Three marks , three fates

Chapter 7: Three Marks, Three Fates

Ezra

I woke up in a cell that smelled like mildew and wolf piss. I groaned, holding my head that was throbbing with migraine.

“Stupid bastard” I cursed out aloud, trying to sit up, slowly taking in the bandage wrapped around my shoulders from where the corrupted wolf bit me.

The bond mark on my chest pulsed steadily now… no longer burning, but warm. I could feel the psychos presence through our bond.

Kade. The scarred wolf. My mate.

"Hey!" I called. "Anyone out there?"

Silence.

I stood, ignoring the way my head swam, and moved to the door. Through the bars, I could see a narrow corridor lit by torches. Empty.

"I know you can hear me!" I raised my voice. "Phsyco! We need to talk!"

The scarred wolf appeared on the other side of the bars, an expression carved from ice. Up close, in better light, I could see more details. The scars weren't random… they were deliberate. Like someone had taken their time carving up his face.

My wolf surged with protective fury. Who hurt him?

"You are awake," Kade said flatly. "Good. We need to discuss terms and conditions."

"Terms?"

"You are my prisoner. You don't speak unless spoken to. You don't leave this cell without guards. You cooperate, and maybe I won't kill you." His gray eyes were emotionless. "Those are the terms."

I stared at him. "We are mates."

"I noticed."

"So you are just going to... what? Keep me locked up? Ignore the bond?"

"Yes."

The single word hit like a physical blow. I had expected resistance… hell, I had expected anger. But this cold dismissal was worse than death.

"You can't ignore a mate bond," I said, trying not to show my pain.

"Watch me." Kade said coldly, turning to leave.

"Wait!" I gripped the bars. "At least tell me why. Why attack the palace? Why corrupt those wolves? What do you want?"

He turned back slowly. "What?"

"The attack. Six days ago. Those corrupted wolves… they came from the north. From your territory." I met his eyes. "So what's your plan? Destabilize the southern packs? Revenge? What?"

For a long moment, Kade just stared at me. Then something dangerous flickered across his face.

"You think I attacked your precious palace?"

"The corrupted wolves came from…"

"My territory. Where I have been fighting corrupted outbreaks for six months." He stepped closer to the bars, voice dropping to something lethal. "While your golden palace celebrated peace, my wolves were dying from some poison we can't cure. So forgive me if I am not sympathetic to your problems, Prince."

Six months. The corrupted had been in the Wastes for six months, and we had no idea until they reached our gates.

"I didn't know," I said quietly.

"Of course you didn't. Southern wolves never do." He turned away again. "Enjoy your cell."

"Kade, wait…"

"Tomorrow morning, there's an execution," he said without looking back. "An Omega thief. You will watch from your cell window. Learn what happens to wolves who cross me."

Then he was gone, leaving me alone with the bond mark burning questions into my chest.

**************

Dawn came too fast.

The guards came to take me outside a courtyard that was filled with wolves. They gathered in silence, hundreds of them, watching the raised platform in the center.

An execution square.

My stomach churned. I had never seen an execution. The palace handled criminals quietly, behind closed doors. My papa, Milo made sure of that.

But this… this was a brutal public message.

Kade appeared on the platform, dressed in black leather armor. Every inch the Northern Tyrant. He didn't have to call for silence… his presence demanded it.

"Theft is punishable by death," he announced, voice carrying across the courtyard. "This law protects our stores. Our supplies. Our survival. Without it, we all starve."

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

"Bring the prisoner."

Guards dragged someone onto the platform. My breath caught, the moment I laid my eyes on him.

An Omega. Young, thin, with auburn hair that caught the early sunlight. He looked terrified but resigned, like he had already accepted his fate.

Something in my chest twisted painfully.

The Omega was positioned in the center of the platform, forced to his knees. Kade stood behind him, a blade in his hand.

The mark on my chest…the black one… pulsed hot. But underneath it, something else stirred. The silver mark between my shoulder blades ignited with sudden, searing heat, sealing the invisible bond between the Omega and I.

No. Not possible.

This was wrong. Everything about this was wrong,

my wolf slammed in my head, the terrifying natural instinct to protect surging through my blood.

"Wait!" I shouted from my place. "Kade, stop!"

He didn't even glance my way. He raised the blade.

Something I have been holding back since I arrived here… snapped.

The wolfbane chains groaned under my grip as my hybrid bloodline of a true alpha and an Ashbourne wolf I had been suppressing for years surged to the surface.

It was not the borrowed strength from my father Damon's true alpha bloodline. Not the careful control my father Milo had taught me.

This was mine power, a raw and primal energy that was feared by many.

The chains bent like they were made of clay.

I heard guards shouting somewhere, the sound of weapons being raised, but they were too slow. The metal shrieked as I tore the entire chain and threw it aside like it weighed nothing.

My wolf was in control now, and he was furious.

I jumped from the stage.

One stories down to the courtyard below, landing in a crouch that cracked the stone beneath my feet. The impact sent a shockwave rippling outward, and wolves scattered, yelping in alarm. The weaker ones were forced to their knees.

I rose slowly, deliberately, letting every wolf present feel the weight of my aura.

The courtyard went dead silent.

This was what I had been hiding. What I had been taught to suppress because it made people uncomfortable, made them nervous, made them remember that I wasn't just Damon and Milo's son… I was the prophecy.

"Stand down," Kade's voice cut through the chaos, cold and commanding. He still held the blade to the Omega's throat, but his eyes were locked on me. "Take another step, and I will…"

I stared at the Omega kneeling on the platform, and the silver mark burned hotter, recognition flooding my system with absolute certainty.

"He is my mate!" I screamed. "Kade, he is our second mate! Don't kill him!"

The courtyard went absolutely silent.