Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 66: Marked

Chapter 66: Marked

The cool night air hit her like a slap.

Ava inhaled deeply, clearing her lungs of the dungeon’s stench, though the memory of drowning still clung to her.

Kade followed her closely.

"You’re supposed to be going to the Alpha’s quarters," he reminded her, his voice carrying a tinge of warning.

Ava snorted, veering left instead of right. "Oh, is that so?"

Kade sighed, already exasperated. "Ava..."

"I don’t give a damn what your precious Alpha wants," she shot back. "He can kiss my ass. I’m going back to my room," she continued, lifting her chin defiantly. "Like a good, little, obedient concubine."

She spat the last word out like it physically disgusted her, her hands curling into fists at her sides.

Concubine. That was all Lucas saw her as, wasn’t it?

Not someone worth fighting for, not someone worth believing in, not someone he would ever trust completely.

Just a woman to warm his bed.

Kade ran a tired hand down his face, like he already knew arguing was pointless. "Ava, come on..."

"Leave me the hell alone, Kade."

She didn’t shout it. Didn’t need to.

Her low, warning tone was enough.

"Fine," he muttered.

*****

Ava barely had the strength to shut the door behind her before her knees threatened to give out.

Her body screamed in exhaustion, every muscle aching, every bruise a reminder of Dorian’s cruelty. Her mind swirled with rage, heartbreak, and betrayal, but she shoved all of it aside and focused on the immediate disgust clinging to her skin.

With shaky hands, she reached for the ties of her soaked clothes, pulling it off and letting it fall limply to the floor. The cold air kissed her exposed skin but she didn’t stop to relish the feeling. She needed the hot water, needed to scrub away everything.

She stepped into the bath, sighing as the heat enveloped her, melting away some of the tension that had taken permanent residence in her bones.

But the relief was temporary.

Her brain wouldn’t stop spinning, wouldn’t let her rest.

She should have been plotting her revenge, strategizing the perfect way to make Dorian pay. He had humiliated her, tortured her, accused her of murdering her own child. That alone warranted a slow and agonizing death.

And yet, her heart wasn’t focused on vengeance right now.

It was breaking.

It wasn’t Dorian’s words that had sliced the deepest.

It was Lucas.

The fact that he had entertained the idea, that he had let doubt fester in his mind instead of coming to her.

Lucas had come for her in the end, yes. But he had also allowed her to be dragged to the dungeon, bound, and tortured. He had allowed Dorian to accuse her of something unspeakable, and he had done nothing.

Ava pressed her fingers against her temples, forcing back the burning tears as she scrubbed at her skin harder, as if she could wash away the memory of Lucas’s silence.

She wasn’t going to cry over this.

She wasn’t weak.

When she was satisfied that every last trace of the dungeon was gone from her skin, she stepped out of the bath, wrapping a towel tightly around herself. The fabric was warm and comforting.

She had just reached for a brush, ready to detangle the knots in her hair, when a loud knock echoed through the room.

Ava’s patience was already non-existent, and the last thing she wanted was company.

"Whoever is there, get lost!" she snapped, not even bothering to turn around.

The next thing she heard was a deafening crack, the door was ripped clean off its hinges.

Ava whirled around, her eyes widening as Lucas stepped into her room, his chest rising and falling with barely contained rage. His gaze swept over her, taking in her damp skin, the towel clinging to her curves, the redness of her eyes. But if he felt any guilt, he didn’t show it.

She scowled. "I do not want to see you. Go away."

Lucas’s jaw ticked. "I don’t give a shit what you want and don’t want," he growled, taking a deliberate step closer. "I am your Alpha, and when I give an order, I expect you to follow it without question."

Ava let out a short, bitter laugh, folding her arms.

"Is that all you are to me? Just my Alpha?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom. "And I am guessing all I am to you is just your concubine."

Lucas’s expression darkened.

"Right this moment, that’s all I am and that’s all you are." His tone was sharp, unforgiving. "Was the shooting a setup?"

Ava snapped.

Without thinking, her hand struck out, her palm connecting with his face.

Lucas barely flinched.

He hadn’t expected it, but he didn’t move, didn’t react. He just stood there, his eyes burning into hers, waiting for her next move.

Her breath was heavy, shaky, her chest rising and falling with unspent rage.

"You couldn’t ask me yourself, could you?" she said, her voice quivering with the weight of everything she felt. "Even if you had doubts, you couldn’t look me in the eye and tell if I was telling the truth."

Lucas stayed silent.

Ava’s throat tightened, but she forced herself to keep going.

"The accusation that I orchestrated everything to become Luna? Fine." She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "I can deal with that. I can understand that."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, thick with hurt.

"But for you to let a stranger accuse me of killing our child..."

She choked on the words, biting back a sob.

Lucas’s hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Ava let out a humorless, broken laugh.

"Threaten me all you want," she said. "Lock me up in the dungeon. I don’t care. But I don’t want to see your face right now."

She took a step back, her voice final.

"So get out."

Lucas’s gaze softened.

She was right.

He should have looked into her eyes and known the truth. He had no excuse for letting things go as far as they did. No excuse for his silence, his inaction.

But the words he needed to say lodged in his throat, stuck beneath the weight of his own mistakes. He didn’t know how to apologize.

"Get out, Lucas, or I will leave."

She turned away, but before she could take another step, his arms were around her, pulling her against him.

She shoved at his chest, kicked, fought.

But he didn’t let go.

And then she broke.

Her body shuddered with the force of her sobs, her fingers clutching at his shirt despite herself.

"How could you...?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "How could you think it?"

Lucas held her closer, his own regret clawing at him.

"Let me go, Lucas. Please."

"I can’t," he murmured.

Ava stiffened as he tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck.

A shiver ran down her spine as his breath ghosted over her skin.

Lucas quietly summoned Manic. It was time.

She barely had time to react before his teeth sank in, marking her as his forever. That was the only way he knew to let her know how sorry he was.

A sharp gasp left her lips in pain. Her hands tightened around his shirt, nails digging into his skin. Then she realised what he had just done.

His arms tightened around her.

And the only thing she could do was whisper his name in surprise.

"Lucas..."

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