Claimed by the scarred Alpha

ÉTIENNE

"Instead of poking your nose in my business," I said, keeping my voice level, "try not to offend Séverine."

Laurent’s footsteps matched mine as we moved down the corridor toward the infirmary. He made a sound that might have been agreement but probably wasn’t.

"She does not like me." His tone stayed neutral. Matter-of-fact. "I cannot make her to."

The statement grated against something in my chest. I stopped walking and turned to face him.

"She does not hate you." The words came out firmer than I’d intended. "She just hates how childish you sometimes tend to be. And I am sorry to say, but she is not wrong."

He scoffed. The sound echoed in the empty hallway.

"Do not scoff." My jaw tightened. "You and her will be by the hip for a long time when I finally marry her."

Laurent’s laughter caught me off guard. It started low and built into something genuine that made his shoulders shake. He shook his head like I’d said the funniest thing he’d heard all week.

"Who knows?" He grinned at me with that infuriating expression he wore when he thought he knew something I didn’t. "Anything can happen."

"And this is precisely why Séverine despises you."

"I do not know." He shrugged one shoulder. "I see what I see."

The cryptic response made my hands curl into fists. "What does that mean?"

His expression shifted. The amusement drained away and left something more serious in its place. His eyes found mine and held them.

"How did you know the girl..." He paused. "Margaux was in danger?"

I didn’t answer. My feet started moving again, carrying me forward down the hallway at a pace that should have discouraged further conversation.

Laurent kept up easily.

"So there is something about that like I guessed there would be."

"There is nothing like that."

My steps quickened. The marble floor blurred beneath my feet. Laurent matched my speed without apparent effort, his longer stride eating up the distance.

"Oh really..." His voice carried that knowing quality again. The one that made my teeth grind together. "It felt almost psychic how you knew she was in danger because... if you had not shown up when you did, she would have been dead."

I kept walking. Kept my gaze fixed on the hallway ahead where the infirmary doors waited.

"If I did not know better..." He let the words hang for a beat. "I would think the goddess in her mercy finally blessed you with a fated mate."

Something inside me snapped.

My hand shot out before the thought fully formed. I grabbed Laurent’s shirt and slammed him against the wall hard enough that his breath left in a rush. The impact echoed through the corridor like a gunshot.

He laughed. The bastard actually laughed while pinned between my fist and solid marble.

"Seems like I hit a nerve."

"Do not say that shit." The words came out rough and dangerous. My grip tightened on his collar until the fabric bunched in my fingers. "What if Séverine was there?"

"I am your Beta." His expression stayed calm despite the violence of my reaction. "And you cannot lie to me. Even if you try. It’s common sense. She is your mate. Your fated mate. I can tell. Were you two fated in the past too? You never mentioned that in your hate rants."

"Enough, Laurent." I leaned in closer, making sure he could see exactly how serious I was. "And I mean that shit this time."

His hands came up in surrender. Palms out in the universal gesture of backing down. I released him and stepped back, putting distance between us before I did something we’d both regret.

"You know it is only a matter of time before it clicks for her too, you know." He straightened his shirt with deliberate movements. "If the miracle of you being just right there at the right time did not make it click... Certainly the fact that half the pack has seen your bare face today will make it click."

My hand went to my face. I touched skin where the mask should have been. The realization hit like cold water.

I’d been walking around without it. For hours. My scarred face exposed to anyone who cared to look. And I hadn’t even noticed.

"It is usually weird for you not to have it on with how self-conscious you tend to be." Laurent watched me with eyes that saw too much. "But... if your mind was fixated on something... on someone and their safety, it would make sense right?"

"Fuck you."

We were almost at the infirmary when her voice cut through the air like broken glass.

"How dare you?"

I didn’t think. My body moved on instinct, covering the remaining distance in seconds. The infirmary doors flew open under my hands.

"How dare you call me dirty blood?"

Margaux stood beside her bed. Her hand was raised, still trembling from what must have been a slap given the redness blooming across the head healer’s cheek. Rage poured off her in waves I could feel through the bond even with my shields partially raised.

The head healer stood frozen. His hand touched his injured face while shock registered in his expression.

I crossed the room in three strides. My hand found the healer’s throat and slammed him backward into the wall. His feet left the floor for a second before gravity brought him back down.

"What the fuck did you call her?"

His eyes went wide. Genuine fear flickered across his features. Good. He should be afraid.

"I... I was merely stating medical facts, Alpha." The words came out strangled. My grip had cut off most of his air supply. "I said nothing about dirty blood. The patient just became violent when I tried to explain—"

"That is not what I asked." I leaned in closer. Made my voice drop to something that promised violence if he lied. "What did you call her?"

"Nothing!" He clawed at my hand. "I swear, Alpha Theo. I would never—"

The lie tasted bitter in the air between us. I could feel Margaux’s emotions through the bond. The burning humiliation. The rage at being dismissed and insulted. The bone-deep certainty that I wouldn’t believe her.

She expected me to side with the healer. To write off her account as hysteria or attention-seeking. To abandon her to fight this battle alone.

The realization made something twist in my chest.

But defending her publicly was not the call to make.