Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Luna’s POV

6 your here

I stood there for a while after hearing that voice call Ryder my mate, and I honestly did not know what to do with myself My head felt full, like there were too many thoughts trying to push through at once, and none of them were making sense. I kept shaking my head slowly, like that would somehow fix things or make the voice disappear, but it didn’t.

The voice was still there, quiet now, but I could feel it, like something sitting at the back of my mind, waiting. That alone made my chest feel tight, because it meant this wasn’t just something I imagined for a second and then lost. It was real, and N didn’t know how to deal with something like that.

“I’m actually going crazy.” I muttered under my breath, my voice low as I pressed my fingers lightly against my temple.

I wanted to laugh it off, to act like it was nothing, but I couldn’t. There was nothing funny about hearing a voice in your head that didn’t feel like yours, and the worst part was that it sounded calm, like it knew exactly what it was doing, like it belonged there, and that scared me more than anything else.

I started pacing slowly in the hallway, my bare feet moving quietly against the floor as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do next. The voice had told me to find Ryder, had called him our mate like it was the most normal thing in the world, and even thinking about it made my stomach twist in a strange way. I didn’t know if I should listen to it or ignore it.

On one hand. I didn’t trust it at all. I didn’t even know what it was. On the other hand, everything that had been happening to me so far had turned out to be real, no matter how ridiculous it sounded at first.

My mind drifted back to what Ryder had said earlier that morning, how he had told me that I would be embarrassed when I remembered what I did last night. With everything else that had happened, I had brushed it off, thinking he was just being annoying or trying to mess with me, but now, standing here with a voice in my head calling him my mate, I didn’t feel so sure anymore. What if whatever I did last night had something to do with this? What if this voice had something to do with it too? The thought made my face heat up slightly, even though I didn’t even know what I was remembering yet.

Before I could think too deeply about it, the voice spoke again, and this time, it sounded different. Harsher and more impatient.

“I want to see him.”

I stopped walking immediately, my body going still as the words echoed in my head. There was something about the tone that made my chest tighten, like it wasn’t just a suggestion anymore. It sounded like a demand.

My brows furrowed, and before I could stop myself, I spoke back, my voice just as harsh as the one in my head. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you don’t get to order me around.”

The words left my mouth before I even thought about them, and for a second, I forgot that I was literally arguing out loud with a voice that no one else could hear, but I didn’t care in that moment. I was too frustrated, too confused, and honestly. too scared to just stay quiet.

The voice let out something that felt like a scoff, even though I couldn’t hear it the way I would hear someone outside. It was just there, in my head, clear as day.

“Didn’t I tell you?” it said calmly, almost like it was talking to someone slow. “I am you.”

I clenched my jaw, my hands curling slightly into fists at my sides as I shook my head again. “No, you’re not,” I snapped. “You don’t sound like me, and you definitely don’t act like me.”

“We are weak,” the voice continued, ignoring what I said like it didn’t matter. “Find our mate.”

I let out a short breath through my nose, my frustration rising even more now. “I don’t even know what that means,” I said, my voice still low but tense. “And even if I did, I’m not just going to run around looking for someone because a random

30

OOGT

12:44 Sat, May 30 MMM.

Chapter 56

voice in my head told me to.”

There was a brief pause, and then the voice spoke again, this time slower, like it was choosing its words carefully.

“Being around him makes us stronger,” it said. “If you want answers, find him.”

That made me pause.

I didn’t want to admit it, but that actually made some sense. Everything about this situation was confusing, but one thing I had noticed was how different I felt around them. Even last night, according to what Ivy had told me, something about being close to him had made things feel a little much better, which meant that the voice in my head was on to something

I opened my mouth to respond, but then I stopped myself halfway because that was when it finally hit me that I was really talking out loud to a voice in my head in the middle of a hallway.

My eyes widened slightly as I looked around quickly, my heart skipping a beat as I realized how ridiculous I must look. If anyone had seen me just now, they would have thought I had completely lost it, and honestly, I wouldn’t even blame them.

“Great,” I muttered under my breath, rubbing my face lightly with one hand. “This is just great.”

I let out a tired sigh as I dropped my hand back to my side, my mind still racing as I tried to make a decision. I could ignore the voice and go back to the room, pretend none of this was happening, and just wait until everything got worse like they said it would, or I could just do what it said and find Ryder, even if it was just to get some kind of explanation and maybe, hopefully, make this voice stop.

I didn’t like either option, but one of them felt slightly better than the other.

“Fine.” I muttered quietly. “I’ll find him.”

I wasn’t saying it for the voice. I told myself that clearly. I was saying it for me, because I needed answers, and right now, Ryder seemed like the only person who could give them to me.

The problem was… I had no idea where to find him.

I looked down the hallway again, biting the inside of my cheek slightly as I tried to think. I hadn’t really paid attention to where anything was when I was brought here the last time, and it wasn’t like I had a map of the place. For all I knew, I could walk around for hours in this big house and still not find him.

“Well, that’s helpful,” I muttered dryly.

Still, I didn’t have much of a choice. So I started walking again, my steps quiet as I moved further down the hallway, glancing at each door like one of them might magically be the right one. The house was still mostly quiet, but after a while, I started to hear faint sounds coming from somewhere ahead. It wasn’t loud, just enough to let me know that someone was there.

Relief washed over me slightly at that, because at least it meant I might be able to ask someone for directions instead of wandering around like an idiot

I followed the sound, my steps a little quicker now, until I reached a part of the hallway that didn’t feel as empty as the rest.. There were more signs of life here, even if it was still quiet overall, I stopped in front of the first door I saw, staring at it for a second as I hesitated.

What if it wasn’t Ryder? What if it was one of the others? I didn’t know why that made me feel a little nervous, but it did. Sull, I couldn’t just stand there forever.

So I lifted my hand and knocked. The sound echoed softly in the hallway, and for a moment, there was no response. I shifted slightly on my feet, wondering if I should knock again, but before I could, the door opened, and it wasn’t Ryder.

It was Theo.

30

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify