Marked By The Enemy Alpha

CHAPTER 8~The Fiancee

The afternoon sun hung low over Black Hollow Village as Ayla carried a basket of fresh bread through the marketplace.

It had been weeks since she decided to stay.

Weeks since she realized revenge required patience.

And somehow, despite herself, Black Hollow had started feeling less like a hiding place and more like a home.

Not her home.

Nothing could ever replace Silver Moon.

But a place she could breathe.

A place where people smiled when they saw her.

A place where nobody looked at her with fear.

Ayla stopped in front of a small bakery near the village square.

The owner, an elderly woman named Martha, was already waiting outside.

The old woman's wrinkled face immediately brightened when she saw her.

"There you are, child."

Ayla smiled faintly.

"You asked me to help carry the flour sacks."

"And you did," Martha said proudly. "Unlike my useless grandson."

Ayla laughed softly.

"He can't be that bad."

"Oh, he absolutely can."

A familiar voice spoke behind her.

"I can hear you, Grandma."

Ayla turned.

Lucas stood there carrying a sack over one shoulder.

Martha scoffed dramatically.

"Good. Maybe hearing the truth will finally make you useful."

Lucas placed a hand over his heart.

"You wound me."

The old woman rolled her eyes.

"You're already grown enough to work properly, yet somehow Ayla helps me more than you do."

Ayla immediately shook her head.

"That's not true."

"It is true," Martha insisted.

Lucas groaned.

"I save unconscious strangers from dying in forests and this is the appreciation I get."

Martha smacked his arm lightly.

Ayla couldn't stop herself from laughing.

The old woman pointed at her immediately.

"See? Even she's laughing."

Lucas sighed dramatically.

"Traitors. Both of you."

For a brief moment, Ayla forgot everything.

Forgot Silver Moon.

Forgot Shadow Fang.

Forgot Kael.

She simply laughed.

And somehow, that felt strange.

Nice.

Normal.

Something she hadn't experienced in a very long time.

Across the square, however, another pair of eyes watched them carefully.

Coldly.

A young woman stood near one of the market stalls.

Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders while her gaze remained fixed on Ayla and Lucas.

The smile on her face never reached her eyes.

Kyla.

She had been watching for several minutes.

Watching Lucas laugh.

Watching Ayla smile.

Watching something she didn't like.

At all.

Later that evening, Ayla made her way toward the riverbank.

It had become her favorite place in Black Hollow.

Whenever her thoughts became too loud, she came here.

The water helped.

The silence helped.

At least a little.

She sat beneath a familiar tree and stared at the flowing river.

The setting sun painted the water gold.

For a moment, peace settled over her.

Then she heard footsteps.

A small smile touched her lips.

"You're late, Lucas."

The footsteps stopped.

Ayla looked up.

The smile immediately vanished.

The woman standing before her wasn't Lucas.

She was beautiful.

Tall.

Elegant.

And staring at Ayla with an expression she couldn't quite understand.

Ayla slowly stood.

"I'm sorry," she said politely. "I thought you were someone else."

The woman's gaze sharpened slightly.

"Lucas?"

Ayla nodded.

The stranger's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

For several seconds neither spoke.

Then the woman stepped closer.

"My name is Kyla."

Ayla offered a small nod.

"Ayla."

"I know."

Something about the way she said it made Ayla uncomfortable.

Kyla crossed her arms.

"So you're the girl everyone keeps talking about."

Ayla frowned slightly.

"I don't know what you mean."

A humorless smile appeared on Kyla's face.

"Of course you don't."

The tension in the air suddenly became obvious.

Ayla didn't understand why.

She had never seen this woman before.

Yet it felt as though Kyla had already formed an opinion of her.

And it wasn't a good one.

Finally, Kyla spoke again.

"Lucas spends a lot of time with you."

Ayla blinked.

"Oh."

The realization hit immediately.

"He helped me when I arrived."

Kyla's expression remained unreadable.

"He helps you a lot."

Ayla didn't know how to answer that.

Before she could, Kyla quietly said:

"I'm engaged to him."

Silence.

Ayla stared at her.

"Oh."

Everything suddenly made sense.

The strange tension.

The cold looks.

The questions.

Kyla loved Lucas.

And clearly she wasn't happy about how much time he spent around Ayla.

Ayla immediately shook her head.

"If you're worried about me and Lucas—"

"You should stay away from him."

The words cut through the air.

Ayla stopped speaking.

Kyla looked away briefly.

For the first time, genuine pain flashed across her face.

"I love him."

The confession wasn't angry.

It wasn't cruel.

It was heartbreaking.

Ayla felt her chest tighten.

Because she knew that look.

The look of someone loving something they couldn't have.

The look of someone afraid of losing the person they cared about most.

For a moment, Ayla couldn't even be angry.

She just felt sorry for her.

Then another voice interrupted.

"Kyla."

Both women turned.

Lucas was walking toward them.

His expression darkened the moment he saw Kyla.

"What are you doing here?"

Kyla straightened.

"I came to talk."

Lucas looked between them.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing that wasn't true."

Ayla immediately stepped back.

She suddenly felt like she didn't belong in this conversation.

But before she could leave, Lucas spoke.

"Stay."

She froze.

Kyla noticed.

And her expression hardened further.

Lucas sighed heavily.

Then he looked directly at Kyla.

"We've talked about this before."

"Have we?" Kyla asked bitterly.

"Yes."

"No, Lucas. You've talked. I've listened."

A painful silence followed.

Ayla looked away.

This wasn't her business.

It shouldn't be.

Yet she couldn't ignore the hurt in Kyla's eyes.

Lucas rubbed his forehead.

"Kyla..."

"No."

For the first time, emotion broke through Kyla's calm mask.

Tears shimmered in her eyes.

"I've spent years pretending things would change."

Lucas's face softened.

But not in the way she wanted.

Ayla could see it.

And Kyla could too.

That made everything worse.

Finally, Lucas spoke quietly.

"It wasn't my choice."

Kyla laughed bitterly.

"The arranged marriage."

Ayla looked up.

Arranged marriage?

Lucas nodded.

"Our families agreed when we were children."

The words landed heavily.

Ayla suddenly understood everything.

Kyla loved Lucas.

But Lucas didn't love her.

He had never chosen this engagement.

Just as Kyla had never chosen to love someone who couldn't return her feelings.

For a moment, Ayla felt sympathy for both of them.

Kyla was trapped by love.

Lucas was trapped by duty.

Neither was truly free.

The situation reminded her painfully of something Elder Miriam once said:

"Sometimes the cruelest cages are the ones built by expectation."

Kyla wiped angrily at her eyes.

"So that's it?"

Lucas remained silent.

And that silence answered everything.

Kyla looked at Ayla one last time.

Not with hatred this time.

Just sadness.

Then she turned and walked away.

Ayla watched her disappear among the trees.

For several moments neither she nor Lucas spoke.

Finally, Ayla sighed.

"I feel bad for her."

Lucas stared at the river.

"So do I."

Ayla glanced at him.

"You should tell her."

"I have."

"No. Not with words."

Lucas frowned.

Ayla looked toward the direction Kyla had gone.

"With honesty."

The river flowed quietly between them.

And somewhere in the distance, Kyla walked away with a broken heart.