All Chapters of Marked by the Alpha: Blood Oath: Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

EliThe door closes behind me with a sound of finality. Not a slam, just a click soft enough to feel deliberate. The kind of sound a predator makes when it’s already sure of the kill.The chamber is colder than the corridors, even though a fire burns in the grate. The walls shimmer with a thousand reflections, each one catching the light wrong. Mirrors. Floor to ceiling. Some warped with age, some new enough that I can see the pulse in my throat.Everywhere I look, there’s me. A hundred versions. Taller, smaller, broken by glass lines. They move when I move, blink when I blink, flinch when I don’t. It’s a trick of the eyes, but I feel it in my gut. This room was built for humilia

AlaricPerfection is not an accident, it’s a habit I force on the world.The hall gleams because I told it to. Marble spilled from the mountains into these floors. Candles were made fat to throw the right kind of light. Banners were stitched wide so necks must lift to see them. Men kneel better when they’ve already strained their spines to look up.No weapons tonight, as per my decree. Wolves without teeth are pleasant dinner guests. Music smears across the air, a slow court waltz played by servants too well trained to meet my eyes. Roasted meat, clove, wine as black as the plans I have for Eli. I built the scent of this e

KieranThe courtyard feels different without my father’s shadow stretched across it. It’s quieter than it should be. I suppose endings always are.The Blackthorn wolves are preparing to leave. No fanfare, no parade, just packs being shouldered and the occasional soft command. They move without the need to discuss anything. Everyone knows what’s expected of them. The efficiency makes me ache. It also renews the determination I have to bring our own warriors to the same level of proficiency.Mara is the first to

JaceThe gates of Blackthorn rise ahead like sentinels of iron. Torches burn along the ramparts, their light throwing gold across the snow, and the sound is enough to crack something in my chest. A chorus of howls, low and rising, echoing down the valley as the pack senses us returning.We slow at the boundary, paws shifting into boots, fur into flesh and clothing. For a moment, no one moves. The cold stings less than it should. The smell of home hits like a blessing.Ronan steps forward first. The entire pack still bends around his gravity. He doesn’t need to shout for the gates to swing o

EliI go down like gravity called to me. The floor is warm from the fire and my stomach swoops when he steps in close. The world shrinks to only him and the sensation of his thumb hooked through the O-ring at my throat.“Hands,” he says, and offers me his belt, not to bind with yet, just to hold. I wrap it around my palms and feel how it will feel later when he uses the real ties. He watches the knowledge hit me and files it away.“This is not a test,” he says. “It’s a reminder.” He tilts my head with a knuckle. “Breathe for me.”I do. I’ve been getting better at it. He rests his hand on the crown of my head, staring down at me with awe in his gaze. My body waves a flag. My mouth goes dry. I want everything. He gives me nothing but that weight and his eyes on me like a solemn promise.“You’re going to stand now,” he says after a long, taut minute. “You’re going to take off your shirt slowly. Then you’re going to the mirror to wait. I’ll come to you when I’m ready.”This should not be