Marked Twice by the Alpha King novel Chapter 1

Third Person POV

Blake’s wolves tore through the forest, their Alpha’s rage hanging in the air like smoke. Birds fled their nests and deer scattered as the pack moved he liquid shadows between trees. With each minute that ticked by, the knot in Blake’s gut pulled tighter. Sarah’s face–pale as ath when she heard Sophia was missing–kept flashing in his mind.

“Got something, Tyler nudged Blake’s flank, his nose twitching. “Southwest. Stronger now.”

Blake changed course, golden eyes cutting through darkness. Sophia’s scent grew clearer, but there was something else–Jackson’s scent, mingled with hers. That shouldn’t be right.

They rounded a bend in the trail and froze. There sat Jackson on horseback, Sophia’s limp body cradled against his chest. Blake’s heart skipped. He leapt forward, bones shifting mid–air as he returned to human form.

Holy shit–Alpha King!” Jackson’s eyes widened with perfectly rehearsed surprise. He scrambled down from his horse, holding Sophia like fragile glass. “Found her just lying there… someone drugged her…”

Blake snatched his daughter from Jackson’s arms without a word. Her breathing was steady, but purple bruises spread across her cheek. Silver burns circled her wrists.

“Healers. Now.” His command sent the medical team rushing forward.

Jackson hovered, face twisted into a mask of concern. “Was just about to haul ass to Blackwood. Lucky you showed up.”

Blake’s eyes sliced through him. “Where’s Ava?”

“Ava?” Jackson blinked rapidly. “What’s she got to do with anything?”

She was with Sophia,” Blake’s voice dropped dangerously low. “They disappeared together.”

‘No idea, sir,” Jackson shook his head, eyes wide with fake innocence. “Sophia was alone when I found her. Tied up by the trail. Maybe they split them up?”

Tyler edged closer to Blake, voice barely audible. “Ava’s scent goes southwest. Still fresh. Could be in trouble.”

Blake glanced between his unconscious daughter and Jackson. Something felt wrong, but Sophia needed care first.

“Get her to the healers,” he ordered, passing her to the medical team. He pinned Jackson with his stare. “Sure you didn’t see anything of Ava? No signs? Nothing?”

“Not a trace, sir,” Jackson held his gaze. “Swear on my mother’s grave. If I knew anything, I’d tell you.”

Blake stepped so close their noses nearly touched. “If I find out you’re lying to me, Hayes… if you’re holding back…”

The threat hung unfinished, but Jackson’s pulse jumped visibly in his throat.

“Just trying to help, sir,” he dropped his eyes, shoulders hunching. “Point me where to go, and I’m there.”

Blake studied him a moment longer before turning to Tyler. “Track Ava’s scent. Every warrior we’ve got–I want eyes in every cave, every hollow, every abandoned den in these woods.”

While Blake’s pack regrouped, Jackson hung back/relief flooding through him. Half his plan had worked–he’d rescued Sophia, played hero, and nobody suspected him. And Ava? By now, she’d be half–crazy from the Moon Heat or dead. Either way, problem solved.

Blake watched the healers assess Sophia, their verdict confirming she’d been given standard wolf venom and would wake naturally. He wiped dirt from her face with his thumb, rage simmering just below his skin.

Whoever touched his daughter would die screaming.

1/3

Chapter 100

But where was Ava? The question gnawed at him. She and Sophia vanished together so why had only one been found? Every Instinct he had Jackson knew more than he was saying.

Blake’s POV

I set Sophia’s hand back on the cot and stepped outside, the night air hitting my face like a cold slap. Tyler waited, shoulders rigid with tension

“Checked Hayes’s story?” My voice came out rough, like I’d been gargling gravel.

“Yeah. Says he found her on the Shadow Creek trail. Tyler’s jaw tightened. “We swept it. Nothing. No sign of Ava anywhere,

I glanced up at the sky–black as pitch now, clouds swallowing the moon whole. Finding Sophia should’ve brought relief, but instead, anxiety clawed at my chest like a trapped animal.

“Healers found something else,” Tyler added. “Scents on Sophia say underground prison. But Hayes claims he found her out in the open.”

The contradiction settled like ice in my gut. Hayes was lying through his teeth.

“Get a team ready,” I said, already turning toward the horses. “I want to see his so–called rescue spot myself.”

Pain exploded in my chest without warning–sharp and hot as a knife between ribs. I staggered, catching myself against a pine trunk, bark biting into my palm.

“Boss?” Tyler was at my side instantly.

I waved him off, but the pain only intensified. This wasn’t normal pain–this was a tug, like something had hooked into my soul and was yanking me eastward.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make sense of it. An image flashed behind my eyelids–Ava’s neck, that mark I’d noticed since day one. What had been purely silver once now had threads of gold weaving through it. Jackson’s mark… changing.

“Ava’s mark… The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Every wolf knew marks created connections–but only between the marker and the marked. I’d never marked Ava, so why could I feel her now?

Unless… those gold threads in her silver mark…

“Sir? Tyler’s voice pulled me back.

“I can feel her,” I said, the realization hitting me like a blow. “She’s in a cabin. The real place they kept Sophia.”

Tyler’s brow furrowed. “But we checked where Hayes-”

‘Hayes lied, I cut in, the pull growing stronger with each heartbeat. “They’re east of here. Where the woods thin out by the marshlands. Ava’s still there.”