Anaelia
The silence in the room was heavy, vibrating with the unspoken weight of Idris's suggestion. A Mark. The very thing I had been taught to fear since I was old enough to understand what it meant to be a wolf. To be marked by an Alpha was to be anchored, to have your soul tethered to theirs until death.
And Enzo wasn't just any Alpha. He was the High Alpha. His mark wouldn't just be a scar; it would be a brand of ownership that the entire world could "hear" through their noses.
"No," I said again, my voice stronger this time. I backed away until I hit the edge of the massive bed. "You're asking me to trade one cage for another. If I let you mark me, I'm not Anaelia anymore. I'm just... yours."
Enzo didn't move toward me. He stayed by the window, the moonlight catching the hard angles of his face. He looked down at his claws, then retracted them with a sharp, metallic sound.
"You think I want this?" he asked, his voice low and jagged. "You think I want to bind a girl who looks at me like I'm a monster from a bedtime story?"
"Then let me go," I challenged, pointing toward the window. "Idris got in. I can get out."
Idris let out a soft, pitying whistle. "Child, I am an Echo. I can blend into the shadows of the stone. You? You're an Omega whose scent is currently blooming like a field of flowers in a desert. You wouldn't make it past the courtyard. The guards would catch you, and if they didn't, the 'Nulls' who envy you would tear you apart just to see if your blood tastes like magic."
I looked at Idris, then back at Enzo. The gold in Enzo's eyes was fading, replaced by a hollow, haunting exhaustion. The "Grip" was waiting for him, just behind the curtain of his consciousness.
"If the Seeker finds you," Enzo said, taking a single, slow step toward me, "they take you to the Council. They will put you in the Breeding Chambers. They will use you as a tool to stabilize every high-ranking Alpha in the Dominion. You will be touched by dozens of men who don't care about your name."
I felt the blood drain from my face. The Breeding Chambers weren't just a rumor; they were the dark secret of the Iron Dominion, a place where "defective" females were kept to serve the elite.
"But if I mark you," Enzo continued, stopping just outside my personal space, "the Seeker smells me. Only me. The Council cannot claim a woman who is already the High Alpha's mate. It is the only law they cannot break."
He held out his hand, palm up. A gesture of choice, despite the fact that I had none.
"I won't lie to you, Anaelia. My wolf is screaming to claim you. It's an instinct I can barely control. But I am giving you the choice. My cage, or theirs."
I looked at his hand. It was large, scarred, and powerful enough to snap my neck. But I remembered the way he had touched my hair earlier. The way his heart had raced against my palm.
"If you do it," I whispered, my throat dry, "does it have to be... the full bond? Does it have to be the soul-link?"
Idris stepped forward, his violet eyes flashing. "A superficial mark—a 'False Claim'—might fool a standard guard. But a Scent-Seeker? They look for the depth of the resonance. It has to look real. It has to feel real."
"Will you be able to hear my thoughts?" I asked Enzo, my voice trembling. "Will you own my mind?"
Enzo's expression softened, a flash of genuine pain crossing his features. "The bond is a bridge, not a whip, Anaelia. I will feel your emotions. You will feel mine. But your thoughts... your thoughts are the only thing in this world that still belong to you. I wouldn't take them if I could."
I took a deep breath. The scent of the jasmine oils was fading, and the "Summer Storm" scent was becoming undeniable. The sun would be up in a few hours.
I walked toward him. Every step felt like I was walking toward a gallows, yet my wolf was practically vibrating with anticipation. I reached out and placed my hand in his.
His fingers closed around mine, warm and solid.
"Just the neck," I whispered, closing my eyes. "And don't... don't make me hate you."
Enzo's breath hitched. He pulled me close, his arm wrapping around my waist to steady me. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, his nose brushing the sensitive skin right over my carotid artery.
I felt his canines lengthen. I felt the heat of his skin.
"I already hate myself for this," he murmured against my skin.
Then, he bit down.
A scream died in my throat as a surge of pure, white-hot lightning exploded through my nervous system. It wasn't just pain—it was an overwhelming, terrifying flood of him. I felt his loneliness, his ancient grief, the roar of the madness he had been fighting, and the sudden, cooling relief that my presence brought him.
It felt like being branded by a star.
My knees buckled, and he caught me, lifting me into his arms as the bond snapped into place. For a second, the world turned gold. I could hear his heartbeat in my own ears. I could feel the possessive roar of his wolf echoing in my chest.
MINE, the voice echoed—not my voice, but his.
Enzo pulled back, his lips stained with a single drop of my blood. He looked down at me, his eyes glowing with a terrifying, beautiful intensity.
"It's done," he rasped.
Suddenly, the heavy doors to the suite vibrated with a massive, booming knock.
"High Alpha!" Dash's voice shouted from the other side. "The Scent-Seeker has arrived. Zora and Cal are with him. They're demanding entry by order of the Council."
Idris vanished into the shadows of the corner, his hood pulled low. "Showtime, Anaelia. Try to look like a woman in love—or at least, a woman who's been thoroughly claimed."
Enzo didn't let me go. He turned me toward the door, his hand resting possessively on the fresh, burning mark on my neck.
"Let them in," Enzo roared, his voice thick with the power of the bond. "Let them see what happens when they question the King's property."