Marked for Death
1104 Words
The courtyard was quieter than usual, but not empty.
Word had spread fast. An omega girl had spilled wine on the Alpha during a council session—and she’d been sent to wait in the yard.
Mint stood alone near the execution platform, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, trembling in the cool air. Her feet were bare, bruised from walking on the rough stone. Her throat burned from holding back sobs. She hadn’t meant to cry, but she couldn’t stop the tears.
She didn’t understand what she’d done to deserve this. Not really. Not enough to die for.
A few warriors leaned against the wall near the gate, watching with bored expressions. A pair of ranked she-wolves—daughters of the elders—whispered from the left side of the square.
Then the first rotten apple hit her shoulder.
Mint flinched, a small yelp escaping her lips. She looked up, but no one admitted to throwing it.
Another came, this time at her leg. Then a soft splash of egg cracked against her side.
“She’s the one,” someone muttered.
“Always the omegas,” someone else replied.
“She should’ve been executed already.”
Mint shook her head, whispering under her breath, “I didn’t do anything. I didn’t mean to…”
She squeezed her eyes shut and looked up at the silver sky.
Moon Goddess, please. Please, I’m not ready. I haven’t even lived. I don’t want to die like this… not like this.
A new murmur rippled through the crowd.
The Alpha was coming.
The guards stood straighter. The pack members who’d gathered pressed back into place as Leighton entered the yard, flanked by two of his war guards. He walked with the same steady pace as always, dressed in all black, his expression unreadable.
He climbed the platform and sat on the stone chair without a word.
The square held its breath.
Mint’s body locked up completely. Her legs refused to move.
“Step forward,” the Alpha said.
His voice wasn’t raised, but she heard it like it was pressed to her chest.
Mint took a step. Then another. Her knees shook. The space between her and him felt like it stretched forever.
“I—please,” she whispered, barely able to get the words out. “I didn’t mean to spill it. I—I was just nervous, I was trying to—”
“She’s an omega,” Calista’s voice rang from the side.
She stepped forward from the shadows, arms folded across her armored chest. Her tone was calm, casual—like she was giving a weather report.
“She doesn’t know how to behave in a council room. And now she’s wasted your time and insulted your seat of power.”
“She made a mistake,” Ronan said, his tone neutral.
“She disrespected the Alpha. That’s not just a mistake.” Calista turned to the gathered crowd. “And she’s standing where traitors wait to die.”
Gasps, murmurs.
Mint turned toward Leighton, falling to her knees. “Please, Alpha. I’ll work double, triple. I’ll stay out of the council. I’ll never speak again if you don’t want me to. I swear I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
He didn’t look at her.
His fingers tapped once against the arm of the chair. His jaw was tight. Everyone was watching.
Then he stood.
Mint shut her eyes.
The courtyard went still.
And then—he walked.
Slowly, carefully—he stepped down from the platform and walked toward her.
She opened her eyes, confused.
Leighton stopped just a few steps away from her. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the line of his jaw.
And then—
The spark hit again.
Not like before.
This time, it slammed into her like lightning under her skin. Her lungs seized. Her wolf inside her jolted awake. She gasped and stumbled backward.
The Alpha’s body jerked slightly as if something had struck him from inside.
He stopped. His eyes met hers.
For a brief second, the mask slipped. Just for a heartbeat.
His hand twitched.
And then he stepped back, just one sharp pace.
The crowd murmured louder now. Confusion. Suspicion.
What had just happened?
Mint’s knees hit the stone. Her breathing was sharp and ragged. He’d felt it. She was sure of it now.
But he didn’t move again.
He didn’t speak.
Instead, he turned to the guards.
“Take her to the holding cell,” he ordered. “She is not to be touched.”
“But—Alpha, I thought—” Calista started.
“I said take her to the cell,” he repeated, colder this time.
Two guards moved immediately. They pulled Mint up by the arms, and she didn’t resist. Her eyes stayed locked on the Alpha as they dragged her away.
Leighton didn’t look back.
---
Later that night, the fire in Calista’s chamber burned hot, but it didn’t warm her.
She stood at her window, arms crossed, face hard with fury. The courtyard had been the perfect opportunity. Everyone had been watching. It should have ended with blood.
Instead, it ended with hesitation.
“He should’ve killed her,” she muttered.
“I’m surprised he didn’t,” Ronan said from the chair by the fire, his legs crossed lazily. “He usually doesn’t waste time with mercy.”
“He’s never spared an omega before.”
“Exactly.”
Calista turned, her face twisting. “You felt it too, didn’t you?”
Ronan hesitated.
“I saw something happen,” he said.
“The bond.”
Ronan didn’t answer.
Calista narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t tell me you liked her.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “You didn’t ask.”
“Well, now I know.” She crossed the room slowly, her tone soft but sharp. “So let me guess—you’re going to try to protect her now?”
“I’m not an i***t,” Ronan said. “I know what he is. And I know she’s not safe around him.”
“She’s not safe around me either.”
Ronan stood. “That sounds like a threat.”
“No,” Calista said with a tilt of her head. “Just a promise.”
There was a long pause between them.
Then Ronan asked, “What are you planning?”
Calista smiled, her eyes glittering. “Something final.”
“You’re not going to tell me.”
She turned away. “Not anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because now I know you want her alive.”
- Writer
