All Chapters of Marked but Unclaimed : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My hands shook as I reached for my mask. Every instinct screamed at me to run. But Kade's silver eyes held me frozen in place. "Don't," I whispered. "Please don't make me." His hand dropped from my face — but he didn’t move away. The space between us stayed charged, deliberate. The loss of his heat made me want to move closer again. My wolf whined at the distance. "You feel it too," he said. Not a question. A statement. "The pull. The bond." I couldn't lie. Not about this. Wolves could smell lies. "I feel it." My voice cracked. "But it doesn't matter." "Doesn't matter?" His eyes flashed gold. "You're my mate, Della. How does that not matter?" "Because I left that world behind!" The words burst out of me. "I left my pack. I left my father. I built a human life. I own a bakery. I have an apartment. I have—" I stopped. I was going to say I had Marcus. But I didn't. Not anymore. "I have a life that doesn't include pack politics or alpha commands or any of it." Kade was quie

The lock clicked. The door opened. Kade stepped inside and closed it behind him. His face was calm but I could see the tension in his shoulders. The gold still flickering in his eyes. "He's gone," he said. "I heard." My voice shook. "One week. He gave me one week." Kade crossed the room in three strides. "He's not taking you anywhere." "You don't understand. When my father makes a threat, he follows through. He'll come back with more wolves. He'll—" "Della." Kade's hands framed my face. "Look at me. Breathe." I tried. But panic was crawling up my throat. Five years of freedom, about to disappear. Five years of building a life, about to crumble. "I can't go back," I whispered. "I can't marry some stranger. I can't live under his control again. I can't—" "You won't." Kade's thumb brushed my cheek. "I won't let that happen." "How? You heard him. The Eastern Pack alliance—" "Is not my problem. You are." His silver eyes locked onto mine. "You're my mate, Della. That changes every

The pack meeting started in thirty minutes and I still hadn't decided what to wear. Stupid. It was stupid to care. But showing up to meet seventy-three wolves who might see me as their future Luna? That required strategy. I settled on jeans and a simple black sweater. Not trying too hard. Not hiding either. My wolf paced restlessly. She wanted to meet the pack. Wanted to see if they were worthy of us. We're not staying, I reminded her. She didn't believe me. I walked the path Kade had shown me earlier. Five minutes through the trees to the main pack house. The sun was setting, painting everything gold and red. Voices drifted through the open windows. Laughter. The sound of people who belonged together. My chest tightened. I stopped at the door, my hand hovering over the handle. I could still turn around. Text Kade some excuse. Hide in the guest house until— The door swung open. A woman stood there. Tall. Beautiful. Long black hair and sharp green eyes that assess

The border was chaos. Thirty wolves from Northern Ridge lined one side. Shadow Moon pack members on the other. The space between them crackled with tension so thick I could taste it. And in the center stood two alphas. My father. Tall, gray at the temples, face carved from stone. He wore authority like a second skin. And Kade. Younger, broader, eyes blazing silver-gold. Every muscle coiled and ready. They weren't speaking. Just staring each other down. Derek's hand pressed against my back, urging me forward. "Stay close. Don't show fear." Easy for him to say. His father wasn't standing fifty feet away looking ready to drag him home by his hair. We broke through the Shadow Moon line. Every Northern Ridge wolf turned to look at me. I saw recognition flash across their faces. Some looked relieved. Others looked angry. My father's expression didn't change. But his eyes—those cold blue eyes—locked onto mine. "Della." His voice carried across the clearing. "Come here." Not a req

The walk back from the stone circle felt like drowning.Every Shadow Moon wolf we passed stopped talking. Turned to watch. Their eyes tracked me with a weight I could feel in my bones.They knew.My father had made sure of it. Announced my presence. Invoked Victoria's name. Made it clear that Shadow Moon was harboring a liability."Ignore them," Kade said quietly beside me."Hard to ignore forty wolves staring at you like you're a bomb about to explode."His jaw tightened. "They'll adjust.""Will they?" I looked at a group of younger wolves near the main house. They scattered the moment our eyes met. "Or will they keep looking at me like I got Victoria killed?"Kade stopped walking. "You didn't—""I know what I didn't do." I pulled away from him. "But they don't. And you won't tell them. So what am I supposed to be here? The mysterious stranger? The poor runaway? The alpha's mate who might disappear next?"His eyes flashed gold. "You're under my protection. That's all they need to kno