Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 106: _ Marked But Mated?

Chapter 106: _ Marked But Mated?

The hot water hit my skin, rolling down in soothing rivulets with steam swirling around me. I leaned against the marble of the shower wall, my fingers ghosting over the faint indentation on my neck—the mark Axel had left.

I should have been furious. I should have been disgusted, or at the very least, disturbed. Who sneaks into someone’s room in the dead of night and bites them? Who does that?

Apparently, Axel.

And the worst part?

I had liked it.

A shudder ran through me—not from the heat of the water, but from the memory of his lips against my skin, the way his mouth had latched onto me like he had every right to be there.

It had been intoxicating. It had been a collision of pain and pleasure so sharp – so dizzying, that I hadn’t even wanted to pull away.

I had never felt anything like it before.

And now... this beautiful morning, I felt better.

Not just a little better, either—I felt amazing.

All the exhaustion, the aches, the pains from yesterday’s miseries—it was gone. Completely. Like someone had wrung all the weariness out of my body and left me reborn.

Like Axel sucked all that bad blood away and I was filled up with even better overnight.

How was that possible?

Axel had taken my blood. Shouldn’t I feel weaker? Lightheaded? On the verge of collapse?

Instead, I felt like I could sprint across the entire villa, take a tumble down the grand staircase, and still land on my feet with a perfect ten.

That wasn’t normal.

A disturbing thought crept into my mind. Thinking back at the bite, sucking blood aside – was Axel’s bite a mate mark?

I swallowed hard, pressing my fingers against the mark again. I had heard the stories even though I would never get to experience them.

It was typical. When wolves found their fated mate, their bite would leave a permanent claim. An unbreakable bond. But I was a wolf who wasn’t a wolf. I had no wolf. So how could this even be possible?

Was it even a mate mark, or was I just losing my mind?

I scrubbed furiously at my arms, trying to chase away the confusion, the memories. But no matter how much I tried, my mind kept going back to last night—to the warmth of Axel’s touch, the way my body had melted against his.

And why the hell had he even come into my room in the first place?

To watch me sleep?

To bite me?

My face burned, and I groaned, tilting my head back under the spray. That was creepy.

Or... it should have been.

But since it was Axel...

Maybe the feeling was mutual.

A stupid little smile pulled at my lips, and I quickly smothered it. I wasn’t some love-struck fool. I had bigger problems than swooning over a man who may or may not have just permanently tied his soul to mine without my permission.

Still.

I hummed to myself as I lathered lavender-scented soap onto my skin, enjoying the way the tension from yesterday dissolved away.

The world could be falling apart, my father could be planning whatever fresh hell awaited me, and Rosa could be sharpening her knives, but for now, in this shower, I felt good.

Last night, I felt like I had transgressed to the heavens.

When I stepped out, wrapping a towel around myself, my gaze landed on the mirror. The bite mark was still there, glaring back at me like a trademark.

My heart jumped out of my throat like I wasn’t expecting to find a mark after being bitten.

I couldn’t let anyone see it though. They would ask questions. Questions that would be too terrible to reply to. Questions that would lead to the destruction of Axel’s reputation.

Of course, I could survive all the names and being called a whore, but Axel? He was the Beta of the pack. He was in a reputable position.

I couldn’t ruin his life. He would be stripped from his position for marking an Omega. Someone who wasn’t even his mate.

I couldn’t do that to him... even if this was his mistake to begin with.

Grabbing a silk scarf from my dresser, I tied it securely around my neck, making sure the mark was completely hidden.

I turned toward my closet, biting my lip. Father had casually mentioned the Alpha’s family was visiting today. Which meant...

I’d be seeing Axel again.

My stomach did an embarrassing little flip, and I cursed myself.

I should be dreading this visit. Instead, I was looking forward to it.

With a sigh, I opened my wardrobe doors and stared at the pitiful selection of clothes hanging inside. Most were old, faded, or things Camila had decided weren’t worth keeping.

Everything in here screamed unwanted.

I settled on a simple beige dress. Nothing fancy, nothing offensive. Just there.

By the time I stepped out of my room, the villa was already buzzing with tension.

Camila was in full-blown meltdown mode, shrieking at the maids about which dress to wear, where her jewelry was, and why nobody understood the urgency of the situation.

I scoffed, rolled my eyes, and was about to brace myself to face Father when I froze at the sight in front of me.

Rosa was stepping out of her room at the same time as me.

She was dressed to perfection—every strand of her dark hair in place, her makeup flawless and her outfit impeccable. She looked like she had been dipped in pure elegance. If someone told me she was royalty, I would’ve believed it.

But her eyes...

Her eyes were cold.

A deep fear traveled up my spine. It was absurd—I was the youngest, the weakest, the most insignificant of the De la Vega sisters, and yet, standing before Rosa made me feel like prey.

I quickly lowered my gaze.

"Good morning," I murmured.

Rosa scoffed. "What’s good about it?"

I recoiled, pressing my fingers together. I knew that aside from breaking Father’s rules by sneaking out while I was grounded, losing his money, working at the butchery, and Axel’s brazen confrontation, I had broken Rosa’s rule as well.

Hers was one sharp and precise order; stay away from Axel.

I didn’t. I mean, he did come to himself. He saved the day even when I hadn’t asked him to, but Rosa wouldn’t believe me. And frankly, I wasn’t ready to stay away from him myself.

I enjoyed his company and all the attention he was showering me with. Now that we were intimate to a stretch, staying away from each other was not an option.

Hence, maybe I might as well start to learn how to tell Rosa NO. If only she wasn’t so intimidating and her Luna wolf wasn’t so great... so strong.

She took a slow step toward me, her green eyes scanning me from head to toe with contempt. It was crazy how we both took after our Mother and had the same eye color but they resonated differently.

"You really are something, aren’t you?" she said quietly.

I swallowed. "What do you mean?"

Rosa tilted her head, lips curling. "I mean... you’re a sister whose only job is to steal your older sisters’ happiness."

My mouth went dry. That was what my elder sisters thought of me. A little devil plagued with an angelic beauty that was only designed to steal their joy away.

Rosa smiled, but it wasn’t a kind one.

"I warned you, María José. I implored you to stay away from Axel. But you just had to sink your little claws into him, didn’t you?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

"I know what you’re thinking," Rosa continued, tilting her head. "You’re wondering if yesterday was something. If maybe, just maybe, Axel has feelings for you by standing up for you and saving you from whatever misery your cursed destiny has brought upon you. But let me save you the trouble—he doesn’t."

I dipped my head low, my heart feeling like a thousand tiny blades were digging into it. Her words may or may not be true, but they hurt.

She folded her arms, satisfied by my reaction. "Everyone knows Axel and I have been close since we were children. Everyone knows we belong together."