Chapter 4 - The Mark That Shouldn’t Exist

Sera lets out a slow breath. “The bond formed the moment we met. We didn’t… pursue anything at first. Damon tried to avoid me for weeks.”

“Why?” I ask, my voice thin.

Damon looks away. “Because I was married to you.”

“And that mattered?” I whisper.

“It mattered to me,” Damon says. “More than you think.”

My throat tightens. “But not enough.”

He flinches.

Sera looks between us, uncomfortable. “This isn’t about choosing one woman over another. Fate is”

“I swear,” I interrupt, “if you say ‘fate’ one more time…”

She falls silent.

I breathe, steadying myself. “Why did the mark glow like that?”

Sera hesitates. “Because the child is awakening earlier than expected.”

I blink. “Awakening? What does that even mean?”

Damon runs a hand through his hair. “The child is not… ordinary.”

“Neither is the father,” Sera says softly.

Damon shoots her a warning look, but she continues.

“Your husband is an Alpha. A big one. His power runs deeper than anyone knows. And the mark responds to life inside me as it grows.”

I try to understand her words, but everything feels too heavy.

I whisper, “So you’re saying the child is already… sensing things?”

Damon nods. “Yes.”

“So it’s dangerous?” I ask.

Sera looks down at her stomach. “It can be.”

Damon steps closer to her protectively.

Something inside me twists again.

I say, “What did you mean by ‘a bloodline that should not exist’?”

Damon stiffens. “Aria…”

“No,” I say. “Tell me.”

He closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them slowly.

“My family’s line is complicated. There are… skills routed deep in our blood that only appear under rare situations. An Alpha child with a fated mate may show signs earlier than normal.”

I try to stay steady. “And that’s what happened to Sera?”

He nods.

Sera talks again. “But that’s not the only reason it glowed.”

Damon’s eyes snap to her. “Sera.”

“She has a right to know.”

My breath catches. “Know what?”

Sera looks at me with a face I can’t read. Sadness? Fear? Something else?

“The mark reacted because of you too,” she says.

My heart stops. “What?”

Damon steps forward. “Sera, don’t.”

“He cannot deny it,” she continues softly. “The glow pulsed again when he looked at you. You felt the heat in the air, didn’t you?”

I think back. My skin tingles at the thought.

I say, “But why would it react to me?”

Sera’s voice drops to a whisper. “Because you carry something in your blood too.”

My pulse spikes. “I’m not part of any pack. I’m not”

“You don’t know what you are,” Sera says softly. “And Damon never asked.”

Damon swallows hard, avoiding my eyes.

I feel my anger rise again. “You knew something about me and didn’t tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure,” he says. “I still don’t know. But the way the mark responded… it means something.”

“Something like what?” I demand.

Sera answers before he can.

“It means you are not as human as you think.”

My breath catches.

“What?”

Her voice softens. “You felt the glow inside your chest, didn’t you? That pull. That heat.”

I step back slowly. “No… that can’t be…”

Damon finally speaks, voice low. “Aria. Something is happening to all three of us. And it’s connected.”

My head spins.

Sera suddenly gasps, putting a hand to her stomach again. The faint glow starts to appear.

Damon moves quickly. “Sera? What now?”

“Something’s changing,” she whispers. “It’s getting stronger.”

The glow brightens.

I step back, fear and shock mixing inside me.

Damon swears and turns toward me. “Aria, you need to leave. Now.”

“No,” I say. “Not until you tell me”

The glow bursts wildly.

Sera cries out.

Damon grabs her.

And then…

The light dashes across the room

fast, bright, like lightning

and hits the wall beside me.

I scream and hide my face.

When the light fades, Damon looks at me in fear.

“Aria,” he breathes. “Did it touch you?”

I look down at my face.

At my wrist.

A weak, impossible glow flashes once.

Then again.

Sera gasps. “Oh no… Damon… look.”

Damon steps closer, eyes wide, breath frozen.

“Aria,” he says. “Your skin… it’s glowing.”

“No,” I choke out. “No, that isn’t”

The light flickers one more time.

Soft.

Bright.

Real.

Sera says, frightened, “This should not happen. She should not be responding to our bond.”

Damon’s voice shakes. “Aria… something in you is waking up.”

My entire body trembles.

“What is happening to me?” I whisper.

Neither of them answers.

Then

a sharp knock shakes the door.

A deep voice calls from the other side.

“Alpha Damon. You need to come now. The Council requires it. The link flash was too strong. They felt everything.”

Damon’s face drains of color.

Sera clutches his sleeve. “Damon, they cannot know about the pregnancy yet.”

He looks between usSera glowing softly, me trembling with a new light pulsing under my skin.

Fear flashes across his eyes.

Real fear.

“We are out of time,” he says.

Another knock. Louder. “Alpha. Open the door. Now.”

Sera’s breathing turns choppy. “Damon, what do we do?”

He looks at me.

My wrist glows again.

Damon’s eyes darken.

“Aria,” he says, voice breaking, “don’t panic. Whatever you do… don’t let them see your mark.”

I stare at him, horrified. “Why? What will happen?”

The door handle shakes wildly.

Sera says, “Because if they see it, they will kill you.”

The door cracks open.

Someone begins to step inside.

And Damon shoves me behind him just as the glow on my skin flashes brighter

showing the truth I am not ready to face.

Why is the Council willing to kill Aria if they see her glowing mark and what truth about her bloodline is Damon hiding?