Marked Twice by the Alpha King novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Ava’s POV

I strode into Lucas’s room with purpose, ignoring Wilson’s shocked protests behind me. The air inside was thick with magic–ancient power that smelled like ozone and earth and blood. It made my nose itch and my wolf stir uneasily.

Lucas sat cross–legged in the center of his bed, a yellowed parchment spread before him. Silver symbols glowed faintly on the surface, casting eerie shadows across his small face. His eyes flickered between normal gray and wolf gold, the change happening faster than it should be possible.

“How dare you break my door!” he growled, his voice carrying an echo that wasn’t entirely his own.

“Fancy light show you’ve got going on there,” I said casually, leaning against his desk like I wasn’t worried at all. “Where’d you get the scroll?*

Lucas blinked, clearly not expecting this reaction. “None of your business.”

“Actually, it is my business. Your dad hired me to teach you control, not watch you fry your wolf brain with ancient magic.”

His eyes flashed fully gold now, the scroll’s symbols pulsing in time with his anger. “I don’t need control! I need power!”

took a step closer, carefully gauging the distance between us. “Your wolf is still developing. Push it too hard now, and you could damage it forever.”

“You don’t know anything!” he snapped, but uncertainty flickered across his face.

I inched closer. “I know that scroll is feeding off your energy, not the other way around. Look at your hands, Lucas.”

He glanced down at his trembling fingers, the claws extending and retracting randomly as he lost control of the partial shift.

“This is supposed to happen, he insisted, but fear crept into his voice. “The scroll says the power comes with–with transformations.”

“And headaches?” I asked, noticing how he squinted against the light. “Muscle spasms? Your body fighting to change when it’s not ready?”

Lucas’s bottom lip quivered slightly before he caught himself. “Leave me alone! I have to do this!”

“Why? What’s so important that you’d risk hurting yourself?”

His eyes dropped, the gold fading momentarily. “Everyone thinks I’m just a stupid kid.”

“Lucas,” I said softly, “your dad hired me specifically because he wants what’s best for you.”

“Liar!” he snarled, the gold flaring back in his eyes. “He just wants me out of the way!”

The scroll’s symbols brightened as his emotions spiked. I knew I had seconds before the situation escalated. Time for a different approach.

“That scroll’s pretty advanced,” I said casually. “Bet you can’t even understand half of what it says.”

Lucas’s head snapped up, indignation overriding his anger. “I can too! It’s about channeling your inner wolf’s strength through the phases of the moon!”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow, projecting skepticism. “And you’re doing that how exactly?”

“By–by focusing on the symbols and reciting the words,” he stuttered, suddenly less confident.

I crossed my arms. And how’s that working out for you? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re letting the scroll control you instead of the other way around.

His face crumpled slightly. “I’m trying! It’s harder than it looks!”

“Im not a cub!” he protested, but the fight was leaving him.

“Prove it, I challenged. “A real wolf knows when to walk away from a fight they’re not ready for. It takes more strength to admit you need help than to stubbornly keep trying something dangerous,”

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