The Mark War

The first thing I felt was fire.

Not the kind that warms your skin. Not the comforting heat of a hearth on a winter night. This fire lived inside my bones. It clawed through my veins like molten metal, burning every nerve it touched.

I couldn’t breathe.

My fingers curled into the rough stone floor of the tower as another wave of pain crashed through me. It began in my neck where Tristan’s mark throbbed violently, then spread downward into my chest where the ghost of Xander’s rejection still lived.

Two forces.

Two Alphas.

Fighting inside my body.

I screamed again.

The sound tore from my throat before I could stop it.

Somewhere far below, I heard shouting. Heavy footsteps thundered up the spiral staircase leading to the tower. The iron door rattled violently as someone slammed against it.

“Move!” Xander’s voice roared.

Metal shrieked.

The door burst open with a crash.

Through the haze of pain I saw two figures rush into the room. One smelled like winter pine and rage. The other like storm clouds and shadow.

Xander and Tristan.

The sight of them together barely registered before another seizure wracked my body.

My back arched violently. My hands clawed at my throat as if I could rip the burning marks from my skin.

“Tricia!” Tristan dropped beside me.

His hand touched my shoulder and the contact sent a jolt through my body. My wolf reacted instantly, both desperate and confused.

Mate.

The word echoed faintly in my mind, tangled and fractured.

Xander knelt on my other side, his expression darker than I had ever seen it.

“What’s happening to her?” he demanded.

Tristan didn’t answer immediately. His eyes were fixed on my neck where the mark glowed an ugly shade of purple.

“The marks are destabilizing,” he muttered.

“What?”

“The rejection scar and my brand are clashing.”

Xander’s jaw tightened.

“You marked her knowing she had my bond.”

Tristan’s gaze snapped to him.

“You rejected her knowing it would break her wolf.”

Another scream tore from my chest.

The argument died instantly.

My vision blurred as another violent tremor ran through me. I barely felt the floor beneath my body anymore.

Everything hurt.

My chest. My stomach. My heart.

“Something’s wrong,” Xander said suddenly.

He leaned closer, inhaling sharply.

The scent hit him harder this time.

I saw the exact moment he smelled it clearly.

The child.

His child.

Shock flickered across his face again, followed by something raw and possessive.

“Why does the scent keep spiking?” he growled.

“Because her body is under extreme stress,” Tristan snapped.

Another tremor shook me.

I barely heard them anymore. My hearing had turned into a distant roar.

My wolf whimpered weakly somewhere deep inside me.

Too much.

It’s too much.

The door burst open again.

Dr. Xavier rushed inside, breathless from the climb. Jack followed behind him.

The doctor froze when he saw my body convulsing on the floor.

“Oh no,” he whispered.

“Fix her,” Xander barked.

Xavier dropped to his knees immediately, grabbing my wrist to check my pulse.

His expression grew grim within seconds.

“The marks are accelerating the rejection trauma,” he said.

“What does that mean?” Jack asked.

“It means her body is being torn between two Alpha bonds.”

Another violent spasm hit me.

I gasped for air.

It felt like my heart was splitting in half.

“If this continues,” Xavier continued quietly, “her wolf will shut down completely.”

Silence filled the room.

Xander spoke first.

“How long?”

The doctor hesitated.

“Forty-eight hours. Maybe less.”

The words landed like a death sentence.

Tristan’s entire body went rigid.

“Is there a cure?”

Xavier hesitated again.

“There is one method,” he said carefully.

“Then say it,” Xander snapped.

The doctor looked between the two Alphas.

Neither of them were going to like what he was about to say.

“The only way to stabilize the marks is through Alpha pheromone balance.”

Neither man spoke.

So Xavier continued.

“She’s bonded to both of you now. Her wolf needs equal energy from each Alpha to stop the conflict.”

Xander’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re saying we both need to—”

“Yes.”

The doctor swallowed.

“You both need to stay near her.”

The implication settled heavily over the room.

Two enemy Alphas.

Forced into the same space.

For days.

Tristan exhaled slowly.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Then she dies,” Xavier replied bluntly.

The room went silent again.

Another cry escaped my throat as my body convulsed harder than before.

Xander reacted instantly.

He grabbed my shoulders, holding me down as gently as he could.

“Tricia,” he said, his voice lower now.

I barely heard him.

But I felt his scent.

My wolf stirred weakly.

Mate.

Tristan saw it.

His jaw tightened but he didn’t argue when he moved closer, gripping my hand.

His scent filled the room too.

The reaction was immediate.

The burning in my neck eased slightly.

Just a little.

Xavier noticed instantly.

“See?” he said urgently. “It’s working.”

Xander looked at Tristan.

The hatred between them was still there.

But something else had joined it now.

Fear.

For me.

“For now,” Xander said slowly, “the war waits.”

Tristan didn’t smile.

“This doesn’t make us allies.”

“No,” Xander agreed.

“Just temporary enemies sharing the same battlefield.”

Another weak breath escaped my lips.

The pain dulled slightly as their scents surrounded me.

But the marks on my neck still pulsed darkly.

The war inside my body wasn’t over.

Not even close.

And somewhere far beyond the tower walls, someone else was already planning to make sure I didn’t survive it.

Fabiana.

Watching the tower with eyes full of hatred.

Because if I lived…

Her future as Luna would die forever.