UNKNOWINGLY MARKED THE ALPHA

CHAPTER NINE

KILLIAN’S POV.

I stood there for a moment without moving, my eyes going back to the closed door with complete indifference before turning away from it entirely.

The conversation was over.

And so was my interest in it.

I walked deeper into the room slowly. The fire near the far wall crackled softly, shadows shifting across the large guest chamber.

My mind should have been focused on the real reason I came here.

Instead, it kept drifting elsewhere.

Annoying.

I stopped near the window overlooking the dark forest beyond the pack grounds and pulled my shirt over my head before tossing it carelessly onto a nearby chair.

Cool air brushed against my skin.

The window glass reflected my figure faintly beneath the moonlight.

It reflected the scars.

My eyes moved slowly over the familiar marks crossing my body.

Some thin.

Some jagged.

Some old enough to have faded pale against my skin.

Others deeper.

Sharper.

Ugly reminders carved into flesh long ago.

Most people never noticed them.

I preferred it that way.

Ares stirred quietly inside me.

“They still bother you.”

“No.”

A lie.

My gaze lingered on one scar stretching across my ribs before sliding higher toward another crossing my shoulder.

Memories threatened at the edges of my mind.

Cold rooms.

Pain.

Blood.

Disappointment.

I shoved all of it down immediately.

The past was useless.

It made people weak, a weakness I couldn’t afford.

Outside, the forest swayed softly beneath the wind.

Then movement caught my eye.

My gaze sharpened instantly.

Far beyond the edge of the pack grounds, a figure moved between the trees.

Small.

Quick.

Even from this distance, I recognized her immediately.

The omega.

My jaw tightened.

I could barely see her face beneath the darkness, yet something inside me knew without question that it was her.

Ares growled lowly.

“She’s running.”

I watched as she moved deeper into the woods.

Then she reached back and tied her hair up slowly.

A moment later, she bent slightly and removed her shoes.

My eyes narrowed.

“She’s about to shift.”

I stared at her for another second before turning sharply away from the window.

I grabbed my shirt and shoved it back on as I headed toward the door.

Fast.

My fists clenched and unclenched at my sides as I walked through the silent hallways.

I honestly had no idea why I was following her.

Perhaps because she kept running from me.

Perhaps because I disliked unanswered questions.

Or perhaps because the mark on my neck burned every time she appeared near me.

Either way, I was already moving before I fully thought it through.

The cool night air hit my face the moment I stepped outside.

I followed the direction I had seen her heading earlier, boots crunching softly against fallen leaves.

At first, there was no sign of her.

Nothing.

Just darkness and trees.

I slowed slightly.

Had I lost her already?

Then her scent drifted toward me.

Wildflowers.

Something soft underneath it that I still could not name.

My entire body tensed instantly.

“There,” Ares said.

A second later, I heard it.

The sound of movement through the forest.

Branches shifting.

Paws striking the ground.

Fast.

I turned slowly toward the sound.

Then I saw her.

A large pale wolf moved swiftly between the trees, silver moonlight catching against her soft fur as she ran.

Without hesitation, I stepped directly into her path.

The wolf’s eyes widened.

A second later, she skidded violently across the forest floor, claws digging into dirt and leaves as she barely stopped herself from crashing into me.

For a moment, we simply stared at each other.

Those same warm brown eyes looked back at me through the wolf.

I took a step forward.

“Shift.”

The wolf didn’t move.

Instead, her gaze flicked around quickly before she suddenly darted toward another opening between the trees.

I moved faster and blocked the second opening before she could escape.

The wolf halted abruptly again.

A low warning growl rumbled from her chest this time.

One of my brows lifted slightly.

Interesting.

I slowly pulled my shirt over my head again before tossing it directly at her.

The fabric landed across her head.

“Shift,” I ordered again, my voice colder this time.

“Now.”

The wolf stood completely still beneath the moonlight.

Watching me.

Judging me.

Then finally, after several long seconds, she lowered herself slowly onto the ground.

The shift began.

Bones cracked softly through the quiet forest.

Fur disappeared gradually beneath skin.

The large wolf slowly became a woman kneeling beneath the silver moonlight.

Long dark hair spilled over her shoulders, having slipped free from the hair tie as the final traces of the shift faded away.

For one brief second, I was taken aback.

The moonlight caught against her skin and hair so softly it almost looked unreal.

Ares went silent inside me.

She stayed crouched low immediately after shifting, clearly trying to cover herself as much as possible.

Smart.

Her cheeks looked slightly flushed beneath the moonlight.

Slowly, carefully, she reached for my discarded shirt lying beside her.

I should have looked away.

Should have given her space.

But I couldn’t risk her running again.

So I stayed exactly where I was.

Watching.

She hesitated briefly before pulling the shirt over herself quickly.

The fabric swallowed her smaller frame completely.

And I did not miss the way she inhaled deeply the moment the scent of me settled around her.

Neither did Ares.

The wolf sounded entirely too satisfied.

“She likes our scent.”

I ignored him.

She slowly stood afterward, keeping careful distance between us.

Her eyes lifted toward mine cautiously.

Nervously.

Defiantly.

An interesting combination.

The forest fell silent around us.

Then finally, she spoke softly.

“…Are you done chasing me now?”