasn’t elegant. It was primal.

Elara watched in horror and awe as her protector tore into the rogue, forcing it to the ground with a final, vicious snap of its jaws.

Blood soaked the forest floor. The rogue stilled.

Elara’s eyes met the Alpha’s.

He turned toward her, panting, chest rising and falling with each breath. Then—bones cracking, limbs shifting—his form began to change. Fur receded. Skin replaced muscle. A man stood where the wolf had been.

Kael.

Naked, bloodied, eyes burning with something feral.

“Elara,” he said, voice rough and gravel-deep. How did he know her name?

She tried to move, but her legs wouldn't work. He was already kneeling beside her.

“You’re bleeding.”

Only then did she realize—the rogue’s claws had grazed her shoulder. The pain bloomed sharp and deep.

Kael growled low in his throat. “I have to seal it.”

“Seal—what?”

Before she could protest, he pressed his palm over the wound. A rush of heat surged through her, not just in her skin but deep in her bones, like fire sinking into her soul.

Her vision blurred.

The mark—an ancient sigil—flared golden beneath his touch and disappeared into her skin.

“What did you do to me?” she gasped.

Kael looked at her with a mixture of guilt and certainty. “I marked you. You’re bonded now… to me.”

Elara’s world tilted.

“What… what does that mean?”

His jaw clenched. “It means you’re mine. And every wolf in these woods will know it.”