UNKNOWINGLY MARKED THE ALPHA

CHAPTER FOUR

MEADOW'S POV.

I stood frozen where I was.

The basket lay on the ground beside me. Clothes were scattered everywhere. My hands felt cold, but sweat still gathered at the back of my neck.

In front of me stood the man from the forest.

The man I had marked.

The man I had run from.

And now I knew who he truly was.

Alpha Killian.

Royal blood.

My heart pounded so hard it hurt.

The messenger who had called him by name stepped back and left quietly, as if he knew better than to remain there.

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole.

I had marked royalty.

I was wearing servant clothes.

Laundry was all over the floor.

If anyone noticed there was something between us—even by mistake—I was finished.

I dropped to my knees so quickly that they hit the stone path hard.

My hands shook as I grabbed the clothes one by one and stuffed them back into the basket. I kept my eyes lowered. I did not dare look directly at him.

An omega did not stare at a high Alpha.

An outcast omega definitely did not stare at royalty.

I hugged the basket to my chest and bowed quickly.

“Please excuse me, Alpha.”

Then I turned to leave.

I only made it one step when a strong hand wrapped around my wrist.

I gasped.

The basket nearly slipped from my arms.

The second he touched me, heat shot up my arm like fire. My wolf stirred sharply inside me, awake and restless.

It wasn't pain. It was something else. Something dangerous.

I looked up before I could stop myself.

His eyes locked onto mine. Silver and blue. Cold. Hard. Unforgiving.

“Six months,” he said as he took a step closer.

His voice was low and deathly cold.

Then he leaned slightly closer, speaking only for me.

“You marked me and vanished into thin air, leaving me to deal with the consequences of your actions.”

My throat went dry, and I swallowed.

“I... I did not mean to.”

His grip tightened just enough to make my pulse jump.

Fear rushed through me, but I still tried to pull free.

“Let go of me.”

One dark brow lifted slightly, and something dark flashed in his eyes as a chilling smirk touched the side of his lips.

“Do you realize what that single little mistake cost me?”

I forced myself to meet his gaze for one second.

“Look, if I wanted a royal problem,” I whispered, “I would have asked for one. I marked you, yes, but it was purely by accident. I already apologized a thousand times, and anyway, it's gone now, isn't it? So why won't you just leave it alone and forget whatever happened that night?”

Something dark flickered in his eyes, and with his other hand, he pulled down the neck of his shirt.

“Tell me... does this look gone to you?”

My eyes widened when I saw the mark still on his neck, and my stomach twisted uncomfortably.

Oh goddess, no.

“How did—” I swallowed. “How is it still there? It wasn't even that deep. I didn't bite that hard. I don't know what happened.”

His jaw tightened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but footsteps sounded behind us.

My stomach dropped.

Lucian.

He stopped a few steps away.

At first, he looked confused. His eyes moved from Alpha Killian to me.

Then he saw his hand around my wrist, and his face hardened immediately.

“Is there a problem?” Lucian asked.

Alpha Killian slowly released me.

I stepped back at once, clutching the basket tighter.

Alpha Killian’s face gave nothing away.

“Nothing to interfere with,” he said flatly. “Your servant collided with me. She and I were having a little conversation.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened.

“I see.”

But I knew that tone. I knew that look in his eyes.

He did not like another man touching me.

Even after rejecting me.

Even after everything, he still hated the thought of any man near me.

Both of them were watching me now, and I hated it.

Before Lucian could speak again, another voice cut through the air.

“Is everything alright over here? I couldn't help but feel the tension from a mile away.”

Clarissa.

She walked toward us with graceful steps and linked her arm through Lucian’s like she belonged there.

Because she did.

She looked at me first with disgust and scoffed.

Then her eyes moved to Alpha Killian, and she froze.

Only for a second.

But I saw it. Something flashed in her eyes.

Shock?

Fear?

Recognition?

I couldn't tell for sure.

Then it was gone.

Her face smoothed into a pleasant smile.

I frowned slightly.

Had they met before?

I glanced at Alpha Killian.

Something had changed in his expression too. It was quick, almost too quick to catch. And then his face hardened again.

Maybe I imagined it.

“Killian,” another voice called, and every wolf around me seemed to tense at once.

Power rolled through the air so strongly my knees nearly gave out.

The Alpha King. I knew it was him not just because of his aura, but because of the way he called an Alpha by his name without the title.

My eyes widened, and knowing I had no time to run, I quickly dropped to my knees, head bowed, eyes fixed on the ground.

My wolf curled inward in fear.

Alpha Killian had been terrifying enough.

Now the King himself stood here.

I heard hurried footsteps behind him, and I risked a glance.

Ron.

“Your Majesty, there is no problem at all,” he said quickly.

He gestured toward me like I was trash on the ground.

“The omegas were already ordered away. This one seems to forget how to obey.”

My face burned.

Again.

Always me.

Ron kept apologizing for my presence, for the scene, for everything.

I said nothing.

What was the point? There was nothing in this world I didn’t do. It was always me.

I risked one small glance sideways.

Clarissa was silent.

Completely silent.

Normally, she would have jumped at the chance to humiliate me.

Instead, she had let go of Lucian.

Her arms were folded around herself now.

Her eyes were fixed on... Alpha Killian.

I frowned in confusion.

Her face looked pale.

Tense.

Strange.

The King spoke again.

“Killian, what is the matter?”

Silence answered him.

Then Alpha Killian turned and walked away.

No explanation.

No bow.

No glance back.

But anger rolled off him so strongly everyone felt it.

Ron made a choking sound.

“Your Majesty, please—”

But the King ignored him and followed after his brother.

“Killian!”

Then they were gone.

The air still felt heavy after they left.

Clarissa spoke quickly.

“I need to check on something.”

Without waiting for a response, she turned and hurried away.

I stared after her in shock.

That was unlike her too.

Then Ron rounded on me.

His face was red with anger.

“You,” he growled lowly in rage. “You embarrassed this pack in front of the royals! What did you do this time?!”

I flinched but stayed kneeling.

“You made us look weak! Disorganized! Out of control! Why must you always bring trouble?! Hasn’t your treacherous father done enough damage to this pack?! Do you have to continue from where he stopped?!”

His finger pointed at me like a weapon.

Then he turned to Lucian.

“Punish her properly. Or I will do it myself.”

Then he stormed off, muttering under his breath about damage control.

And then there were only two of us left.

Lucian and me.

I slowly rose to my feet.

Lucian looked at me with cold eyes.

“What were you doing standing so close to Alpha Killian?”

I bent down and picked up the last shirt from the ground.

No answer.

“I’m talking to you, Meadow.”

I ignored him as I placed the shirt in the basket and lifted it into my arms.

Then I turned to leave.

His hand shot out and grabbed my arm.

He jerked me back toward him.

The basket shook dangerously.

“Let me go,” I growled, but his grip only tightened.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” he said in a low, angry voice.

I stared at him.

“Do you?”

His eyes darkened.

“Do not entertain foolish thoughts, Meadow.”

I said nothing.

His grip tightened.

“No Alpha,” he continued, “least of all one of royal blood, would ever look at you.”

There it was.

The cruelty dressed as truth.

I ripped my arm from his grasp.

Then I glared straight into his face.

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

I turned and walked away before he could stop me again.

My heart pounded all the way down the dark path.

My wrist still tingled where Alpha Killian had touched me.

His scent still clung to my skin.

And even after I disappeared into the night, I could still feel his eyes on me.