Chapter 6 The Unmarked Breed
Warmth. That was the first thing Tiara felt as consciousness slowly returned to her, it was warmth against her palms, warmth on her forehead, warmth beneath her skin as though something inside had been quietly, secretly burning.
Then voices.
“She fainted right at the moment Alpha Damien entered the circle.”
“It’s the scent. Didn’t you feel it? Something… off.”
“Not just off. Wrong. A breeder should not carry that kind of scent.”
Tiara’s lashes fluttered. The healer’s cabin came into view,wooden beams, hanging herbs, bandaged wolves on cots. The herbal scent of crushed moonleaf stung her nose.
“She hasn’t shifted,” a woman whispered from beyond the curtain. “How can she carry an Alpha’s scent if she hasn’t shifted?”
“Some say she’s cursed,” another murmured.
“No,” the voice lowered. “Some say she is the curse.”
Tiara’s throat tightened.
She remembered pieces, Damien’s wolf growling, the sudden searing warmth in her bloodstream as she collapsed… and pain. Sharp, blinding pain that didn’t feel like pain, but awakening.
Her hand trembled as she touched her skin. Still warm. Like something inside her was still there waiting.
The curtain drawn aside.
Alpha Damien stood there.
Not as the soon-to-be Alpha. Not in power or ceremony robes. No. He stood there, disheveled, eyes dark, jaw tight like he had run here.
Like he shouldn’t be here.
His scent reached her before he did, it was rich, smoky, threaded with embers and forest rain.
Her heartbeat stuttered painfully.
His wolf, Shadow, surged beneath his skin, she could feel it pacing, restless, possessive. Their eyes locked. He immediately looked away.
Somewhere inside her… something stirred. Not just emotionally, but something ancient. Something not quite wolf. Something bigger.
His voice was rough, deeper than usual. “You shouldn’t have fainted like that.”
“So I’ve been told,” she murmured, withdrawing her hand, noticing the warmth still thrumming beneath her skin.
Silence.
His fists clenched subtly as if he was fighting himself. Fighting Shadow.
Shadow wanted to come closer.
Shadow wanted her.
He stepped closer.
He shouldn’t have.
His entire body responded like he was pulled by something he couldn’t control.
She felt it her wolf… still silent, still unknown, stretching beneath her skin in quiet recognition.
She whispered, “Your wolf… it feels..”
“Don’t.” His tone was sharp, pained. His gaze lingered on her lips a second too long before breaking away. “Don’t say it.”
She swallowed. “Why?”
“Because you stir things you don’t understand, Tiara.”
No anger.
Just truth.
Truth wrapped in fear.
Truth wrapped in desire.
He turned to leave but froze.
Because Elder Rowan had stepped into the corridor.
His eyes unreadable. But they looked at Tiara. Not with pity. Not with curiosity.
No.
With knowledge.
And something like… realization.
He bowed his head not fully. Not deeply. But just enough for Damien to stiffen.
Wolves only dipped their head that way to Alphas.
But Rowan withdrew quickly, expression unreadable. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm but intentionally neutral.
“She needs rest. Alpha Damien, your presence… stirs her energy.”
Damien’s jaw tightened. Shadow snarled beneath his skin.
He nodded stiffly and left.
But Tiara didn’t miss it, the way Elder Rowan watched her. Carefully. Like she was not prey.
But unknown territory.
He approached her bed, studying her, quiet.
“What happened to me?” she asked softly.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then very quietly “Do you remember what you dreamed of?”
Her breath caught.
She hadn’t told anyone. Not even herself.
She had seen…felt, ran alongside…
A wolf.
Not brown. Not black. Not grey.
No.
A silver wolf.
Not like any wolf in the pack.
Not a color nature gave…
A color the Moon gave.
She whispered, “I don't know.”
He nodded slowly.
“Then don’t try to remember.”
He left before she could ask more. Leaving her not comforted no. Leaving her with more questions.
More warmth.
More unknown.
Night fell.
She curled under the blanket, though her skin felt too warm—like fire without flame.
She dreamed again.
She heard a heartbeat.
Two heartbeats.
Running.
Running through pine forests beneath moonlight.
She smelled snow, fresh, frozen, yet soft.
And beside her the silver wolf.
Not threatening.
Not guiding.
Just waiting.
Like it had always been waiting.
And this time, when it turned to look at her, she didn’t feel fear.
She felt something else.
Recognition.
It didn’t speak words.
It didn’t need to.
But before dawn could rise, before the warmth in her veins could explain itself.
The voice came.
Barely a whisper.
Barely real.
A single word.
But enough to change everything.
“Alpha.”
Tiara jolted awake.
Skin soaked in a sheen of heat, heart pounding, body tingling.
She gasped for breath. It wasn't a dream.
It didn't feel like a dream.
It felt like a beginning.
But when she looked outside toward the healer’s corridor she saw silhouettes.
Whispers.
“She’s awake?”
“She’s dangerous.”
“She won’t remain unmarked for long.”
“It’s forbidden. A breeder cannot be bonded to an Alpha.”
“Then why does the Alpha’s wolf circle her door every night?”
Her pulse thundered.
She didn't know the truth.
But she felt it.
Something inside her was awakening.
But it would not reveal itself all at once.
Not today.
Not yet.
She loo
ked at her hands.
They trembled but didn’t feel weak.
No.
For the first time.
They felt powerful.
A sound soft, silent, inside her mind.
Her wolf.
Whispering again.
Not faint this time.
Not imaginary.
Real.
Alive.
“Alpha.”
