Forsaken By The Alpha, Bound By Fate

CHAPTER 3

The Mark of the Alpha

The silence after the wolf’s last words was heavy, it was too heavy and my ears still rang from the crash of glass, from growls, from my own heartbeat.

My friend stared at me like he didn’t know me. His voice was low, and shaky. “Valeria… What the hell was that? Who are you?”

“I can’t explain,” I whispered, and wiped blood from my arm. My claws were gone now, and my skin human again, but my body still hummed with wolf fire. “We need to leave. Now.”

“But your eyes, your hands…”

“Later!” I snapped, and pulled him toward the door. “If we stay, more will come.”

The apartment was destroyed, glass was crunched under our shoes, and the walls clawed and the air thick with the smell of blood, but I didn't look back.

We rushed down the stairs, his breath was uneven beside mine and outside, the night air slapped my face and I dragged him to my car and shoved the key in with shaking hands.

“Valeria,” he said again, and gripped my arm. “Talk to me. I deserve to know. Those things… they called you heir.”

I slammed the car door shut. “Seatbelt.”

He didn’t argue, but his eyes never left me.

The engine roared to life and I sped down the dark road, away from the wreck of my old life. But then, in the middle of the rush, pain stabbed my neck. I hissed, and clutched it.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I lied, but the burn grew hotter, and spread like fire under my skin. I pushed my hair aside and my fingers traced a scar I haven’t touched in years. A half-moon shaped scar, deep, carved into me.

Jammie saw it and his voice dropped. “That’s not… normal.”

I bit down hard, and fought the scream. Zyra whispered in my head, her voice was sharped as steel. “The mark. You can’t hide it forever.”

“No,” I whispered. “I rejected it. I left it behind.”

The memory cut through me like glass. A night under a blood-red moon. His hand was on me and his teeth were sinking into my neck. His voice claimed me as his and my own screamed as I pushed him away, swearing I’d rather die than belong to him. Alpha Draven.

My hands tightened on the wheel.

“He marked you,” Jammie breathed, horror in his voice. “Someone… claimed you?”

“Not someone.” My voice shook “Alpha Draven", and I rejected him. That’s why they want me dead.”

He stared, he was lost for words.

Zyra growled, she was restless. “Run. The mountains. Before the full moon.”

“I can’t stop now,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. “If I don’t run, I’ll be trapped and the full moon will bind me to him again.”

“Valeria, you’re scaring me.”

I gripped the wheel harder. “I’m scaring myself.”

The road stretched dark ahead and my breath steadied, but my skin still burnt, the scar glowed faintly under the moonlight.

Then….headlights flashed in the mirror. It was too close.

“Someone’s behind us,” my friend said.

I glanced back. A black SUV sped up, its engine was loud, its lights were blinding.

“No,” I whispered, and pressed harder on the gas.

The SUV swerved left, then right, and shadowed my every move and it made my stomach knotted.

“Valeria…”

Before he could finish, the SUV slammed into us and the car jerked hard and I gripped the wheel, teeth clenched.

Another hit.

“Hold on!” I shouted.

The SUV ran us again, and it was harder this time. The car skids sideways and the tires screeched and my friend screamed.

The world tilted and the car flipped.

Glass shattered, metal bent and my body slammed against the seat.

Everything turned upside down.

And then…darkness swallowed me.

I woke up with fire in my chest and my lungs hurt, my head rang.

When I tried to move, metal bit my wrists and chains rattled and then I froze.

The air was damp, it was heavy, full of stone and shadows. A single light bulb hung above me, swinging. I was on the cold floor and my ankles were chained too.

My heart jumped fast, too fast. “Hello?” My voice shook.

No answer, only the sound of dripping water somewhere in the dark.

I pulled against the chains. They didn’t move and my skin burnt where the metal touched me. It was silver.

I whispered to myself, “No… no, no…”

Then the door opened.

A man walked in, his steps were slow, and heavy, like each one belonged to him alone.

The moment he entered, the air shifted and my wolf cowered inside me. My body also stiffened on its own.

He was tall, broad shoulders, dark eyes that caught the light like fire. His face was sharp, and carved with fury.

I knew him, my breath left me.

Alpha Draven

My Alpha.

No. Not mine. Never mine.

“Valeria,” he said and his voice was low, it was smooth, and dangerous.

I whispered, “Stay away.”

He laughed once, without humor. “Still stubborn. Still defiant. Do you think chains can keep you from me?”

I looked away. “I don’t belong to you.”

“You did,” he said, and moved closer. His eyes pinned me down like claws. “You marked yourself when you rejected me. That scar on your neck… it is still mine.”

I shook my head, and pulled at the chains. “I left. I cut every tie.”

His hand snapped out, and gripped my jaw. My skin burnt under his touch. “You ran,” he said softly, “but you didn’t cut anything. You only hid.”

His breath was warm against my face. It was too close and too strong.

I spit the words out. “I would rather die than be yours.”

His eyes flashed gold. “You already are.”

Zyra whimpered inside me and my body shakes. I tried to push her down, but his power pressed harder. It filled the room, it was heavy, and choking.

“Shift,” he commanded.

“No..” I gasped, but my skin itched, and burnt. My nails lengthened, teeth sharpened and my body bent against my will.

“Stop it!” I screamed, and tears stung my eyes.

He didn’t stop, he just watched me, he was calm, dark, like he owned every breath I took.

Fur pricked along my arms and my eyes glowed in the reflection of his, half my face was a wolf and half was human.

He tilted his head. “See? Still mine.”

I panted hard, my chest heaved and my voice cracked. “What do you want from me?”

He knelt down, his eyes never left mine and his hand brushed the chain on my wrist like it belonged to him too.

“You stole something from me,” he said, he was slow, and deliberate.

I blinked, I was confused. “What…”

His gaze sharpened, like a blade pressing against my soul.

“Where is my child, Valeria?”

The words sliced the air open and my whole body went cold.