Marked (Marked by Alphas #1)

Chapter 23

D erek’s kiss turned savage, claiming my mouth like a man starving. His tongue invaded with possessive intent, drawing desperate whimpers from my throat that seemed to drive him wild. I was caught between him and Caleb, their powerful bodies forming a cage of heated muscle and barely restrained need. The low rumbles in their chests felt more animal than human, vibrating through me where they pressed against my body.

While Derek devoured my mouth, Caleb attacked my neck with hungry desperation. His teeth grazed sensitive skin, each bite followed by the soothing lap of his tongue. The contrast of sharp teeth and soft lips had me arching, pressing harder against them both.

“Please,” I gasped when Derek finally let me breathe, though I wasn’t sure what I was begging for.

Someone—Derek, I thought—growled and yanked at my shirt. Buttons scattered across the floor like fallen stars, pinging against the hardwood as the fabric was roughly shoved down my arms, effectively trapping them at my elbows. My chest heaved in the cool air, but I couldn’t feel cold, not with their burning touches marking every inch of exposed skin.

My body sang with rightness, every cell screaming that this was where I belonged—caught between these powerful men who seemed desperate to consume me. This was what I’d been missing, what I’d been searching for without knowing it. When Caleb’s teeth found the sensitive juncture of neck and shoulder, I moaned shamelessly into Derek’s mouth, my body instinctively arching to offer more of myself to them both.

A deep, primal growl—more dangerous than anything I’d heard before—cut through the heated fog of desire. The sound seemed to shake the very foundations of the cottage.

Derek and Caleb froze instantly, their bodies going rigid against mine. The change was dramatic—like watching wolves snap to attention at their alpha’s call. Their breathing was ragged, muscles trembling with the effort of restraint, but they didn’t move away. If anything, their grips tightened possessively.

I blinked through the haze of desire, turning to find Marcus standing, his posture radiating barely contained violence. His eyes blazed with an otherworldly intensity that should have terrified me—they weren’t just their usual icy blue, but something wilder, almost crimson in the dim light. Instead of fear, heat pooled low in my belly at the raw hunger in his gaze.

“We need to leave.” Marcus’ voice was rough, almost inhuman. Every word seemed dragged from his throat. “Now.”

Derek and Caleb pulled away as if burned, though their movements seemed physically painful. Their bodies shook with visible restraint, hands clenching and unclenching at their sides. That familiar frustration bubbled up inside me, turning quickly to anger. I was sick of their endless hot-and-cold game, tired of being left wanting and confused.

Something in me snapped. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was weeks of building tension, or maybe it was just the sight of Marcus standing there looking like sin incarnate while trying to deny what we all clearly wanted.

I stood, deliberately letting my ruined shirt slip farther down my arms, and stalked toward Marcus. He stiffened, a warning growl rumbling deep in his chest. The sound vibrated through the air, primal and dangerous.

“Stay where you are,” he commanded, his voice dropping to a register that made my knees weak. “Or go to your room. Now.”

I kept walking, letting my hips sway slightly. “No.” My voice was steady despite my racing heart. “This is my cottage, Marcus Stone, and I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.”

His chest heaved with rapid breaths, muscles coiled tight as he battled something I couldn’t quite understand. With each step I took, he seemed to wage an internal war—his body simultaneously leaning toward me and trying to retreat.

“Kai,” he warned, but I could hear the strain in his voice. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” I purred, now close enough to feel the heat radiating off his body. “Don’t want you? Don’t crave your touch? Don’t dream about you—all of you—every night?” I heard twin growls from Derek and Caleb behind me. “Too late for that, don’t you think?”

Marcus’ eyes blazed, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “You don’t understand what you’re asking for.”

“Then explain it to me,” I challenged, closing the final distance between us. “Because right now, all I understand is that I want you so badly it hurts, and you want me too. I can see it in your eyes, feel it in your touch.” I pressed my palm against his thundering heart. “Here.”

“Baby.” His voice was strained, almost pleading. “You need to stop.”

Instead, I rose on my tiptoes, pressing my chest against his. “Make me.”

“Last warning,” Marcus growled, but his hands had found my hips, gripping hard enough to bruise. “You’re playing with fire, little one.”

“Maybe I want to burn.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, deliberately pressing closer. “Maybe I’m tired of you three treating me like I’m made of glass.” My lips brushed his jaw as I whispered, “Maybe I want you to lose control.”

The growl that tore from his throat was pure animal—dark and dangerous and thrilling. His eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, something ancient and predatory in his gaze.

“Please, Marcus,” I begged softly, letting all my need and desire color my voice. “I’m yours. I think I’ve always been yours. Just… please…”

Something in him snapped. One moment I was standing, the next I was crushed against the wall, lifted effortlessly as his mouth claimed mine with bruising force. This wasn’t just a kiss—it was a claiming, a devouring. His tongue demanded entrance, and I yielded instantly, moaning as he consumed me with a hunger that bordered on feral.

I locked my legs around his waist, pulling him closer, needing more. He tasted like expensive wine and raw power, and I wanted to drown in him. His hands branded my skin wherever they touched, leaving trails of fire in their wake. When I rolled my hips against him, seeking friction, he growled into my mouth and bit my lower lip hard enough to sting.

“Mine,” he snarled against my lips, then dove back in for another devastating kiss. His whole body pressed me into the wall, solid and powerful and perfect. I could feel Derek and Caleb’s presence too, their heated gazes adding to the intensity of the moment.

Just when I thought I’d finally won—finally broken through their maddening restraint—Marcus wrenched his lips away with a sound of pure agony. His eyes were wild, pupils blown wide with desire but rimmed with that strange crimson glow that made my heart race. For a moment, he looked utterly feral, like something not quite human lurked beneath his perfect control.

“I’m sorry, little one,” he rasped, his voice rough and broken. He set me down so quickly I stumbled, catching myself against the wall. “We can’t. Not yet.”

“Not yet?” I snapped, fury and frustration burning through me. “When then? Because this hot-and-cold game is getting really old, Marcus. You want me—I can feel how much you want me. All of you do.”

“Kai.” Derek’s strained voice came from behind Marcus. Both he and Caleb looked like they were in physical pain, their bodies rigid with barely contained need.

“Don’t ‘Kai’ me,” I snarled. “You three parade around here looking like sex on legs, touching me like you own me, kissing me like you want to devour me, and then—what? You just leave? Again?”

Marcus took another step back, his hands trembling. “You don’t understand—”

“Then make me understand!” I pushed off the wall, advancing on him again. “Because right now, all I understand is that I want you—all of you—and you want me, but you’re running away. Again.”

“We have to,” Marcus growled, then turned and practically fled through the door, his brothers following close behind. They moved with an inhuman grace that should have seemed strange, but my fury overwhelmed any other thoughts.

I ran to the door, my ruined shirt still hanging off my shoulders, chest heaving with anger and unfulfilled desire. “Fine! Leave!” I shouted after their retreating forms, my voice cracking with frustration. “Run away like you always do! Because clearly, that’s what big, strong alpha males do—kiss someone senseless and then sprint for the hills!”

I gripped the doorframe, watching their broad shoulders disappear into the darkness. “Don’t you dare come back unless you plan to finish what you start! I’m not some toy you can wind up and abandon! And someone owes me a new shirt—this was designer, you animals! You stupid, gorgeous, infuriating teases! You’re all impossible! What kind of men kiss someone like that and then run away? Cowards! Beautiful, maddening, completely insane cowards!”

I slammed the door so hard the windows rattled, slumping against it with a mixture of fury and despair. “Cowards,” I muttered, touching my swollen lips. “Beautiful, maddening, completely insane cowards with their perfect mouths and their stupid muscles and their impossible self-control.”

I stumbled to the sofa and collapsed onto it, all the anger suddenly draining away, leaving only a hollow ache in my chest. Scout whined softly and padded over, resting his head on my lap.

“Yeah, buddy.” I laughed bitterly, running my fingers through his fur. “I don’t understand them either. Three grown men, built like Greek gods, running away from little old me like I’m some kind of threat.” I touched my swollen lips, remembering Marcus’ desperate kisses. “Though that was one hell of a goodbye kiss.”

The whole room felt saturated with their presence—Marcus’ cologne lingering in the air, the ghost of Derek’s hands on my skin, the mark of Caleb’s teeth on my neck. Every surface seemed to hold a memory of their touches, their heated gazes, their maddening almost-promises. Even the cushions beneath me still held their warmth.

“Screw this,” I muttered, pushing up from the sofa. I couldn’t stay here, not tonight. The dark woods beyond my windows usually terrified me, but right now, the thought of remaining in this shrine to unfulfilled desire was worse.

I stalked upstairs, yanking on a fresh t-shirt and grabbing my keys. Scout trailed behind me, whining anxiously until I looked down at him.

“Fine, you can come too. At least you’re not complicated.”

Scout’s tail wagged as he bounded to the door. I didn’t have a destination in mind—just away. Away from this cottage, away from their intoxicating presence, away from the mess of feelings they stirred up in me.

My ancient Honda Civic groaned in protest as I pushed it along the dark road, no real destination in mind except ‘away from infuriatingly hot men who can’t commit.’ Scout sat quietly in the passenger seat, occasionally whining when I gripped the steering wheel too hard.

Marcus’ desperate kisses kept replaying in my head—the way his body had pressed mine against the wall, how his hands had branded my skin. Derek’s hungry mouth, Caleb’s teasing bites…

“Oh my God, stop being so pathetic,” I growled at myself, smacking the steering wheel. “They’re just three ridiculously attractive men who clearly graduated summa cum laude from the School of Mixed Signals. Get it together, Kai.”

The car made a sound like a dying whale, sputtered, then died completely.

“No, no, no…” I turned the key repeatedly but got nothing other than sad clicking sounds. “Come on, baby, don’t do this to me.” My faithful Honda hadn’t been driven much since Marcus started insisting on picking me up for work two weeks ago—probably part of his ‘How to Drive Kai Crazy’ master plan. Now she was getting her revenge for the betrayal. “I know I’ve neglected you for Mr. Fancy-Sports-Car, but I promise I’ll make it up to you. Just start. Please?”

I pulled out my phone, Marcus’ number appearing first in my recent calls. My thumb hovered over it before I angrily scrolled past. Derek’s name came next, then Caleb’s. “Nope. Not happening. I’d rather walk barefoot through poison ivy than give them the satisfaction.” I’d call Maria or Jorge. Hell, even Miguel would be better than—

No signal. Because the universe clearly hadn’t finished punishing me for my terrible taste in men.

“Come on, Scout.” I stepped out into the darkness. “Let’s go find some bars. The cell phone kind, not the drinking kind—though honestly, I could use both right now.” Scout pressed close to my leg as we walked, which helped calm my racing heart. The woods loomed on either side of the road, and every shadow made me jump like a caffeinated squirrel.

Headlights appeared in the distance, and relief flooded through me. I waved, thinking that literally anyone would be better help than three certain brothers who shall not be named.

I was wrong. So, so wrong.

Two black SUVs pulled up, and my relief evaporated faster than my dignity had earlier that evening. I recognized the men from Knox Publishing who’d been hanging around the bookstore—the ones who’d made my skin crawl even in broad daylight. Now there were more of them, all big, all wearing smiles that belonged in a shark documentary.

“Well, well,” the tallest one drawled, stepping out of the lead vehicle. “If it isn’t the Stone brothers’ pretty little pet. Having car trouble?”

Scout growled low beside me, his usual playful demeanor replaced by something fiercer. More men emerged from the SUVs, forming a loose circle around us like the world’s creepiest game of Ring Around the Rosie.

“Thanks, but I’m good,” I said, aiming for casual despite my racing heart. “Just taking a midnight stroll. You know, enjoying nature, contemplating my poor life choices. The usual.”

“Oh, we know exactly what you’re doing out here.” Another man chuckled darkly. “Running from those Stone boys, aren’t you? But they’re not coming. Not yet anyway.”

“Wow, stalker much?” I quipped, though my voice wavered. “I should warn you, this whole creepy-men-in-black routine is a little passé. Very last season.”

“Such a waste,” the first man said, inhaling deeply like he could smell my fear. “Letting those Stone mutts lay claim to something so… precious.”

They were closing in now, and I knew with terrifying certainty that I was about to find out exactly why the Stone brothers were so protective of me—if I survived long enough to ask them. And wouldn’t that just be perfect? Finally getting answers but being too dead to appreciate them.

“Listen, guys,” I said, backing away slowly, “I’m flattered by the whole stalker-convention vibe, but I’m really not interested in joining your creepy book club.”

The leader’s smile turned predatory. “Oh, but we insist. The Stones have been hoarding you long enough.”

“Hoarding? I’m not a limited edition Funko Pop, thanks.” My heart hammered, but my mouth apparently hadn’t gotten the ‘danger’ memo. “And seriously, who coordinates a kidnapping in matching black SUVs? Very subtle. Did you get a group discount?”

One of them grabbed my arm, grip bruising. I tried to twist away but another seized me from behind, crushing me against his chest. The air left my lungs in a painful whoosh. God, they were strong—impossibly strong. Luke’s voice echoed in my head: “Those Stone brothers are definitely serial killers.” Looks like we were wrong about which ones to fear in Cedar Grove.

“Let go!” I struggled, but it was like fighting a mountain. My five-foot-six frame might as well have been a toy in their massive hands. Imo’s warnings about staying safe in small towns suddenly felt less paranoid and more prophetic.

Scout launched himself at one of the men, snarling with unexpected ferocity. In the chaos, I managed to stamp down hard on my captor’s foot. His grip loosened just enough for me to ram my elbow back—hurting myself more than him.

“Feisty little thing.” The leader laughed, then backhanded me across the face.

The blow sent me sprawling onto the asphalt. Pain exploded across my cheek, copper flooding my mouth. Stars danced in my vision as I tried to crawl away.

What did they want with me? Was this about the brothers? Some kind of territorial feud I’d stumbled into? Maria’s concerned face flashed through my mind—all those times she’d insisted on knowing where I was going, who I was with.

Oh God, the brothers. I actually wished they were here now, with their impossible strength and protective instincts. Even their frustrating hot-and-cold behavior seemed trivial compared to the very real possibility that I might die on this dark road.

A boot caught my ribs, flipping me onto my back. Pain exploded through my chest as I gasped for air. Through tears, I saw more men approaching, their faces twisted with cruel anticipation. Scout was still fighting, but two men had him cornered now.

“The Stones think they can just claim anything they want,” the leader spat, hauling me up by my hair. “Time they learned a lesson about territory.”

Territory? What territory? I was just a bookstore clerk with student loans and a talent for terrible life choices. Luke’s voice rang in my head: “Dude, you’re living in a horror movie. Three hot mysterious men in a small town? You’re either the love interest or the first victim.”

Guess which one I was turning out to be.

“Look,” I wheezed, tasting blood, “if this is about the brothers, I’m nothing to them. Just their weird hobby of the month. You’re wasting your time.”

The leader’s laugh was ugly. “Nothing to them? Is that why they’ve been circling you like starving wolves? Why they mark everything you touch?” He inhaled deeply near my neck, making my skin crawl. “Why you reek of their claim?”

I didn’t understand half of what he was saying, but I desperately wished I hadn’t tried to seduce the brothers like some hormone-driven teenager. If I’d just stayed put, maybe had coffee and enjoyed their company despite all that charged tension… Hell, even their frustrating hot-and-cold routine would be better than whatever these psychos had planned.

Another blow caught my stomach. As I doubled over, retching, I thought of Imo’s last call: “Be careful, Kai. Some places hide dark secrets.” Well, Imo, looks like Cedar Grove’s secret was a murderous book club with territorial issues.

“Please,” I gasped, not above begging at this point. “I don’t know what you want—”

“Oh, but you will.” The leader grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His eyes… there was something wrong with his eyes. They looked almost amber in the darkness. “The Stones aren’t the only ones who can claim a mate.”

Mate? What the hell?

Something inside me recoiled at his touch, at that word coming from his mouth. It felt wrong, violated something deep and primal inside me. The pain in my body suddenly felt distant, replaced by a strange heat spreading from my core.

“No,” I growled, surprising myself with the sound. It didn’t even sound like my voice.

The leader’s eyes widened slightly. “Well, well. Maybe you’re not as human as you look.”

Human? What did he mean, not human? But before I could process that, Scout broke free and lunged at the leader’s throat. In the chaos, I did the only thing I could—I ran. My body screamed in protest, but terror gave me speed.

The woods loomed ahead, dark and forbidding. Every horror movie I’d ever watched screamed this was a bad idea, but something else, something deeper, pulled me toward the trees. Behind me, I heard shouts, then something that sounded horrifyingly like bones breaking and clothes tearing.

“Don’t look back,” I panted to myself. “Luke always says the dumb ones die because they look back. Don’t be the dumb one in the horror movie, Kai.”

But, of course, I looked back.

And the world stopped making sense.

Where men had been chasing me, massive wolves now burst through their shredded clothes, all fangs and fury and impossible reality. Their bodies twisted and contorted, bones cracking and reforming under rippling fur. The leader’s face elongated into a muzzle, amber eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.

“Nope,” I wheezed, hysteria bubbling up. “Nope, nope, absolutely not. This isn’t happening. I’m clearly having a mental breakdown. Too many late-night horror marathons with Luke. Too much of Jorge’s experimental cooking. The brothers’ hotness finally broke my brain—”

A howl cut through my babbling, so close it rattled my bones. Right. Mental breakdown later, running now.

I sprinted deeper into the woods, my body moving with a grace that wasn’t normal. Everything was too sharp, too clear—moonlight painting the forest in crystal detail, scents overwhelming my nose, sounds crystal clear: paws thundering behind me, branches snapping, hearts pounding—mine and theirs—Scout’s desperate barks growing distant.

“Oh God, Scout—” I started to turn back, but another howl, closer now, pushed me forward. The loyal dog was buying me time, and I couldn’t waste it.

My lungs burned, ribs screaming with each breath, but my body kept moving like it had a mind of its own. I vaulted over fallen logs, ducked under branches, twisted through gaps between trees—movements that should have been impossible for someone whose idea of exercise was carrying too many books at once.

“The Stones aren’t the only ones who can claim a mate,” the leader had said. Mate. The word echoed in my head, stirring something primitive and angry. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Everything in me rejected it. Not them. Never them.

A massive gray wolf lunged from the shadows, jaws snapping where my throat had been a second before. I dropped and rolled, coming up in a defensive crouch that felt as natural as breathing. My vision tinged with gold, heart thundering not just with fear now but with something else—something wild and ancient awakening in my blood.

“What’s happening to me?” I gasped, watching my hands tremble in the moonlight. The scratches from my earlier fall were already healing, skin knitting together before my eyes. “This isn’t possible. I’m not… I can’t be…”

More wolves emerged, circling me. Seven, eight, nine of them—each bigger than a horse, with eyes that gleamed with human intelligence. The leader, a monstrous beast with matted gray fur, stepped forward, jaws parting in what could have been a grin.

“This is just perfect.” I laughed, the sound edged with hysteria. “Luke always said I had terrible taste in men, but no, this is a whole new level. Not only do I fall for three guys at once, but they’re probably shifters too. And now I’m going to die because of some supernatural pissing contest I didn’t even know I was part of.”

The alpha wolf lunged. Time seemed to slow. My body moved on pure instinct, everything human in me screaming in terror while something else—something with fangs and fury—rose to meet the threat.

I didn’t think. I grabbed a fallen branch and swung, catching the massive wolf across the muzzle with strength that shouldn’t have been possible. The crack echoed through the clearing, and the wolf actually staggered back, blood matting its gray fur.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, staring at my hands. “Did I just… did I actually…”

Another wolf charged. I dropped and rolled, coming up behind a tree. My movements were fluid, precise—like muscle memory I didn’t know I had. The wolf’s claws raked the bark where I’d been standing, but I was already moving, dancing away with impossible grace.

“Okay, either I’m having the most realistic nightmare ever, or those martial arts videos Luke made me watch actually worked.” I ducked under snapping jaws, body twisting in ways it shouldn’t be able to. “Though I’m pretty sure none of them covered ‘How to Fight Off Wolf Shifters When You’re Five-Foot-Nothing and Possibly Hallucinating.’”

Two wolves came at me from opposite sides. Without thinking, I leaped—higher than humanly possible—letting them crash into each other. My body thrummed with energy, every sense hyperaware. I could smell their rage, hear their heartbeats, see every muscle ripple under their fur.

“You know what?” I panted, golden spots dancing in my vision as I faced down the circling wolves. “I’m getting really tired of being everyone’s chew toy. First the brothers with their hot-and-cold routine, now you guys with your ‘let’s eat the tiny Asian boy’ plan?”

The alpha wolf snarled, circling closer. Blood still dripped from where I’d struck him, and his eyes burned with murderous intent.

“Yeah, that’s right,” I taunted, even as my heart threatened to burst from my chest. “The ‘precious little mate’ bites back. Bet you weren’t expecting that, were you?”

Something was happening to me. Each movement felt more natural, more powerful. The fear was still there, but it was being overshadowed by something else—something wild and fierce that refused to submit to these wolves. My vision blazed gold, and I could have sworn my nails looked more like claws.

“Come on then,” I growled—actually growled. “You want to play? Let’s play.”

The forest exploded with new howls—deeper, more powerful, filled with a fury that made the first set of wolves falter. Three massive shapes burst from the darkness, and for the first time since this nightmare began, I felt hope.

But I wasn’t done fighting. Not by a long shot.