Marked Twice by the Alpha King novel Chapter 118

Chapter 118

1 samped onto a rock by the lake, holding theolding check ni I tried in steady my breathing. Each inhale felt like a knife to my chest, though foreldurt tell if the pain was physical or emotional

Steven’s fingerprints still bumed on my face like a silent brand of shume. An hour ago, I’d been standing in the center of the Moon Festival in this beautid silvet dress, finally feeling like I belonged somewhere. Now I was hark ta square one–hout, alone, an outsider nobody wanted.

I stared at my reflection in the lake’s surface, taking in the swelling on my cheek and the Hood at the comer of my mouth. A bitter tough escaped me

How fucking tretic, Me, Ava Rivers, Shader Creek’s best fighter, toket din by one angry ale from an Alpht hair. What would my father think? What would the Aondency say if they could see their champion now?

I tried to stand, but dizziness forced me back down.

“Damn, he hit hand,” I muttered to myself, gingerly touching my cheek. “Is this what Alphas are really like? They show their true colors the second someone tells them no?”

My fingers consciously drifted to the mark on my neck, feeling the unnatural heat radiating from it–a stark contrast to the sharp pain in my face. I membered what they’d taught us at Warrior Academy: a fated maten mark was permanent unless the marker died or willingly released their claim.

But Jackson was very much alive. He hadn’t released me–he’d just… abandoned nie.

So why hi. His mark fading? And why can Blake sense my emotions, my pale!

There was a connection I’d never experienced before, like an invisible thread linking me to Blake, growing stronger by the day. I could almost physically feel it pulling me toward Blackwood Manor.

“Maybe I’m imagining this whole thing.” I whispered to the night air. “Maybe this is just my way of refusing to accept being dumped. Maybe I’m just… desperate to matter to someone

My thoughts drifted back to that night at Blackwood Manor–Blakes touch, his kiss, that undeniable magnetism between us that defied explanation

But this breaks every rule in the book. He’s the Alpha King, and I’m just a girl abandoned by her fated mate, a traitor’s daughter. The gap between us is wider thum

the more lake

1 replayed Blake’s kiss on the terme earlier tonight. Did he understand the consequences? Had he considered what this meant for Sophia, for Lucas, for his rule?

“Maybe Steven’s right,” I said bitterly, watching tipples spread across the lake. “Maybe I’m just the Mpha King’s passing fancy. Maybe I’ve built this whole thing up in my head, and I’ll end up discarded just like Jackson left me,”

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and smoothed my rumpled dress, trying to reclaim some dignity.

“Either way, I can’t stay here,” I decided, pushing myself to my feet. “I need to go back to Shadow Creek. Back where I belong

This time I stood steadie, taking a deep breath as prepared to leave.

“Goodbye, Blake,” I whispered, taking one last look at the moonlit lake. “Maybe in another life, in another world, we might have had a chance.”

A single tear fell into the water, creating ripples that spread outward. The sense of loss was overwhelming, but there was something else there too–lil at finally making a decision

As I turned to leave, a sudden, searing pain shot from my neck through my entire body, nearly driving me to my knees. The sensation was unlike anything I’d ever felt–like someone had ignited a fire inside me, pulling me backward toward the lake.

“What the hell?” I gasped, my hand flying to the mark.

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Chapter 118

Then I felt it–u presence. Approaching fast. And with abordate pretainly, I knew who it waIL

plebe. He’s malực. I can feel ku anger, his worry……. this ten i my imagivarten. Thly connection ti real,

My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, yearning toward that approaching Alpha energy, zaving the completeness Fondy felt In his perstner,

y warrior instincts kicked in as Thraced mpelt, though du pork lelő el charthy

I heard movement in the trees–powerful footsteps approaching rapidly. My s

who was coming

Bake burst into the cleating by the lake, his eyes glowing gold in the darkness. His Alpha presence was no powerful it gravity had suddenly doubled.

When his gaze fixed on my injured face, his expression transformed from concern to pure, terrifying rage. Not the explosive kind that manifests in shosting. and wild gestures–no, this was something far more dangerous. A cold, deadly fury that promised retribution.

I’d never seen Blake lose control like this. His body began a partial shift–nails extending into claws, teeth elongating into fangs, waves of Alpha energr pulsing from him in a suffocating rhythm.

“He touched you.” His voice was barely recognizable, each word dragged from the throat of the beast within him. It wasn’t a question.