Accidentally Marked By My Mafia Stepfather

Forever

Danny’s POV

I turned and walked straight toward the door, my hand reaching for the handle. Before my fingers could even wrap around it, heavy arms clamped tightly around my waist from behind. In one swift motion, he hauled me back and slammed me against the heavy wood.

His jaw was locked, his gray eyes blazing with raw, terrifying fury. "Don't you have a single iota of fear in you?!" he growled, his face inches from mine.

I stared right back into his eyes, the cold hatred scorching through my veins like poison. "No," I rasped out. "No, I don't have an ounce of fear for you."

His eyes darkened, his grip tightening as he pressed me harder against the door frame. "You aren't staying in my bedroom. I have a wife."

A bitter, mocking smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth. "Well, you probably should’ve thought about that last night before you dragged me into a room, f****d me, and f*****g marked me," I shot back smoothly.

He let go of my waist like he'd been burned, instantly stepping back to adjust his rumpled collar, as if touching me was beneath him. "My wife is your stepmother. Are you even remotely aware of what that means?"

"I heard," I replied flatly.

"Do you realize how insanely complicated this is?" he asked, his tone dropping the angry edge as he ran a frustrated hand straight through his dark hair.

"I know."

He let out a long, heavy sigh, his eyes scanning the massive guest suite around us. "Look, this is a huge room. You have your own bathroom, a couch, a balcony. You can stay right here."

"No," I fired back without hesitating. "We're staying in the same room."

"f**k!" He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands flying open in absolute disbelief. "Look, we do not need to share a bed! What the hell am I supposed to tell my wife?!"

He was right, logically. I didn't want to stay in the same room as him. I couldn't even stand looking at his sharp, arrogant face, let alone falling asleep next to him every single night. But what happens if my body tried to shut down again the second he stepped out of the house? Earlier, I had been trapped inside my own head totally conscious, but unable to move, open my eyes, or speak while Erica carried me out.

I wasn't going to let myself end up in a coma just to save his marriage.

"I don't care," I said coldly, walking right past him. "Find an excuse."

I stepped into the grand hallway, trying to navigate the labyrinth of luxury marble corridors to find the main living room. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Erica's number.

It rang once. Twice.

"Where are you?" I asked the second she picked up.

"Uhhh... I'm in this ridiculously huge, ridiculously wealthy looking living room," she answered, her voice echoing over the phone.

I looked around the empty hallway I was standing in. "f**k, I think I'm lost."

Just then, Noah walked around the corner. He brought himself to a stop, his usually stoic expression cracking into a small, relieved smile.

"Danny, you shouldn't be wandering around out here," Noah said softly. He glanced behind me. "Where's my boss?"

"I don't know," I answered, dismissing him with a wave of my hand. "Can you just take me to my friend?"

"Of course," Noah nodded. "We also have a doctor waiting downstairs to check your vitals."

A doctor? I thought silently. Why were they bringing a medical team for me now? I didn't say anything out loud, just falling into step behind Noah as he led the way down a grand spiral staircase.

At the bottom lay an even more massive living area. Erica was sitting nervously on a leather sofa, but the second her eyes landed on me, her face lit up. She scrambled off the cushions and threw her arms tightly around my neck.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" she cried into my shoulder.

"I will be... if you stop squeezing the air out of my lungs," I teased weakly.

She pulled back, wiping her eyes. I looked past her shoulder to see an older man sitting in a chair, wearing a white medical coat. He looked to be in his late sixties, his face lined with deep exhaustion which didn't surprise me one bit. Who wouldn't look exhausted working for a mafia Alpha? It suddenly hit me that I didn't even know my own fated mate's actual name.

"Please, sit down," Noah gestured gently.

Erica and I sat side by side on the couch. The elderly doctor leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. "Your friend here told me you are a pure omega. Is that correct?"

"Yes," I answered, nodding.

"And you are aware that you’ve bonded with your fated mate?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what that actually entails?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah," I blurted out, my voice thick with sarcasm. "It means that Alpha is tied to me for the rest of his miserable life."

Erica let out a quiet snort, looking ridiculously proud of me. But Noah and the doctor just stared at me in grave, heavy silence.

"Actually... it's the exact opposite," the doctor said softly. "You are bonded to him for the rest of your life. Your system cannot survive for long without his pheromones, but his body can function perfectly without yours." He paused, a sad look settling in his eyes. "In ancient lore, fated mates are a supreme blessing to an Alpha... but a total curse to an Omega."

I sat there, my hands beginning to tremble slightly in my lap. I clamped them together tightly so Erica wouldn't see them shake.

A curse.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, digesting the sick joke my life had become. Why did every bad thing in the universe have to hit me at once? First, my mother died. Then my dad literally married Cinderella's wicked stepmother lookalike.

Then my dad died in a highway crash. Then I tested as an Omega. And now, I was physically shackled to an Alpha who hated my guts, who happened to be my stepmother's new husband.

Isn't bad luck supposed to happen in turns? How come I'm the only one getting pummeled by fate?

"Can a fated bond be broken?" I managed to mutter, looking up at the doctor.

A tiny, gentle smile broke across the old doctor's face. "Actually... yes. It can."

"Wait, really?!" The heavy cloud hanging over my chest lifted just a fraction.

The doctor nodded. "Under one strict condition: another True Alpha has to fall deeply in love with you. If a True Alpha chooses you, marks you with mutual consent, the previous bond dissolves completely."

"Oh my god!" Erica and I squealed in unison, grabbing each other's hands.

"However, don't get your hopes up," the doctor added quickly, dampening our excitement. "It's nearly impossible. You can't stay away from your current Alpha long enough to meet anyone else, and very few True Alphas would ever risk challenging another Alpha's claimed mate."

I scoffed softly, rolling my shoulders back as my usual stubborn pride kicked back in. "Chill out, Doc," I said smoothly. "I'm extremely pretty. I can easily pull another True Alpha."

"That won't be happening," a deep, dark voice boomed from the top of the grand staircase.

The warm yellow overhead lights caught his tall silhouette as he stepped down the stairs, his suit jacket unbuttoned, his gray eyes locking onto mine with terrifying, possessive authority.

"My omega belongs only to me," Chad added, his voice vibrating through the room. "Forever."