Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 223: _ Don’t Hide My Mark

Chapter 223: _ Don’t Hide My Mark

I HAVE A WOLF!

Joy exploded in my chest like fireworks. I spun around, dress swishing like I was in a fairytale. "This is huge! Axel! I have a wolf! I really have a wolf!"

He barely had time to react before I threw myself at him.

We collided, and he stumbled back, catching me with a laugh. "You’re going to knock us both out, cariño."

"I love you!" I cried, peppering kisses across his face. "I love you."

"Tell me again," he teased and I felt his hands firm on my waist.

"I love you," I said against his lips.

He kissed me like he was sealing a vow. Slow and deep, like we had all the time in the world, even if we knew we didn’t.

"I love you," I whispered again, softer this time, like the words were sacred because they were.

Axel grinned against my lips, fingers brushing through the strands at the nape of my neck. His touch alone could write poetry on my skin.

I was floating; dizzy, giddy, weightless with joy. It wasn’t just that I had a wolf again. It wasn’t just that my face was healed. It was him. Us.

The truth of what we were finally sitting like a crown on my chest, heavy with meaning and so, so precious.

He kissed me again like he was mapping the taste of my relief. His lip sucking on my upper one and mine on his lower.

Gosh, he tasted like divinity. He was the perfect example of an Alpha male. One made solely for me.

But then he pulled back suddenly, and I caught the flicker in his eyes. It was a mischievous glint that could only mean trouble.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, like he was suddenly bashful. "Since we’re in such a spiritual, magical moment..."

"Oh no," I groaned dramatically, even as my grin widened. "Don’t you dare ruin this."

"Hear me out, mi amor. I just wanted to ask you something. Been meaning to, actually." I chuckled amidst a low and sinful voice.

"Axel..." I dragged his name like a threat, but the butterflies in my stomach danced like they were at a wedding reception.

He stepped back just enough to look down at me, his eyes softening. "Stop hiding my mark."

Dios, the way my mouth popped open.

"Wait—what?"

He extended a hand, thumb brushing the spot just above my collarbone where, beneath the high neckline of the dress, the mark lived. His mark.

His claim. Mine.

"You mean..." I gestured to my neck. "No more scarves?"

"No more scarves."

My stomach swooped like I was riding a rollercoaster blindfolded. "But what if people ask questions?"

"Let them," he said simply as a devilish grin spread on his face. "Let them wonder. Let them speculate. They’ve been nosy their whole lives; why stop them now?"

I opened my mouth to protest. Closed it again. Damn him. He made sense.

"But people will talk. María José, the disowned daughter of De La Vega, wolfless and worthless, now a bearer of an illegitimate and unclaimed mark." I tried again, weakly.

"Good. Let them build anticipation." He smirked, throwing his hands in the air.

Was Axel teaching me how to not give a fuck not to mention two right now?

A wicked laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. I pressed a hand to his chest, mostly to keep myself from melting into it.

"You are such a bad influence."

He smacked on his lips. "Trust me, María José, I haven’t begun to get to the level of bad I plan on teaching you."

I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly escaped my skull. "I swear, one day, I’m going to record everything you say and play it back to you in court."

"Then I’d win the jury over in five seconds. Have you seen my face?" He stroked his beard like a bloody arrogant son of a gun.

Arrogant, cocky, and way too good-looking for my sanity.

I sighed dramatically and placed my hands on his cheeks. "Fine," I said. "I’ll stop hiding it. I’ll stop hiding you. I trust you every step of the way, Axel. Even if the steps are stupid and illegal and probably emotionally scarring."

He pressed his forehead against mine. "And I’ll lead you through every one of them."

We kissed again, not like we were sealing a deal this time, but like we were building a home between our lips.

My hands tangled in his hair. He gripped my waist. Every nerve in my body sparked like fireworks.

Then, he pulled away reluctantly, judging by the way his eyes clung to me,ark and nodded toward the far wall.

"Come on," he said. "Let me show you something."

I narrowed my eyes. "If this ends with me in a dungeon or standing on a table making a toast in front of the entire pack, I will bite you."

"You already have," he winked. "And I liked it."

He led me to a bookshelf. A freaking bookshelf. I folded my arms, skeptical.

"You’re about to go full cliché on me, aren’t you?"

He grinned, then reached up and tugged on the spine of a thick, dusty volume titled The Origins of Pack Law.

With a soft click, the shelf groaned and slid open.

I stumbled back. "Oh my God. You have a secret passage."

"Only for the Alpha’s family." His voice dropped. "Nobody outside the bloodline knows about it. Not even the Elders."

I peeked inside. The passage was narrow and dim, lit by flickering lanterns that glowed amber against the stone walls. Hot air kissed my face. It smelled faintly of pine, wax, and time.

"And you’re just casually showing it to me?"

He looked at me like I was insane. "You’re my mate."

"Well, yes, but..."

"And my future Luna."

"I know..."

"And my wife, probably. Hopefully. Eventually. Assuming you don’t kill me in my sleep."

"That’s still pending."

He smirked. "So yes. I’m showing you."

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