Marked by Alpha Who Broke Me

Chapter 8: The Thing That Hunts

I couldn’t stop staring at the body.

At the torn mark.

At the way the skin around it looked… wrong.

Like it had been peeled away from something invisible.

My stomach twisted violently.

“This isn’t possible…” someone whispered behind me.

No one disagreed.

Because deep down—

We all knew it was.

Arsen finally stepped closer to the body, crouching beside it. His expression was unreadable again, but I could feel it—

That tension.

That anger.

That fear.

All buried beneath control.

“What was his rank?” Arsen asked without looking up.

“Beta,” the woman replied.

My chest tightened.

Beta?

So not weak.

Not someone easy to kill.

And yet—

He was lying here like nothing.

Broken.

Empty.

Arsen’s fingers hovered just above the torn mark.

He didn’t touch it.

Like he knew—

Instinctively—

That he shouldn’t.

“The bond was severed,” he said quietly.

A chill ran down my spine.

“Severed?” I repeated.

His eyes flicked to me.

“Destroyed.”

My breath caught.

“That’s… not possible, right?”

Silence.

That was my answer.

“No one can break a bond like that,” another voice said nervously.

Arsen stood slowly.

His gaze swept across the room.

Cold.

Sharp.

“Something can,” he said.

The room fell silent again.

Because no one wanted to ask the next question.

But I did.

Because I had to.

“What kind of thing can do that?” I asked.

All eyes turned to me.

For a second—

I almost regretted speaking.

Then Arsen answered.

“I don’t know.”

That scared me more than anything.

Because if he didn’t know—

Then we were all in trouble.

“But I will find out,” he added, his voice dropping.

Not a promise.

A vow.

The kind you don’t break.

Ever.

My fingers tightened unconsciously around his hand.

He didn’t let go.

Didn’t even glance at me.

But his grip—

Tightened.

Just slightly.

Like he felt it too.

“You said it’s hunting bonds,” I said carefully. “Why?”

“That’s the question,” Arsen replied.

The woman stepped forward slightly.

“Alpha… if this is true, then—”

“It is.”

She swallowed.

“Then the Luna—”

“She’s protected.”

My breath hitched at the word.

Luna.

His mate.

Me.

No.

I shook my head slightly.

Not me.

I refused to accept that.

But no one corrected her.

No one questioned it.

That alone told me everything.

“She needs to be guarded at all times,” the woman continued.

“I know.”

“I can assign—”

“No.”

His voice cut through hers instantly.

Sharp.

Final.

“I’ll handle it.”

My stomach dropped.

Of course he would.

The woman hesitated.

Then nodded.

“Yes, Alpha.”

Arsen turned.

And finally—

Fully faced me.

That intensity in his gaze again.

Stronger now.

He wasn’t just looking at me.

He was calculating.

Deciding.

Protecting.

All at once.

“You’re staying with me,” he said.

I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“Do I even need to ask if that’s optional?”

“No.”

“Thought so.”

I crossed my arms.

“But let me guess—you’re going to say it’s for my own safety.”

“It is.”

“And I’m just supposed to trust you?”

A pause.

Then—

“Yes.”

I stared at him.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“And you’re alive.”

That shut me up.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

And I hated that.

“Fine,” I muttered. “But this doesn’t mean I agree with any of this.”

“I don’t need you to agree.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You don’t need anything from me.”

His gaze darkened slightly.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

My chest tightened.

“What does that mean?”

But before he could answer—

A sudden crash echoed from somewhere deep in the mansion.

Loud.

Violent.

Everyone froze.

“What was that?” someone whispered.

Another crash followed.

Closer this time.

My heart started pounding.

“That’s not possible…” the woman said under her breath.

Arsen’s entire body tensed.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

“No—wait—”

Too late.

He was already moving.

Fast.

Toward the sound.

And without thinking—

I followed.

Because there was no way I was staying behind alone.

Not with something like that out there.

“Hey!” I called. “Wait!”

He stopped abruptly.

Turned.

“What did I say?”

“Stay here,” I mimicked. “Yeah, not happening.”

His eyes narrowed.

“This isn’t a game.”

“I know that!”

“Then act like it.”

“I am!” I shot back. “You think I feel safe standing in a room full of strangers while something crashes through your house?”

A pause.

Then—

Another crash.

Louder.

Closer.

We both froze.

Because this time—

It didn’t sound like something breaking.

It sounded like something…

Entering.

My breath hitched.

“Arsen…” I whispered.

He didn’t look at me.

But his hand—

Found mine again.

Strong.

Grounding.

“Stay behind me,” he said quietly.

“I wasn’t planning to do anything else.”

We moved together this time.

Down the hallway.

Toward the sound.

The air felt different.

Heavier.

Colder.

Wrong.

Like the forest before—

But worse.

Much worse.

Something was inside.

I could feel it.

Every instinct in my body screamed it.

We turned the corner—

And stopped.

Because at the end of the hallway—

Something stood there.

Tall.

Still.

Covered in shadow.

I couldn’t see its face.

Couldn’t see its eyes.

But I knew—

It was looking at me.

My heart stopped.

“What… is that…?” I whispered.

Arsen stepped slightly in front of me.

Protective.

Dangerous.

Deadly.

But for the first time—

I felt it.

That tiny shift.

That almost invisible hesitation.

Even he—

Was unsure.

The thing tilted its head.

Slowly.

Almost… curiously.

Then—

It moved.

Not fast.

Not aggressive.

Just one step forward.

And the moment it did—

Pain exploded in my chest.

I gasped, collapsing to my knees.

The mark burned like fire.

Stronger than ever before.

“Ah—!”

Arsen turned instantly.

His hand gripping my shoulder.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

I tried.

But it hurt too much.

“It’s reacting to you…” I choked out.

“No,” he said sharply.

His gaze snapped back to the thing.

“It’s reacting to that.”

The shadow shifted again.

Closer now.

And I felt it—

That pull.

Stronger than anything before.

Not from Arsen.

From it.

“No…” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, I don’t—”

The pain intensified.

Dragging.

Pulling.

Calling.

“Stay with me,” Arsen said firmly, his voice cutting through the chaos.

I grabbed onto him instinctively.

“I can’t—!”

“You can.”

His grip tightened.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

The thing stopped.

Just a few meters away.

Close enough that I could feel it.

Cold.

Empty.

Hungry.

And then—

It spoke.

A voice that didn’t sound human.

Didn’t sound alive.

“…Mine…”

My blood ran cold.

Arsen’s entire body went rigid.

“No,” he said.

Low.

Dangerous.

Final.

The thing tilted its head again.

“…Bond…”

My vision blurred.

The pull intensified.

I couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’t—

And then—

Arsen moved.

Fast.

He pulled me up, dragging me behind him as his voice dropped into something deeper.

Something powerful.

Something that made the walls themselves seem to shake.

“You want her?” he growled.

The air cracked with tension.

“Come take her.”

My heart stopped.

Because whatever that thing was—

It didn’t hesitate.

And neither did he.

And I knew—

Right then—

This wasn’t just a hunt anymore.

This was war.