All Chapters of The Mark You Hide: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

MaraI knew it was a bad idea the moment I turned off Main and killed my headlights behind Doyle’s.Not “I’ll regret this in the morning” bad. More like “this is how people end up missing” bad. The alley was narrow, half gravel and half cracked asphalt, and the security light above the dumpster kept blinking on and off. I parked anyway, hands steady, stomach not so much, because I’m stubborn and I ignore warnings, even when I know better.My phone buzzed in my palm.UNKNOWN: Back door. Don’t knock. Two minutes.I stared at the message long enough to consider driving away and pretending I never got it. Then I checked the time. 11:47 p.m. A weeknight. The kind of hour where the only people still out either work nights or make choices they can’t put on their resumes.“Two minutes,” I muttered. “So polite.”I flipped the visor down to check my face and make sure there were no remnants of my late night snack still lingering. Tanned skin, dark eyes, and a wild lion's mane of black hair gree

MaraGage’s eyes lifted, and the crack in the door stopped feeling like cover. It felt like he could see straight through cheap paint and my bad choices.I eased back an inch at a time. The tile under my boots was slick, the air sharp with bleach and fryer grease. I kept my shoulders loose, because panic makes noise, and noise gets you caught.My keys were between my fingers, the points digging into my palm like that would matter if a predator decided I was in its way. I kept the voice memo rolling in my pocket, screen black, mic hot. If I got out with clean audio, I’d have proof Crowe Construction wasn’t just crooked—it was tied to something organized, something that talked about laws and territory like it owned the map. The smart move was to run. The Mara move was to stay long enough to catch one solid name, then bolt before the door opened. My pride told me I could handle it. My gut disagreed.Inside, Coat Guy kept talking like he could talk his way out of being scared.“We can’t a

Mara“You’re mine until I decide you’re safe.”He said it like it was policy, not a threat—like he’d stamped my forehead and filed me under “handled.”I stared up at him, pinned against the cold metal of my car, his hand locked around my wrist. Close enough to feel his heat. Close enough to hate that my body noticed it.“Mine,” I repeated. “Do you hear yourself?”His eyes didn’t blink. “Yes.”“Cool. Love the confidence. Hate the part where you trap women in parking lots.”“This isn’t kidnapping.”“Right,” I snapped. “Because you gave it a different label.”His jaw tightened like my sarcasm was a delay he hadn’t scheduled. “If you keep talking, you’ll attract attention.”“We’re behind a bar,” I shot back. “Attention is the business model.”He shifted his stance, blocking the alley exit without even looking. Not dramatic—automatic. Like he’d done this before and didn’t need to think.“Okay,” I said, forcing my voice steadier. “Explain what’s happening.”“You witnessed something you were

GageThe second her lips touched my blood, the tether should have settled like a brand and gone quiet. Temporary. Useful. A blunt tool for a human who’d stumbled into pack business.Instead it hit like a strike to the ribs.Heat. Pressure. A hard, instant awareness of her that had no business existing. My wolf surged up from under my skin, furious and hungry, and I had to clamp down so fast my teeth ached. I kept my hand at her mouth because pulling away felt like tearing something open, and that made no sense. A protection mark doesn’t do this. It doesn’t snap into place and grab back.Her fingers dug into my forearm. She swayed. She was breathing hard, eyes wide, but it wasn’t the usual panic. It was recognition. My blood had met something inside her and answered.Illegal, my mind supplied. Wrong. Impossible.I forced my hand away and closed my fingers into a fist to stop the bleeding. The cut was already sealing; it wasn’t deep. My focus wasn’t on my skin anyway. It was on her scen

GageTwo guards stand at the end of the guest wing hall. They straighten when they see me. Good. Respect is easier to maintain than regain.“Rotation?” I ask.“Two on the door. Two outside the window line,” one says. Young. Eager. Trying not to stare at the dried blood on my knuckles.“Names.”“Rook and Dane inside. Mason and Kyler on the yard.”I nod once. “No one speaks to the witness. No one approaches the door unless Wren calls for you. If she asks for water, you bring it and you set it inside without stepping over the threshold. Understood?”“Yes, Alpha.”“And if anyone asks why the hall is locked down?”The second guard answers, steady. “Maintenance issue. Pipe burst.”“Good.” I pass them and keep walking. “If you smell unfamiliar human scent within twenty yards, you tell me first. Not the council. Not your cousin. Me.”Both men answer at once. “Yes, Alpha.”My office is across from the library, door half open, lights low. I step in and shut it behind me. The ward stone above th