All Chapters of MARKED BY THE ALPHA I CAME TO KILL : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The invitation cost a man his life. Nyra had taken it off his body an hour before the gates opened, and she hadn't felt a thing while she did it. Feeling things got hunters killed. She smoothed the parchment against her palm, taking in the thick cream paper, the black wolf stamped into the wax and the elegant handwriting that had belonged to someone who would never use it again. Then she handed it to the guard at the gate. “Lady Ashwood,” he said, repeating the name she'd just given him. “Envoy from the eastern packs.” “That’s me.” He looked at her for a beat too long, and Nyra let him. A petite woman with a polite smile and mild manners didn't look like a threat, and she'd spent six years learning exactly how to look like nothing worth a second glance. The guard finally waved her through. Blackthorn territory unfolded beyond the gates like something built to be imposing: stone halls veined with ivy, torchlight throwing gold across a courtyard full of wolves in human skin, music

Morning arrived with a tray she hadn't ordered, left outside her door without a knock. No message this time. Just bread still warm enough to fog the plate beneath it, and the quiet implication that someone had decided she'd be staying long enough to need breakfast. Nyra ate half of it standing at the window, watching the courtyard wake below. Grooms led horses out to pasture. A pair of children chased each other between the stables while their mother called something after them that made them laugh instead of stop. She catalogued it the way she catalogued everything, out of habit rather than intention, and told herself the warmth spreading through her chest was nothing worth examining. The summons came at midday, delivered by the same maid who had brought her breakfast. The Alpha would welcome her company in the eastern gardens, if she had nothing better to occupy her. She had nothing better. She went anyway, telling herself it was reconnaissance. Lucian was already there when

Lucian had expected her to leave. He had expected it the first night, when she'd discovered that the wall near the stables was no longer as easy to cross as it had appeared. He'd expected it the following morning when she'd found the horses available again. Instead, she'd stayed. He hadn't stopped her. Not exactly. There had been a few precautions. Quiet adjustments to the patrols. A guard posted where he normally wouldn't have been. An instruction that no horse was to leave the grounds without someone knowing where it was headed. Nothing that would make a guest feel imprisoned. Nothing that would prevent someone determined enough from leaving. He'd simply made leaving a little less convenient. And Nyra had remained. Lucian stood at the study window, watching the courtyard below. She was there again. Lady Ashwood sat near the edge of the training yard, one leg crossed over the other as she watched two young wolves practice their footwork. She'd stopped pretending she was

The invitation came without ceremony. No note. No one sent to fetch her. Lucian simply found her near the library after the evening meal had been cleared away from the hall. “You didn't come out for dinner.” Nyra glanced at him. “I wasn't hungry.” He nodded toward the corridor. “Come with me.” She debated internally before she followed. She didn't think he posed a threat, at least, tonight. They ended up in a small study she hadn't seen before. Books crowded the shelves, their spines worn from use rather than chosen for appearance. A fire burned low in the hearth, warming the room without making it too hot. Two chairs had been drawn toward it. A few minutes later, someone brought in a tray of bread, cheese and a pot of tea. The aroma caught Nyra off guard. She stopped with her hand halfway to the chair. The tea smelled like a brew her mother used to make. The memory came and went before she could hold on to it. If Lucian noticed her apprehension, then he didn't mention i

It was Rowan's idea, technically, though Nyra suspected he'd suggested it knowing exactly how she'd react. “You watch this yard like you're starving for it,” he'd said the day before, arms crossed as he studied her with the same directness he'd shown her at the fence. “Spar him. See what happens.” “That’s a terrible idea.” “Probably,” he'd agreed, looking far too pleased with himself. “Do it anyway.” So, the next morning, Nyra found herself standing across from Lucian in the training yard with a practice blade in her hand. A loose ring of off-duty wolves had gathered along the fence, drawn by the prospect of watching their Alpha spar with the woman who had spent the past several days observing their training. Lucian rolled his shoulder. “You don't have to hold back. I promise I can take it.” “I wasn't planning to.” A spark of interest appeared in his eyes. “Good.” He came at her first. It was a testing strike, nothing close to full speed. Nyra recognized it immediately. He