Chapter 5:marked

*Chapter 5: Marked*

Luna burst into Kade’s office, breathless, the vial clutched in her fist.

“Someone’s trying to kill you.”

Kade looked up from the map on his desk. Two guards behind him. His eyes went to the vial immediately. Then to her hand.

“Explain.”

She slammed it down. The black liquid sloshed. “I found this in the old storage. Behind the brick. With a note.”

She pulled out the crumpled paper.

_The Alpha will beg for his mate back. Then he will watch her die._

The room went silent.

One of the guards cursed.

Kade took the note. His jaw ticked. “Elara.”

Luna nodded. “My sister. She’s been here. In the pack.”

Kade stood. He was furious. But not at her. At the situation.

“She poisoned the water. She left this for us to find. She wants us to turn on each other.”

“She wants me dead,” Luna whispered. “And she wants you to watch.”

Kade stepped around the desk. He stopped inches from her. The bond was dead, but his wolf remembered her scent.

“Did you touch the vial?”

“No. I used gloves.”

“Good.” He turned to the guards. “Lock down the east wing. No one in or out. And get me every record of who entered the old storage in the last month.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

When they left, it was just them.

The tension was suffocating.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” Kade said quietly.

“You shouldn’t have been poisoned,” Luna shot back.

He almost smiled. Almost.

“I’m not, thanks to you.”

Luna sagged. The adrenaline was wearing off. “They’re targeting the Alpha line. If they kill you, the pack falls to Rowan. And Rowan is working with her.”

Kade’s eyes darkened. “I know.”

He reached out suddenly and grabbed her wrist. Turned it over.

There. A small cut. Black veins spreading from it.

“Shit. When?”

“This morning. A needle in the storage. I thought it was nothing.”

Kade swore. He pulled a knife from his belt.

“What are you doing?”

“The poison is in your blood now. The only way to stop it is a bond transfusion.”

His voice was rough. “Mine and yours. It’ll mark me. Temporarily. But it’ll save you.”

Luna pulled back. “No. You’ll be tied to me. The council will—”

“I don’t care about the council.” He cut his palm. Blood welled. “I care about you not dying.”

Before she could argue, he sliced her palm too and pressed them together.

Pain. Heat. Fire.

The bond slammed back into place. Not full. Not permanent. But there.

Silver light crawled up Kade’s neck, forming a crescent moon with thorns.

Her mark. On him.

Luna gasped. She could feel him now. His anger. His worry. His relief that she was alive.

And she could feel him feeling her fear.

He let go. Both of them breathing hard.

“The poison is neutralized,” he said. “For now.”

Luna looked at the mark on his neck. Her heart broke.

“I didn’t want this.”

“I know.” Kade touched his neck. It burned. “But we use it. You stay by me. As my mate. Until we catch her.”

“So I’m bait?”

“You’re protected,” he corrected. “No one touches what’s marked by the Alpha.”

Outside, the pack howled.

The traitor was still in the walls.

And now the Alpha was marked by the woman he rejected.

---

*And NEW Chapter 6: The Kiss That Broke The Bond*

*∼990 words - for after you publish Ch5*

*Chapter 6: The Kiss That Broke The Bond*

The council room was a war zone.

“You marked her!” Elder Rowan slammed his fist on the table. “After you rejected her publicly!”

Kade sat at the head of the table. Luna stood behind him. The mark on his neck was visible. Glowing faintly.

“She was poisoned,” Kade said flatly. “I saved her life.”

“By binding her to you?” Rowan sneered. “Convenient. Now no one can question her.”

Luna stepped forward. “I found the vial. I found the note. My sister is framing me.”

“Lies,” Rowan said. “The traitor’s daughter lies to protect herself.”

Kade’s wolf surged. _Mine._

The bond pulsed. Hot and angry.

“Say it again,” Kade growled.

The room went quiet.

Since the transfusion, it was getting worse. Every time Luna was near, he could taste her. Feel her heartbeat.

And she could feel him too. She kept her eyes down.

Rowan threw a folder. “Explain this.”

Photos. Luna’s sister Elara. Meeting with rival alphas.

And one photo: Luna, entering the old storage last week.

“That’s not me,” Luna said. “That’s Elara. She looks like me.”

“No one believes you,” Rowan said.

Kade stood. “Meeting’s over. Luna, with me.”

---

In his room, the door shut.

“You’re going to explain,” Kade said.

Luna turned on him. “You think I did this?”

“I think someone’s trying to make me think that.”

The bond tugged. _Trust her._

Three years of regret hit him all at once.

“I was scared,” he admitted. “3 years ago. If I claimed you, Elara would use you. So I pushed you away.”

Luna laughed, broken. “You were an idiot.”

“Yeah.” His hand came up, cupping her face. “Still am.”

The bond flared. Pain. Longing. Love.

All of it at once.

And then he kissed her.

Not soft. Not sweet.

Three years of grief.

Her hands fisted in his shirt. His in her hair.

The mark burned.

For one second, the world stopped.

She pulled back, gasping. “That didn’t mean anything.”

“The bond says otherwise,” Kade whispered.

The silver mark glowed brighter.

A crash downstairs.

“The antidote is gone!”

Elara had made her move.

---