Chapter Seventeen - The Mark I Never Wanted

Kael’s POV

Late afternoon settled over Ironcrest, painting the packhouse windows with streaks of golden light.

I should have been thinking about the council, I should have been thinking about the reports stacked across my desk, the border patrols that needed to be reassigned, and the meeting I had with the warriors at dawn.

Instead, I was thinking about Aria again and again.

It had been hours since the incident at the training grounds, yet I could still feel the weight of the warrior’s body beneath my hand.

I had nearly killed him for nothing.

He had only been helping Aria by giving her water and helping her sit down when she became exhausted.

That was all.

Yet the moment I saw his hand on her arm, something inside me had snapped. My wolf had surged forward with such violence that I had barely recognized myself.

The word MATE had been pounding through my head ever since and I hated it.

I hated that my wolf seemed to believe he had some kind of claim over Aria.

She wasn’t mine, she had never been mine, and after everything that had happened between us, she certainly wasn’t going to become mine simply because the elders had decided we should marry.

I dragged a hand down my face and forced my attention back to the documents in front of me.

Unfortunately, the words blurred together.

I wasn’t reading anything. My mind kept returning to the same question.

Why was my wolf reacting to her like this? I had known Aria since we were children.

I had trained her, protected her, and watched her grow from a stubborn little girl who refused to give up during training into a beautiful woman who had eventually broken my heart without even realizing how badly she had done it.

For years, I had loved her silently and patiently like a fool then all of a sudden she had chosen Damon.

She had walked away from everything.

From her father, from Ironcrest, and from me.

Now she had returned, and the elders wanted us married.

Aria had reluctantly agreed yet, my wolf behaved as though that agreement meant something far greater.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.” I mumbled.

The door opened, and two omegas stepped inside.

They bowed. “Alpha.”

I looked up. “Yes?”

“We’ve finished moving Lady Aria’s belongings.” They said.

My brows furrowed. “Moving them where?”

They exchanged a glance. “Your chambers, Alpha.”

I stared at them. For a moment, I couldn’t even speak then I remembered the order I had given earlier.

I had been sitting in the council chamber when Elder Elijah had reminded me that Aria would soon be my mate.

The words had irritated me yet somehow, without thinking too deeply about it, I had instructed the omegas to move her things into my chambers.

It had seemed practical. If we were going to marry, she couldn’t continue living separately forever.

“Good,” I said.

The omegas bowed again. “Is there anything else?”

“No. You may leave.” I waved them off absentmindedly.

They hurried away and I returned my attention to the files.

I had barely turned another page when the study doors flew open.

I looked up sharply and saw that Aria stood in the doorway.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were blazing with anger. I knew immediately that something was wrong.

“What did you do?” She yelled

I slowly leaned back in my chair. “Good afternoon to you too.”

“Don’t.” Her voice trembled with fury.

I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t act like you have no idea what I’m talking about.” She marched toward my desk. “Why did you order the omegas to move my things to your chambers ?”

I sighed. So that was it?

“I thought that was obvious.” I shrugged.

“Clearly it isn’t.” She frowned

“Aria…” I rubbed my forehead exhaustedly

“No.” She planted both hands on my desk and leaned toward me. “You had no right whatsoever to do that.”

I stared at her. “I am your Alpha.”

“That doesn’t mean you own me.” She scoffed.

The words struck harder than they should have.

I stood. “I never said I owned you.”

“You ordered people to move my belongings into your bedroom without asking me.”

“Our chambers.” I corrected her.

She scoffed. “Your chambers.”

“We are getting married Aria.” I stared at her.

“That doesn’t mean I have to sleep in your room.” She inclined her head.

I crossed my arms. “Once we’re married, you will be my Luna.”

“I haven’t become your Luna yet.” She reminded me.

“Not officially.” I closed the file on my desk.

“Exactly.” Her chin lifted. “Until that happens, my room remains my room.”

I studied her. There was something almost amusing about the absolute certainty in her expression.

She truly believed she could simply draw a line between us and expect me to respect it.

Part of me wanted to laugh and another part of me wanted to shake some sense into her.

“We’re not children anymore, Aria.” I smirked.

“I know.” She pouted.

“Then stop behaving like one.” I demanded.

Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“You know exactly what the elders expect.” I frowned.

“I don’t care what they expect.”

I sighed. “They expect us to begin preparing for the marriage immediately.”

“We can prepare without sharing a bedroom.” She rolled her eyes

“It would look strange.” I admitted.

She blinked. “What?”

“If we are publicly preparing to become mates but continue living separately, people will talk.”

She gave a humorless laugh. “Let them.”

“You don’t understand how quickly rumors spread in a pack.”

“I understand perfectly.” She folded her arms. “They can say whatever they want.”

I shook my head. “You think it’s that simple?”

“It is.” She avoided my gaze.

I stepped around the desk. “The pack expects a future Alpha or Luna. They expect us to behave like a pair.”

Her expression hardened. “And what exactly does that mean?”

I hesitated.

She already knew, but I said it anyway.

“It means we should be seen together. It means we should begin building a household. Eventually, it means we should have pups.”

The silence that followed was absolute.

Then Aria laughed. She laughed as though I had just said the most ridiculous thing imaginable.

“Pups?” She chuckled.

My jaw tightened. “Yes.”

“You actually think I’m going to have pups with you?” She broke into uncontrollable laughter.

Something inside me tightened.

“Aria.” I grunted.

“No.” She shook her head. “You really are unbelievable.”

She stared into nothingness. “I don’t want children with you.”

My wolf growled. I felt the sound deep in my chest but I forced it down.

“And I certainly don’t want you sleeping beside me.” She turned and smiled at me.

The growl came again louder.

I clenched my fists. “Enough.”

She noticed and her eyes narrowed.

“What’s wrong? I can see that the truth is bitter.”

“You are making me angry Aria.” I warned.

“You keep doing that.” She shrugged.

“Doing what?” I asked.

“Looking at me with hate like you want to tear me apart.”

I stared at her. She had no idea how close to the truth she was.

Not because I wanted to hurt her, but because my wolf wanted something I couldn’t explain and something I couldn’t control.

Aria took a step closer. “You were like this at the training grounds too.”

My stomach tightened. “What are you talking about?”

“The warrior.” She whispered. “You almost killed him.”

“He shouldn’t have touched you.” I looked away.

Her eyebrows shot upward. “There it is.”

“What?”

“Possessiveness.” She stood with her hands akimbo. “You were not helping me. He was only giving me water, and helping me sit down.”

I glared at her. “ I know.”

“Then why did you attack him?” She gave me a disgusted look.

I had no answer because my wolf had seen another male touching her, something primitive had awakened inside me, and the sight of his hand on her had driven me nearly insane.

But I couldn’t tell her that.

“I lost control.” I said softly.

She stared at me.

“Exactly.” Her voice became colder.“You’re possessive and that’s what frightens me.”

Those words stopped me. For the first time since she entered the room, I noticed the slight tremble in her hands.

She wasn’t simply angry, she was afraid of me.

The realization should have made me step back. Instead, my wolf pressed closer beneath my skin.

I squeezed my eyes shut. No she wasn’t mine. Not yet, or perhaps never.

“Move my things back,” she said.

I opened my eyes. “What?”

“Move my things back to my room.” She demanded.

“No.” I sat down back.

Her expression changed. “Kael.”

“We’re getting married.” I began opening the files on my desk.

“And?” She raised a brow.

“And I won’t have you living separately from me.” I said without looking at her.

She laughed bitterly. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“As Alpha, I can.” I said with finality.

“As my future husband, you shouldn’t.” She frowned.

I frowned.“What does that mean?”

“It means you don’t get to command me simply because the elders have decided I should marry you.” She explained.

My wolf growled again.

I took a slow breath. “You agreed.”

“I agreed to the marriage.” She glared at me.

“Then act like it!” I barked at her.

Her eyes flashed. “You want me to act like your wife already?”

“I want you to understand the responsibility we’re carrying.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You want control isn’t it?”

She walked toward the door. “You’ve always wanted control.”

I watched her reach for the handle.

“Aria.” I called out.

She stopped. “You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?”

I frowned. “For what?”

“For the chance to have me trapped here in ironcrest.”

Her words were cruel.

“That’s enough.” I warned her.

She turned around. “You wanted my father to force me into marrying you. You wanted the throne. You wanted Ironcrest. Now you’ve finally gotten everything.”

My jaw clenched. “Don’t bring your father into this.”

“Why? Does the truth hurt?” She said mockingly.

“You’ve got exactly what you wanted.” She smiled coldly. “Alpha Kael.”

Something inside me snapped. I crossed the room before I could think and my hand caught her wrist.

She gasped. “Let me go.”

I didn’t let her go.

“Kael!” She struggled.

I pulled her toward me. “Stop being a jerk .”

“Let me go!” She tried to wrench her arm free.

I caught her other wrist. The next thing I knew, her back struck the wall.

Her eyes widened. She stared at me, and I stared back.

For one heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then she shoved against my chest.

“Get off me!” She yelled.

I caught her wrists and held them above her head. “Calm down.”

“You’re insane!” Her voice echoed through the study. “Let me go!”

“Aria stop!” I ordered.

“You arrogant bastard!” She spat.

My wolf snarled. “Don’t call me that.”

“I’ll call you whatever I want!” She struggled harder. “Controlling bastard!”

My grip tightened. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know exactly what I’m saying!” She kicked against my leg. “Get away from me!”

I caught her movement. “Stop fighting.”

“Then let me go!” Her breathing was fast now.

Mine was worse. Her scent filled the air and my wolf was no longer listening to reason.

He pushed against me hard, wanting to come out to his mate.

I tried to force him back. I didn’t want anything to happen now, at least not to her, or like this.

But something was happening inside me. My body felt too hot, my heartbeat thundered, and my vision sharpened.

Aria suddenly went still.

Her eyes moved to my mouth and I knew what she saw. My fangs.

They had extended. Fear replaced anger in her expression.

“Kael…” Her voice was barely a whisper.

I looked away. “Aria…”

She shook her head. “No.”

I heard the fear in her voice. “Please.”

That should have been enough. It should have brought me back. Instead, my wolf surged forward with terrifying force.

I fought him. I swear I did but for one terrible moment, I lost the battle.

Aria’s eyes filled with tears.

“Kael, please let me go.” Her voice broke. “Please.”

I stared at her. Somewhere inside me, I was screaming to Emmy wolf to stop, but my wolf had already made his decision.

He didn’t care about the council, he didn’t care about the marriage ceremony, and he didn’t care about my anger, my pride, or the years of resentment between us.

He only knew that the one thing he wanted to do now was to claim her.

My body moved before my mind could stop it. Aria cried out when my fangs pierced the side of her neck.

The sound shattered something inside me.

When it was over, I released her and stumbled backward.

My breathing was ragged. The silence that followed was unbearable.

Aria remained against the wall. She didn’t move and she didn’t speak.

Her hand slowly rose to her neck and her fingers touched the place where my fangs had broken her skin.

There was no blood. The wound had already healed, but the mark remained a dark, unmistakable crescent beneath her skin.

My breath caught as I stared at it and at her. what I had done?

Aria looked at me. Her eyes were filled with tears, not anger or defiance anymore, but with pain and something much worse.

I opened my mouth. “Aria…”

She stepped away from me. I moved forward instinctively and she flinched, so I stopped.

That single movement cut deeper than anything she could have said.

She touched the mark again. Her lips trembled and a tear slipped down her cheek.

She didn’t scream, she didn’t insult me, and she didn’t demand an explanation.

She simply stared at me as though she no longer recognized the man standing before her.

I wanted to tell her that I hadn’t meant to do it.

That I had fought my wolf, that I hadn’t understood what was happening, and that I never wanted to frighten her.

But every explanation sounded pathetic because none of them changed the truth.

I had claimed her without her permission, without the ceremony, and without giving her the choice she had fought so desperately to keep.

My wolf was strangely quiet now.

He was satisfied because he had finally gotten what he wanted and I hated him for it. I hated myself even more.

Aria slowly turned toward the door.

“Aria, wait.” I said softly.

She didn’t wait . She opened the door.

I took one step after her. “Please.”

She stopped for half a second. Her shoulders shook, then she walked out.

The door slammed behind her. I stood completely still. The sound echoed through the study.

I looked down at my hands. The same hands that had spent years protecting her, same hands that had held her steady when she first learned to fight, and the same hands that had once bandaged her scraped knees when she was a child.

Those hands had pinned her against a wall and I had let my wolf take control.

I slowly touched my mouth.

My fangs had disappeared, but the memory remained.

Her frightened eyes, and her trembling voice pleading for me to let her go.

I closed my eyes. “What have I done?”

There was no answer. For the first time since becoming Alpha, I felt completely powerless.

The elders had wanted a marriage. They had wanted the royal bloodline preserved and they had wanted Aria beside me as Luna.

But none of them had wanted this, and Aria certainly hadn’t.

I looked toward the closed door.

The mark on her neck would tell everyone she was mine but suddenly, the thought didn’t make me feel victorious.

It made me feel sick because I had spent years wanting Aria to choose me and in one terrible moment, I had taken that choice away from her.

My wolf stirred beneath my skin.

I clenched my jaw. “No.”

He growled and I shook my head.

“No, she isn’t something you can simply claim.”

I looked at the door again. Somewhere beyond it, Aria was probably crying and for the first time, I understood that the mark on her neck would not bring her closer to me.

It might push her farther away than ever.

I had spent years waiting for the day Aria would finally belong beside me. Now that the mark existed, all I could think about was one unbearable truth.

She had never wanted it and I had just given her another reason to hate me.