Marked By The Alpha

Chapter Two – The Wolf Within

The forest had never felt so alive. Ivy’s lungs burned as she slowed her frantic sprint, the earth soft under her bare feet, damp with dew. The night air clung to her skin, heavy with pine and something wilder—something that wasn’t hers. Selra.

The name echoed in her mind like a drumbeat, foreign yet familiar. Her wolf. The part of her she thought she would never have.

You are not weak, Selra’s voice whispered again, low and fierce, like the growl of a caged beast that had finally broken free.

Ivy leaned against a tree, her chest heaving. “Where were you all these years?” she asked aloud, though she knew the answer was not simple.

Sleeping. Waiting. You were not ready, Ivy. But now… fate has left us no choice.

The memory of Arthur’s touch seared her mind—the way his mark burned into her skin, as though chains had been branded into her soul. Alpha of the most ruthless pack in the region. The man everyone feared, the man who had claimed her without her consent.

And yet… the bond pulled at her, demanding she feel something beyond rage and fear.

“Damn him,” Ivy hissed, digging her nails into her palms.

A rustle in the shadows made her head snap up. She bared her teeth before realizing how strange the reaction was. It wasn’t her—Selra was pushing forward, urging her to fight, to defend, to bite if she must.

But the scent that drifted closer wasn’t Arthur’s. It was warmer. Calmer. Familiar.

“Ivy?”

The voice was soft, almost hesitant. She turned sharply to see Michael emerge from the trees, his eyes catching the faint silver of moonlight.

Her heart lurched. Michael. The Beta’s son. The boy who had always treated her with kindness when others looked down on her.

“What are you doing here?” Ivy’s voice was sharper than she meant, edged with the leftover bite of Selra’s growl.

Michael raised his hands slowly, as though approaching a wounded animal. “I followed your scent. You ran so fast, I thought something was wrong.”

“Something is wrong,” she snapped.

He tilted his head, his gaze lowering to her neck. The mark. Arthur’s mark, still red and angry against her skin. For a moment, Michael froze, and then his jaw tightened.

“He did it,” Michael whispered, more to himself than to her. “Arthur marked you.”

Ivy’s throat tightened, shame and fury warring in her chest. She wanted to cover the mark with her hand, to erase it, but it throbbed as if mocking her.

“I didn’t ask for it,” she said bitterly.

“I know.” Michael’s voice was steady, but his hands were trembling. “He had no right.”

Ivy looked away, biting back tears. “It doesn’t matter, does it? The bond is sealed. I’m his now. His mate.” The words tasted like poison.

Michael stepped closer, his scent brushing against her like a balm, softer than Arthur’s overpowering dominance. “Ivy… you’re more than a mark. You’re more than what he tries to make you.”

For a second, his words carved through the chains that had wrapped around her soul since that moment in the clearing. Selra stirred inside her, growling low, as if warning her that things were not so simple.

This one cares for you, Selra murmured. But the mark is dangerous. The Alpha will not let you go. Not now.

Ivy’s pulse raced. “Michael, if Arthur finds you here—”

“I don’t care,” Michael interrupted, his voice suddenly sharp. His eyes darkened, filled with a resolve she had never seen in him before. “I won’t stand by while he traps you. You deserve a choice, Ivy. A real one.”

Her lips parted, stunned by the force of his words. “A choice?”

“Yes.” He took another step, so close now that she could see the rise and fall of his chest. “Arthur may have marked you, but that doesn’t mean he owns you. The bond may tie you to him, but it doesn’t erase what you feel.”

And what did she feel? Confusion. Anger. The strange pull of Selra rising within her, demanding freedom. And beneath it all… a spark of something she had buried long ago whenever Michael smiled at her.

But Arthur’s voice haunted her memory. His claim. His power. His promise that she belonged to him.

“You don’t understand,” Ivy whispered. “The mark—it hurts. It’s like fire under my skin. Like it’s trying to force me to want him.”

Michael’s face hardened, his hands curling into fists. “Then I’ll fight him for you.”

Her heart stopped. “Michael, no—”

“I mean it,” he said firmly. “If he thinks he can claim you by force, then he’s wrong. You are not his possession. You never will be.”

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. The forest seemed to hold its breath with her, the night unnaturally still. Selra snarled within her, caught between anger and approval.

This one is bold, Selra said. But the Alpha is stronger. If they fight… blood will fall, Ivy. Perhaps yours.

“I don’t want anyone to die because of me,” Ivy whispered, her voice cracking.

Michael’s gaze softened, though his jaw remained set. “Then let me protect you before it comes to that. Come with me, Ivy. We’ll figure this out together.”

Her chest ached. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to run far from Arthur’s mark, from his shadow that loomed over her every breath. But the bond tugged at her heart, cruel and unyielding, whispering Arthur’s name even when she wished to forget it.

And then—like a storm rolling through the forest—she felt it. His presence.

Arthur.

The air thickened, her mark searing against her skin as though it had been branded anew. Ivy gasped, clutching her neck as heat shot through her veins. Michael stiffened, his hand flying to hers, but it was too late.

A growl thundered through the trees, deep and commanding. Leaves trembled. Birds scattered into the night.

“Ivy,” Arthur’s voice cut through the darkness, sharp and dangerous. “Step away from him.”

Michael’s body tensed, but he didn’t move. His eyes locked with hers, silently asking the question she was too afraid to answer: would she choose to stand by him, or yield to the bond Arthur had forced upon her?

Selra’s growl echoed in her skull, urging her to fight. Her heart split in two.

And for the first time, Ivy realized this was only the beginning of the war inside her.