UNKNOWINGLY MARKED THE ALPHA

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

MEADOW’S POV.

That night, I didn’t sleep.

No matter how many times I closed my eyes, my mind refused to quiet down.

Every single thing that happened tonight kept replaying inside my head over and over again.

I groaned softly and rolled onto my back again.

Sleep was hopeless.

After another hour of staring at the ceiling, I finally gave up completely and climbed out of bed.

The room felt cold as I walked toward the window.

Outside, Hollow Mountain was quiet beneath the darkness.

Most of the lights had already gone out hours ago.

Normally, the silence would have comforted me.

Tonight, it only made me feel restless.

Tomorrow, I was leaving.

The thought still didn’t feel real.

Leaving Hollow Mountain.

Leaving the only place I had ever known.

That last thought hurt more than I wanted it to.

I wrapped my arms loosely around myself and stared blankly outside.

I didn’t hear Dorothy enter at first.

“You still haven’t slept.”

Her voice startled me slightly.

I turned my head just enough to see her standing near the doorway.

I shrugged tiredly.

“What gave it away?”

Dorothy’s gaze drifted toward my untouched bed before shifting toward the small bag resting on top of it.

“You packed already?”

I nodded once toward the bag silently.

It wasn’t much.

Just a few clothes and small personal things.

Honestly, my entire life could probably fit into one suitcase without difficulty.

The thought made something ache quietly inside my chest.

Dorothy sighed softly before stepping fully into the room.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she reached into the folds of her shawl and pulled out a small wooden box.

“Open it,” she said quietly.

I frowned slightly but took the box from her anyway.

The wood looked old. Very old.

Slowly, I opened the lid.

Inside rested a silver necklace.

It was beautiful.

The chain itself looked delicate, but the pendant attached to it immediately drew my attention.

Dark silver branches twisted together in an intricate pattern around a glowing moonstone in the center.

Something about it felt strangely familiar.

I frowned harder.

“I’ve seen this before.”

Dorothy nodded once.

“You have.”

I looked up at her in confusion.

“It belonged to your grandmother, Ophelia.”

My expression softened immediately at the mention of her name.

I missed my grandmother every single day.

Sometimes it still felt strange knowing she was gone, even after so many years.

Dorothy carefully lifted the necklace from the box.

“The Hawthorne bloodline has carried this heirloom for generations,” she explained softly. “It passes from mother to daughter.”

I blinked slightly.

“But Grandmother never had a daughter.”

“No,” Dorothy agreed quietly. “So when your father mated your mother, Ophelia passed it down to her instead.”

My chest tightened slightly.

I barely remembered my mother.

Most of my memories of her were blurry and incomplete.

But somehow, hearing that this necklace belonged to her made it feel more important suddenly.

“And now,” Dorothy said gently, “it belongs to you.”

Before I could respond, she stepped behind me carefully and fastened the necklace around my neck.

The pendant settled coldly against my skin.

Instantly, a strange chill spread through my body.

I stiffened slightly.

Dorothy’s hands lingered briefly on my shoulders before she stepped away again.

“You are about to walk into a very long and very dark path, Meadow,” she said quietly.

I frowned slightly at her tone.

The seriousness in her voice immediately made me uneasy.

“There are things ahead of you that neither you nor Alpha Killian fully understand yet.”

My fingers moved instinctively toward the pendant resting against my chest.

“But no matter what happens,” Dorothy continued softly, “never forget who you are.”

I stayed silent.

Dorothy looked directly into my eyes.

“You are a Hawthorne, Meadow.”

Something about the way she said it made nervousness slowly crawl into my stomach.

“Never forget that.”

I frowned.

“What’s so special about being a Hawthorne?”

Dorothy opened her mouth to answer—

Then suddenly—

A horrifying scream shattered the silence outside.

I jumped violently.

The sound was sharp.

Piercing.

Almost unnatural.

Dorothy froze instantly.

For one strange second, everything became completely still.

Then—

CRASH!

The bedroom window exploded inward.

Glass shattered everywhere across the floor as something dark flew violently into the room.

I gasped and stumbled backward away from the chair.

The creature slammed hard against the wooden floor near my feet.

My eyes widened.

A bird.

Black-feathered. Blood covered one of its wings.

Its body twitched weakly once.

Then went completely still.

The room fell silent again.

My heart hammered painfully inside my chest as I stared down at it.

“What the hell—”

Dorothy suddenly grabbed my arm sharply.

“Don’t touch it.”

Her voice came out low.

Tense.

I immediately looked up at her.

Her face had gone pale.

Not scared.

Worse.

Concerned.

Deeply concerned.

Slowly, Dorothy crouched near the dead bird without touching it.

Her eyes carefully studied the blood staining the feathers.

Then her expression darkened.

“It’s an omen,” she whispered.

Unease twisted heavily in my stomach.

“What?”

Dorothy slowly stood again.

“The forest spirits send warnings in many forms, Meadow,” she said quietly. “Blood carried by wings is never a good sign.”

I looked back down at the dead bird uneasily.

“You’re seriously telling me this thing crashing through the window means something?”

Dorothy didn’t answer immediately.

That silence alone made my discomfort worse.

Finally, she spoke again.

“You are leaving Hollow Mountain tomorrow with Alpha Killian.”

It wasn’t a question.

I frowned slightly.

“Yes…”

Dorothy slowly turned toward the shattered window where cold night wind drifted softly into the room now.

“Then listen to me carefully.”

Something about her tone immediately made me straighten.

Dorothy stepped closer again.

“There are truths buried far deeper than you realize,” she said quietly. “And once they begin surfacing… blood will follow.”

A cold chill slowly crept up my spine.

“What truths?”

Dorothy ignored the question completely.

“I fear for you, Meadow.”

The candle flames flickered violently beside us.

The shadows in the room suddenly looked darker.

“You are walking toward something huge now, Meadow,” Dorothy continued softly. “Something that should have remained buried long ago.”

My unease deepened immediately.

“What are you talking about?”

Dorothy’s eyes lowered briefly toward the necklace resting against my chest.

Then finally she whispered:

“The Hawthorne bloodline was never ordinary.”

The room suddenly felt suffocatingly quiet.

I stared at her.

“What does that mean?”

Again, she ignored the question.

“When the time comes,” she continued quietly, “trust your instincts before your heart.”

I frowned harder.

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It will.”

Dorothy slowly walked toward the broken window.

Cold wind pushed through the curtains softly.

“And be careful who you bleed for.”

I blinked in confusion.

“What?”

Dorothy looked out into the darkness beyond the forest.

For a moment, she looked older somehow.

Tired.

Worried.

“Because there are wolves who love like devotion,” she said quietly.

Then her expression darkened slightly.

“And wolves who love like destruction. Your grandmother said this once, but I fear I never quite understood it. I see now she was right.”

My frown deepened.

“Right about what? What did she say, Dorothy?”

Dorothy exhaled loudly and shakily.

Then she spoke.

“Your stepsister Clarissa was right about one thing. You were never meant to stand beside power, Meadow.” She looked at me carefully. “You are power.”

Something about the way she said those words made my chest tighten.

I stared at her uneasily.

“Dorothy—”

A sudden knock interrupted me.

Both of us froze slightly.

Then another knock came from the bedroom door.

My stomach twisted instantly.

At this hour?

Dorothy frowned slightly before moving toward the door.

When she opened it, my brow furrowed.

A pack guard stood outside.

His eyes briefly took in the broken window and the dead bird on the floor before shifting back to me.

Then he spoke calmly.

“Come with me, Omega. Alpha Killian wants you.”