The Mark That Never Fades

I didn't run.

I wanted to. Every cell in my body screamed for it. But my legs refused to move, rooted to the forest floor like fate itself had nailed me here to suffer.

Killian stood too close, heat rolling off him like a fever, like war. His eyes, those wild, dangerous eyes, searched my face like he was looking for something he lost a long time ago. Or maybe never really had.

"You feel it," he said again, softer now. Not a command. Not a threat. Just truth.

The worst kind of truth.

And gods help me… I did.

The second bond wasn't a whisper. It was a roar. My soul felt like it was being split, jagged edges tearing through every layer I'd used to protect myself. First Aiden. Now Killian.

Two.

Two bonds. Two fated mates.

Two betrayals I would never forget.

My breath came out in a harsh tremble. I stepped back, not far, just enough to keep from drowning in his presence.

His jaw tightened, but he let me. Didn't chase. Just watched. And that was worse somehow.

"You shouldn't be here," I said, my voice barely holding itself together. "This was a sacred ceremony. You weren't invited."

"I don't give a damn about your ceremony," he said, voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "I felt you break. I came for you."

Break.

Yeah. That's what it had felt like.

But it wasn't just Aiden's rejection that did it. It was this—Killian. This bond screaming between us, raw and feral and wrong.

I shook my head, trying to make sense of it. "You can't be—" My voice cracked. "You can't be my mate. That's not—"

"It is," he interrupted, stepping closer again. "You know it. Your wolf knows it. Don't lie to yourself just because you hate me."

I flinched. Gods, he didn't even blink saying that. Like the hate between us was a given. Like it didn't make a difference.

My fingers curled into fists. "You watched me bleed and walked away."

He looked away for the first time. Just for a second. But it was enough.

Silence stretched between us. Thick. Suffocating.

Then he murmured, almost like he hated the words, "I never stopped feeling it. Even when I pretended I didn't."

That was the thing about Killian.

He always pretended well.

I didn't respond. Couldn't. Because my wolf was pacing now, confused and angry and aching. Her instincts didn't care about history. About lies. About blood. All she knew was that the bond was real.

And she wanted.

Footsteps crunched behind me. I turned, half expecting another ghost from my past to crawl out of the trees. But it wasn't another Alpha. Not yet.

It was Natalia.

Still draped over Aiden like a goddamn victory sash.

"You sure know how to make a scene, Rae," she purred, her eyes sliding between me and Killian. "Is this what you do now? Collect mates like trophies?"

"Get out of my face," I snapped, sharper than I meant to, voice shaking. "I'm not in the mood to clean blood off my hands tonight."

Her smirk twitched. Just slightly. But I saw the way her grip on Aiden's arm tightened.

He didn't stop her.

Didn't speak.

Coward.

Killian, on the other hand, took a step in front of me, blocking her from view.

His voice dropped to something cold and lethal. "You should leave before I stop pretending you matter."

Natalia blinked. For the first time, I saw it, the flicker of fear.

Killian wasn't like Aiden. He didn't play games.

And he didn't forgive.

She sniffed, tossed her hair, and stalked off, dragging Aiden with her. But not before he looked back at me.

That look?

It wasn't regret.

It was confusion.

Like he felt the bond hadn't broken either.

But that wasn't possible… right?

I turned back to Killian. "This doesn't mean anything."

His lips twitched, not quite a smile. "You keep telling yourself that."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

And then, another surge. Not from Killian. Not from me.

From somewhere else.

A prickle ran down my spine. My wolf stilled.

Killian's head snapped toward the trees. "We're not alone."

I swallowed. "Aiden?"

"No." He stepped closer to me again. Not protective, possessive. "Someone else."

We both froze as a voice drifted through the shadows.

Low. Smooth. Deadly.

"Mine."

The word hit me like a thunderclap.

Killian growled, full and loud. "Show yourself."

But nothing answered.

Just the rustling of leaves. A shadow between shadows. A presence I couldn't place, but my body knew.

That voice hadn't belonged to Aiden. Or Killian.

It was someone new.

Someone darker.

My pulse slammed into my ears.

Another mate?

No. No.

That wasn't possible.

But the bond flared again, hot and brutal and unfamiliar.

My knees gave out.

Killian caught me just before I hit the ground.

His grip was tight, grounding. But his voice was chaos.

"Rae," he said, his tone not angry now, just desperate. "Who the hell else is bonded to you?"

I looked up at him, my eyes wide and full of a terror I couldn't name.

"I don't know."

But something inside me whispered.

He's coming.

And he's not like the others.

He won't just ruin you.

He'll own you.