Marked By The Alpha

Heritage

"But she's marked!" Lena shrieked. "She's damaged goods! You can't—"

"I can and I have." Kieran's voice cut through her protests like a blade. "The selection is complete."

My father pushed through the crowd, his face a mixture of shock and cunning satisfaction. "Alpha Kieran, we're honored. My daughter will make you a fine bride."

Liar. An hour ago, he was ready to kill me.

"The ceremony will take place in three days," Kieran announced. "Prepare your daughter."

Then he turned and left the hall, his pack following behind him.

I stood frozen as chaos erupted around me.

Why would he choose me? Why would a powerful Alpha want a marked wolf?

Unless...

Unless he knew exactly who'd marked me.

And if he knew, then that meant he'd been at the pond that night. He was the stranger. He was my mysterious mate.

But if that was true, why pretend not to know me? Why act like he was choosing me for political reasons?

What game was Alpha Kieran playing?

And what would happen when I became his bride and he discovered the secret I was carrying?

Because despite everything else, despite the fear and confusion and pain of the last three days, one thing had become crystal clear this morning.

I was pregnant.

I knew the moment I entered that hall.

My mate was there.

The bond pulled at me, muted and strange, but undeniable. I'd been searching for three days, following that thread of connection, and it led me here. To Silvermoon Pack. To this gods-damned mating ceremony I'd been forced to attend.

When my eyes found her in the crowd, everything inside me went still.

It was her. The girl from the forest. My mate.

She looked different in the light. Smaller than I remembered. More fragile. Her long black hair was pulled back, exposing a slender neck and—

The mark I'd given her.

Pride and possessiveness surged through me. Mine. She was mine. I'd marked her, claimed her, made her mine under the full moon.

But she was looking at the ground, her shoulders hunched, trying to make herself invisible.

Why?

Then I saw the faint yellowing of a bruise on her jaw. The careful way she held herself, like her ribs hurt.

Someone had hurt her.

My mate.

Rage burned through my veins, so intense I nearly shifted right there in the hall.

Who? Who had dared touch what was mine?

I forced myself to stay calm, to continue the charade I'd planned. I couldn't reveal our connection yet. Not until I understood what was happening here.

The bond between us was wrong. Muted. Incomplete.

I'd marked her. We'd mated. She should be able to feel me constantly, the way I felt her. We should be connected in mind and soul.

But when I tried to reach her through the bond, there was nothing. Just a wall of silence.

That should be impossible.

Unless... unless her wolf was dormant, the way the whispers suggested.

But I'd felt her wolf that night. Felt it responding to mine, even if it didn't fully emerge.

Something was blocking our bond. And I needed to figure out what before I revealed the truth.

I walked down the line of females, barely seeing any of them. Pretty faces, nice figures, eager smiles. None of them mattered.

There was only her.

When I reached her, I had to force myself not to pull her into my arms right there.

"Look at me," I commanded.

She raised her eyes, and I nearly lost my careful control.

Those warm brown eyes. I remembered them looking up at me in the moonlight. Remembered the trust in them as she gave herself to me.

Now they were filled with fear.

Of me? Or of something else?

Up close, I could see the makeup covering my mark. See the tension in her shoulders. The barely hidden pain.

Someone would pay for putting that fear in her eyes.

"What's your name?" I already knew it. I'd spent three days learning everything about her.

Maya Chen. Daughter of Gamma Victor. Nineteen years old. Treated like an outcast because of her dormant wolf. Dating the Alpha's heir until three nights ago when he mated with her stepsister instead.

"Maya Chen."

Her voice was soft but steady. Brave, despite her fear.

"You're marked." I let my eyes linger on my claim.

"Yes, Alpha."

She thought I was going to reject her. I could see it in her eyes.

Did she not recognize my scent? Did she truly not know who I was?

The bond flowed one way. I could feel her, but she couldn't feel me.

How was that possible?

"Who marked you?"

"I... I don't know. A stranger. During the Mating Moon."

A stranger.

She didn't know.

The realization hit me hard. She had no idea that her mysterious mate from the forest was standing right in front of her.

Part of me wanted to tell her right then. Claim her publicly. Make sure everyone knew she was mine and mine alone.

But something held me back. Instinct. Strategy.

If I claimed her as my fated mate now, in front of both packs, it would cause chaos. Questions would be asked. Our night together would become public knowledge.

And I still didn't understand why our bond was incomplete.

No. Better to play this carefully. Choose her as a political bride. Take her back to Shadowridge. Figure out what was blocking our bond in private.

Then I would claim her properly.

I stepped back and made my announcement.

The shock on everyone's faces was satisfying. They'd expected me to reject the marked girl.

Instead, I'd chosen her above all others.

Maya looked like she might faint. Her face went pale, her eyes wide.

I wanted to go to her. Steady her. But I forced myself to leave instead.

I had three days to prepare. Three days before I could take my mate home and begin unraveling this mystery.

Three days to figure out why fate had brought us together in such a complicated way.

And to plan what I would do to whoever had put those bruises on her skin.

Back in my temporary quarters, my Beta Marcus found me pacing.

"That was unexpected," he said carefully. "The marked girl?"

"My choice is made."

"Kieran." He closed the door behind him. "What's going on? You've been obsessed with finding some wolf for three days. Now you choose a girl who's already marked by someone else?"

I could trust Marcus. We'd grown up together, fought together, nearly died together. He was more brother than Beta.

"She's my mate."

His eyes widened. "The girl from the forest? You found her?"

"She's mine. I marked her that night."

"Then why the elaborate charade? Why not just claim her as your fated mate?"

"Because something's wrong with our bond." I resumed pacing. "It's incomplete. Muted. She can't feel me the way she should."

Marcus frowned. "I've never heard of that happening."

"Neither have I. Until I understand what's blocking our bond, I'm not revealing the truth. Too many questions. Too much vulnerability."

"So you'll marry her as a political bride?"

"I'll marry her, take her home, and figure out what's wrong. Then I'll claim her properly."

"And if she finds out you knew all along? That you've been hiding the truth?"

"She won't. Not until I'm ready to tell her."

Marcus looked skeptical but didn't argue. "The pack is confused. They expected you to choose someone powerful. Someone who could strengthen alliances."

"Maya Chen is the granddaughter of an Alpha. Her bloodline is stronger than anyone realizes."

"How do you know that?"

"I did my research." I'd spent three days digging into Maya's history. Her mother's lineage. The secrets that had been buried. "Her grandmother was Alpha of the Moonstone Pack before it was destroyed. That makes Maya royalty."

"Does she know?"

"I doubt it. Her mother was demoted to omega status. They've hidden the truth from her."

"Why?"

"That's what I intend to find out."