Claimed by the scarred Alpha

MARGAUX

I shook my head violently. The movement sent fresh pain shooting through my skull.

"I mean it." I reached for the bond between us and let down every and any involuntary shield I’d erected. "Feel what I feel and tell me if I’m lying."

"The heart is a deceitful thing." His voice dropped lower. "When it comes to it, sometimes it’s hard to pull the trigger."

He crossed to the foot of the bed. His hands gripped the metal railing with enough force that his knuckles went white beneath his skin.

"I felt you the night you rejected me. You didn’t want to. But you did it anyway."

The memory of that night crashed through me. The agony in his eyes. The way his voice had broken when he’d asked why. The feeling of something vital inside me shattering when I’d spoken the words that severed us.

"It will be like that even now."

"I know I have hurt you." The admission tasted like ash on my tongue.

I sighed. The sound rattled through my damaged throat.

"But your shields are always up with me because you know that deep down there’s a chance for a new Chapter."

His grip on the railing tightened further. I heard the metal groan under the pressure.

"All those years, I missed you, Étienne."

The confession hung between us. Raw and honest in a way that made my chest feel too tight.

"I know there’s something off about the case now." My hands twisted in the blanket. "I tried to take it out of my mind. But the truth can’t be hidden, can it?"

I forced myself to meet where I thought his eyes would be behind the mask.

The deep never left mine.

"My mother did have something to do with it. My uncle did... he did sell you."

The words made me shudder. Violent tremors started in my chest and spread outward until my whole body shook with the horror of what I was saying.

Because I hated it. Admitting it made me sick. But it was the truth, and the truth was a bitter thing to swallow.

"You were made a rogue and continued to suffer."

Étienne remained perfectly still. The only sign he’d heard me was the continued pressure on the railing. The metal creaked ominously.

"We can go to the high circle and demand that your father’s case be looked into. Thoroughly. There is no need for all of this."

"I knew it," He said like he had finally gotten me right where he wanted. "It is because of your Beta."

"What??? No!!! I am being vulnerable here... Honest."

"Well... if that is truly the case... Know that... My hands are no longer clean." His voice came out deadly quiet. "And if you really believe the truth will come out, then you are so naive."

"I’m reaching out now." I pushed myself higher against the pillows, despite how it made the room spin. "Why do you find it so hard to take my hand? I am making an effort."

The question landed in silence that stretched too long. Then he released the railing. The metal snapped back into shape with a sound like a whip crack.

"Because the second I hold it and trust you, I will fall hard." Each word came out measured. Careful. "I would be the world’s greatest fool to hold on to your slippery hands. And who knows? Maybe the second time around, I will never recover."

He moved toward the door with purpose that suggested the conversation was over.

"Stay here and do not leave until the head healer tells you to."

I stood. The world tilted dangerously. My legs felt like they might give out at any moment. But I forced them to carry me forward. One step. Then another. Each one harder than the last.

"No." I grabbed the edge of a supply table to steady myself. "If Chris sees me there and safe, he will cooperate with anything that you want from him."

Étienne reached for the door handle without turning around.

"I do not care."

He pulled the door open and stepped into the hallway beyond. I followed despite every muscle in my body screaming in protest.

"I insist."

Laurent appeared in the corridor. His expression shifted from surprise to concern when he saw me swaying on unsteady legs.

"I am afraid that the Alpha is right."

Étienne turned back temporarily. The mask caught the hallway light in patterns that looked almost alive.

"Laurent, do watch her. She can be stubborn."

Then he was walking away. His footsteps echoed against marble floors until distance swallowed the sound completely.

I faced Laurent, and desperation clawed up my throat.

"You don’t understand. I know you assured me nothing would happen to Chris. But I know both of them. For Étienne, this is about his family, and if he thinks I’m stubborn, he doesn’t know Chris." My damaged vocal cords made every word hurt. "They will taunt each other, and someone will get hurt, and it would most likely be Chris. Because he is the one in a cage."

Laurent moved to my side. His hand found my elbow with gentle pressure meant to guide rather than force.

"That will not happen." He steered me back toward the infirmary. "I promise you."

I let him lead me inside. My legs were shaking too badly to fight anymore. Each step felt like walking through water that got deeper with every movement.

He guided me to the bed. I sank onto the mattress with relief that made me hate my own weakness. My body betrayed me at every turn.

Laurent stepped back. His posture relaxed slightly now that I was no longer a flight risk.

That was when I saw it.

Something perched on his shoulder. Dark liquid that seemed to shift and move independent of his body. It looked like oil. Like a shadow given physical form. Wrong in ways that made my brain reject what my eyes were showing me.

I shook my head hard enough to make my vision blur. The thing was still there when my sight cleared. Worse, it was watching me now. I could feel its attention like a physical weight pressing against my consciousness.

Ren... Ren... Ren...

The whisper came from everywhere and nowhere. It crawled across my skin and burrowed into my ears. My breath caught in my throat.

"Laurent." My voice came out strangled. "What is that?"

He looked where I was pointing. His eyes tracked across his own body with confusion that looked genuine.

"Do I have something on me?"

"On your shoulder." I couldn’t take my eyes off the thing. It pulsed like a heartbeat. "Right there."

"What do you see?"

The shadow seemed to turn. To face me fully despite having no discernible features. No eyes, mouth, or anything that suggested it was looking.

You can see me.

The words didn’t come through my ears. They appeared in my mind with such certainty that my stomach dropped.

I froze. Every muscle in my body locked into place. Terror flooded through me in waves that made breathing impossible.

Laurent tensed immediately. His hand moved to his waist, where a weapon must have been holstered.

"Is it what attacked you?"

The shadow rippled. Amusement radiated from it in ways I shouldn’t have been able to sense.

"It doesn’t seem violent." My words came out weak and uncertain.

Laurent pulled a gun from beneath his jacket. The movement was smooth and practiced. He held the weapon with the confidence of extensive training.

"What does it look like and where is it?"

His eyes darted around the room. Scanning surfaces and corners for threats he couldn’t see. The shadow remained perfectly still on his shoulder. Watching me with attention that felt hungry.

Can you do me a favor?

The request came gently, almost pleading, but wrong in ways that made my skin crawl.

I shuddered. Violent tremors started in my chest and spread outward until my whole body shook.

"What are you?"