Chapter Twenty-one:Secrets of the marked

Alex stared at the glowing mark in the mirror, heart pounding like a drum inside his chest.

It shimmered faintly under the moonlight—a twisting, ancient symbol unlike the bond mark Brian had given him. This wasn’t a sign of love. This was something older. Wilder. Something forgotten.

He touched it, flinching as a small jolt of heat sizzled through his body. For a moment, he felt a voice—not heard, but felt—calling from deep within his blood.

“You are the last.”

He stumbled backward, gripping the sink. A knock at the door jolted him.

“Alex?” Brian’s voice was low, hesitant. “Are you okay?”

Alex quickly pulled his shirt back on and opened the door, trying to hide the trembling in his hands. “Yeah. Just… a weird dream.”

Brian studied his face. “You’ve had a lot of those lately.”

“I know. I think Jerik did something to me. Or maybe it’s my family. My real father.” He hesitated. “Do you think… he could’ve been like Jerik?”

Brian led him to sit on the bed. “I don’t know. But if he was, you’ve already proven you’re nothing like him.”

Alex nodded slowly, though the unease in his chest didn’t fade.

⸻

The next morning, Rachel met Alex in the library. The pack’s history was written in old tomes, many of which were sealed in a special archive only the council had access to.

But now, Alex was no longer just a pack member. He was a future Alpha’s mate—and bearer of something even more sacred.

“You said you’ve been seeing things in your dreams?” Rachel asked, unlocking a heavy wooden chest. “Symbols? Voices?”

Alex nodded. “And this.” He pulled down the collar of his shirt to show the mark.

Rachel’s eyes widened.

“That’s… impossible.”

“You’ve seen it before?”

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she reached into the chest and pulled out a leather-bound scroll, wrapped in wolf-hide.

“Long ago,” she began, “before the Alphas ruled, there was another bloodline. They weren’t warriors. They were called the Moonblooded—descendants of the first Omega the Goddess ever blessed.”

Alex leaned in. “Why haven’t I heard of this?”

“Because they were erased from history. Hunted. Feared.” Rachel unrolled the scroll, revealing an illustration of a glowing symbol—Alex’s exact mark. “They weren’t submissive like most Omegas. They were… something else. Something powerful. They could bind packs. Heal wounds. Some even say they could call down the moonlight itself in battle.”

Alex’s mouth went dry. “You think I’m one of them?”

Rachel nodded. “I think Jerik knows that, too. And I think that’s why he wants you.”

⸻

Later that day, Brian joined Donovan in the training yard.

“You knew,” Brian said quietly. “Didn’t you?”

Donovan didn’t deny it. “I suspected. When I first met your mother’s mate—Alex’s real father—I saw that mark once. Just a glimpse. He kept it hidden. But he wasn’t just any rogue. He had the blood of the Moonblooded.”

Brian clenched his fists. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because power like that attracts enemies. And Alex didn’t even know who he was. But now… the bond has awakened it.”

Brian looked out over the trees. “Jerik won’t stop.”

“No,” Donovan said. “He won’t. And next time, he’ll come for him, not you.”

Brian’s jaw tightened. “Then he’ll have to go through me.”

⸻

That night, as the moon reached its peak, Alex stood alone in the woods, the mark glowing softly under his skin.

He whispered into the darkness, half afraid of the answer.

“What am I becoming?”

And from somewhere deep in the trees, a low, ancient howl answered.

Not a threat.

A summons.