Marked Twice

The Second Alpha

The howl echoed again.

Deep.

Powerful.

Close enough to make the wolves around Lyra uneasy.

Kael’s entire body went rigid beside her. The air around him seemed darker somehow, heavier with restrained violence.

The scarred wolf beside him cursed softly. “Bloodclaw.”

Lyra frowned. “Bloodclaw?”

No one answered her.

Kael stepped forward slowly, placing himself fully between her and the trees ahead. Every muscle in his body looked ready for a fight.

Then branches shifted in the darkness.

A massive wolf emerged from the shadows.

Unlike Kael’s black wolf, this one carried silver-brown fur that gleamed beneath the moonlight. Golden eyes scanned the clearing calmly, intelligently.

Confidently.

The wolf was enormous.

But what unsettled Lyra most was the way it looked directly at her the moment it appeared.

Like it already knew her.

A second wolf appeared beside it.

Then a third.

The forest suddenly felt crowded with predators.

Kael’s voice dropped dangerously low. “You’re far from your territory, Ronan.”

The large wolf’s gaze never left Lyra.

Then slowly, it shifted.

Lyra stared as bones cracked and fur disappeared. Moments later, a man stood where the wolf had been.

Tall.

Broad.

Golden-eyed.

Unlike Kael’s cold sharpness, this man carried a different kind of danger — smoother, calmer, almost seductive. Dark blond hair brushed against his forehead, and confidence radiated from him effortlessly.

But the second his eyes landed fully on Lyra…

Everything about him changed.

His expression darkened.

His nostrils flared slightly.

Shock flashed across his face.

Then hunger.

Not physical hunger.

Recognition.

Kael moved instantly, blocking Lyra from his view.

A low growl vibrated through Ronan’s chest.

“Move,” he said calmly.

“No.”

The single word carried deadly warning.

Tension exploded between both Alphas instantly.

Lyra looked between them nervously. “Can someone tell me what’s happening?”

Ronan ignored the question completely.

His golden eyes narrowed on Kael. “Why does she carry your scent?”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“That’s none of your concern.”

Ronan took one slow step forward.

The wolves behind him immediately tensed.

“She smells marked.”

Silence crashed through the clearing.

Even Lyra felt the weight behind those words.

Ronan’s gaze shifted past Kael briefly, finally locking onto the glowing silver mark visible beneath Lyra’s collarbone.

The moment he saw it—

His expression changed completely.

Disbelief.

Pure disbelief.

“That’s impossible,” one of the Bloodclaw wolves muttered behind him.

Ronan stared at the mark like it had personally offended reality itself.

Then his eyes slowly lifted toward Lyra again.

And something dangerous softened in his face.

The intensity of it made her heart stutter.

“What’s your name?” he asked quietly.

“Don’t answer him,” Kael said immediately.

Ronan smirked slightly without looking away from her. “You don’t usually hide women behind you, Kael. Interesting.”

“I said leave.”

Lyra swallowed nervously as tension thickened between them.

Still, she answered softly, “Lyra.”

The second her name left her lips, Ronan inhaled sharply.

His eyes darkened instantly.

Something about hearing her name affected him.

Badly.

Kael noticed too.

A dangerous growl rose from his chest.

Ronan ignored it.

He continued staring at Lyra with an intensity that made heat crawl uncomfortably across her skin.

Then suddenly—

Ronan appeared directly in front of her.

Too fast.

Lyra gasped.

Kael grabbed him instantly, shoving him backward with enough force to c***k the ground beneath them.

Both Alphas growled violently.

The wolves surrounding them immediately backed away.

Lyra’s pulse hammered painfully.

“What the hell is wrong with you people?”

Neither man answered her.

Ronan’s golden eyes remained locked on her as though he couldn’t force himself to look away.

Then he inhaled deeply.

His expression darkened instantly.

“You marked her.”

Kael stepped protectively in front of Lyra again. “Watch your tone.”

Ronan laughed softly, though there was no humor in it.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Kael remained silent.

And somehow, that silence answered enough.

Ronan looked at Lyra again, slower this time. More carefully.

Almost reverently.

Then his gaze sharpened dangerously.

“She’s not fully human.”

The words hit Lyra like ice water.

“What?”

Kael’s expression hardened immediately. “Enough.”

But Ronan kept staring at her.

“There’s moonborn blood in her scent,” he said quietly. “Faint… but there.”

Lyra’s stomach twisted painfully.

Moonborn?

She had never heard that word before.

Kael looked ready to kill him now.

“Leave, Ronan.”

Instead of arguing, Ronan stepped closer again slowly.

This time Kael didn’t move immediately.

Because Ronan wasn’t looking at him anymore.

He was looking at the glowing mark beneath Lyra’s collarbone.

Something almost painful crossed his face.

Then his voice lowered.

“She’s my mate too.”