THE ALPHAS SINFUL CLAIM

Chapter 5

The Mark That Was Not Yet a Mark

The silence after his words felt heavier than the forest itself.

“The bond will wake.”

Those words kept repeating inside my head like a warning I could not escape.

I stood frozen against the tree, still close enough to feel him, still trapped in the space he had not allowed me to leave.

Kael Draven did not move away.

Neither did I.

That was the problem.

Something between us refused to break, even when I wanted it to.

“I don’t understand what you are saying,” I whispered, though my voice sounded weaker than I intended.

Kael’s hand was still at my waist.

Steady.

Unmoving.

As if letting go was not an option he considered.

“You will,” he said simply.

My chest tightened.

“I don’t want any bond,” I said quickly.

The words came out sharper than my fear.

That made him pause.

For the first time since I met him, something flickered across his expression.

Not anger.

Not amusement.

Something quieter.

Something almost unreadable.

“You think you get to choose that?” he asked.

“Yes,” I snapped immediately.

A silence followed.

Then he leaned in slightly.

Not enough to intimidate.

Enough to unsettle me.

“You were already chosen,” he said softly.

My breath hitched.

“That is not true.”

His gaze dropped to my lips again, slower this time.

Like he was resisting something.

Or not resisting at all.

“You are reacting because your body recognizes what your mind refuses,” he said.

My heart pounded harder.

“I am not reacting,” I insisted again.

But even I heard the lie in it now.

Kael’s thumb brushed my wrist again.

The same place from before.

The cut.

The moment he touched it, warmth spread through me again.

But this time… it was stronger.

Deeper.

Like something under my skin responded.

I gasped.

“What is happening to me?” I whispered, fear breaking through my voice now.

His eyes darkened slightly.

“Your bond is unstable,” he said.

“I don’t have a bond,” I said quickly.

“You do.”

The certainty in his voice made my stomach twist.

Before I could argue again, the forest shifted.

A sound.

Fast.

Close.

Kael’s entire posture changed instantly.

His arm tightened around me protectively.

“Stay behind me,” he said again.

But I barely heard him.

Because I felt it too.

Something familiar.

Something I hated.

Ronan.

My breath stopped.

“No,” I whispered.

It couldn’t be.

But then I saw him.

Stepping through the trees like he owned the world.

My former mate.

Ronan Vale.

And behind him.

Two warriors.

His pack.

My chest tightened painfully.

He looked at me like I had simply wandered too far.

Like I was still his.

“Alina,” he said calmly, as if nothing had happened between us. “Come back.”

My fingers curled instantly.

“No,” I said.

One word.

But it shook something in me.

Ronan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You are confused,” he said. “That man is manipulating you.”

Kael let out a quiet sound behind me.

Not a laugh.

Something colder.

“I do not manipulate what is already mine,” Kael said.

My breath caught at his words.

Ronan’s gaze snapped to him instantly.

“You are trespassing,” Ronan said sharply.

“This is my territory,” Kael replied calmly.

A pause.

Then Ronan looked at me again.

And something in his expression shifted.

Possession.

“I rejected you for your weakness,” he said. “But I can correct that mistake.”

My chest burned instantly.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that,” I said, my voice shaking now.

Ronan stepped forward.

“You still belong to my pack.”

Kael moved before I could react.

Fast.

One step in front of me.

Blocking me completely.

“No,” Kael said quietly.

The air dropped instantly.

Even I felt it.

Ronan’s eyes hardened.

“She is mine by bond,” he said.

Kael tilted his head slightly.

And then said the words that shattered everything.

“Not anymore.”

A silence followed.

Heavy.

Sharp.

Dangerous.

Ronan’s expression changed.

Slowly.

Like something inside him snapped.

“You touched her,” Ronan said lowly.

Kael didn’t deny it.

That alone made my stomach twist.

Ronan’s eyes turned fully to me now.

And I felt it.

Fear.

Real fear.

Not of him.

Of what was coming.

“She is coming back with me,” Ronan said firmly.

“No,” Kael replied.

Just that.

Simple.

Final.

And then everything broke.

Ronan lunged.

The forest exploded into movement again.

Claws. Speed. Impact.

But I barely saw it this time.

Because something else was happening inside me.

A pull.

A strange heat spreading from my wrist where Kael had touched me repeatedly.

It spread up my arm.

Across my chest.

I gasped, stumbling.

Kael turned instantly.

“Stay still,” he said sharply.

But I couldn’t.

The sensation grew stronger.

Hot.

Sharp.

Like something was waking under my skin.

“What is happening?” I whispered, clutching my chest.

Kael’s eyes locked onto my wrist.

And for the first time, his expression changed completely.

“Too early,” he murmured.

“What?” I breathed.

But then Ronan saw it too.

He stopped mid-fight.

His eyes snapped to me.

And widened.

“No…” he said quietly.

“What is it?” I demanded.

Ronan’s voice dropped.

“You’re activating the bond.”

My blood ran cold.

Kael moved instantly, stepping closer to me.

Not touching this time.

Hovering.

Watching.

Controlled.

Dangerous.

“Do not resist it,” Kael said quietly.

“I am not doing anything!” I shouted.

But the heat inside me was rising.

Spreading.

Uncontrollable now.

My knees weakened.

I grabbed my wrist.

It burned.

Kael caught me before I fell again.

But this time—

When his hand touched mine—

Something inside me snapped.

A pulse.

Sharp.

Powerful.

And then—

For a split second—

Something appeared on my skin.

A faint mark.

Not fully formed.

But real.

Ronan froze.

Kael went completely still.

And I stopped breathing.

Because I felt it.

Not just pain.

Not just heat.

Connection.

A bond that was not supposed to exist yet.

Kael’s voice dropped to something darker than before.

“You are mine,” he said quietly.

But this time…

It didn’t sound like control.

It sounded like truth.

And Ronan looked at me like he had just lost something he thought he would always own.