Chapter 3

• Marked As Theirs
• Chapter 3
• Aaron's POV
• **IN CRESTLINE PACK, NORTH DAKOTA**
• If someone had told me this would happen days ago, I’d have laughed. Called them crazy. But it was happening.
• Now, I wish someone had warned me. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so damn unprepared.
• We never saw it coming.
• “Beta Aaron!”
• A soldier ran toward me, breathing heavily, his eyes wild with fear. His uniform was torn and bloody, but he kept going.
• “They broke through the eastern gate!” he rushed. “Alpha Xavier needs you, Sir.”
• I stiffened. The eastern gate was supposed to be the strongest. It was reinforced with silver and guarded at all hours.
• If they got through… someone let them in.
• Betrayal.
• I pushed the thought aside. I didn’t have time to think about that now.
• “Where’s he?” I asked, already moving, my sword dripping with blood.
• “In the stronghold, Sir,” the soldier said. “He sent the women and kids through the tunnels, but… it looks like they knew because they were already there.”
• “Exactly what I thought,” I murmured.
• We had routes for escape and backup plans, but if the enemy knew about them, that meant they wanted to wipe us out completely.
• An arrow whistled through the air and hit the soldier's throat. He collapsed, and I turned quickly, my hands on my sword.
• They were here.
• The Jaktus warriors.
• Assassins. Greatly feared across the region. They never came unless it was for blood.
• Twelve. No—thirteen.
• I met Orson, their leader’s gaze. A tall man with silver hair and cold eyes. He appeared bored, but I wasn't fooled.
• He smirked. “Beta Aaron”.
• I didn’t respond.
• A second warrior stepped beside him. He was a little bit shorter. The semi-boss. He tilted his head, his eyes shining with excitement.
• Bastards.
• They knew me. That means they knew what I could do.
• “Kill him!” he roared, and they rushed forward.
• I moved faster than they could cover, ducking low and slashing them with my sword.
• They came at me, shifting mid-attack, with their claws, blades, teeth – name it.
• I threw my short dagger at one's throat as I whipped my long hair. That was a dangerous move because a sharp pain hit my side. I winced and turned, dealing with the one who dared get close.
• I had to get to Xavier.
• An arrow hit me and sliced my arm.
• Damn it.
• I was fast, but there were too many. And I was losing time.
• “Where the hell are you, Xavier?”
• A roar rang in my ears, and I turned to see Alpha Xavier in his wolf form. His black fur shone in the setting sun, his eyes filled with fury.
• The assassins hesitated. Even they knew what it meant to face an Alpha at full strength.
• Then the silver-haired leader raised a hand. “Do it.”
• Time stopped.
• No—
• It was a trap. Xavier growled, and the gates…exploded.
• My back slammed against the ground, knocking the breath from my lungs. I struggled to stand, blinking and searching for my Alpha.
• As Beta, I had one job. Protect my Alpha. Protect my pack. No matter what.
• I saw him fighting. His wolf was surrounded.
• Suddenly, sliver chains wrapped around his legs, dragging him down to his knees.
• I ran, my body aching with pain.
• “XAVIER!”
• He had been stabbed in his chest. His wolf snarled painfully before shifting back.
• The Alpha of Crestline Pack was dead.
• I stared, frozen. This couldn’t be happening.
• The pack's scream filled everywhere. They were gone.
• I had failed my people.
• *************************************************
• We ran.
• Not because we were cowards. Not because we wanted to. But because there was no one left to fight for.
• The once-proud Crestline Pack was nothing but ashes.
• My mother held my hand tightly as we made our way through the woods like rogues.
• If the Jaktus assassins caught us, we were dead.
• I was bleeding from the wounds I'd suffered earlier, and my body was just managing to heal.
• “Come on, Ma,” I whispered.
• She nodded and wiped at her face.
• Thinking or even talking about him, everything…hurt too much. So, I didn't.
• I refused to die tonight.
• I'll survive and return for revenge.
• *************************************************
• **IN GEORGIA**
• Josh sat across from me in the worn-out armchair. It had been years since I'd last seen him, but this place hadn't changed. He looked at peace, though.
• Something I didn’t have the luxury of feeling.
• “You’re lucky you made it out, kid.”
• I scoffed. “If you call watching your entire pack get slaughtered lucky, then yeah. I’m really lucky.”
• Josh didn’t flinch at my bitterness. He just nodded. “I heard what happened.”
• “Bad news travels fast.”
• “In our world, it always does.”
• I clenched my jaw. I didn't want to talk about it. The way they dragged Xavier down like a beast.
• Josh must have noticed, because he didn’t push. Instead, he leaned forward. “What’s your plan?”
• I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair. “Lay low. Keep moving. I can’t afford to be found.”
• Josh studied me for a second, then shook his head. “That won’t work.”
• I frowned. “What?”
• “You can’t just run. You try to live like a rogue; someone's going to notice. A lone wolf with no pack? That makes you more suspicious.”
• I narrowed my eyes. “So what, then? I just waltz into a new pack and pretend like I belong?”
• “No.” He rubbed his jaw. “You blend in.”
• I laughed dryly. “And how exactly do I do that?”
• “You ever think about school?”
• I blinked. “What?”
• “There’s a neutral college in Georgia. Wolves from different packs attend. You enrol, keep your head down, and no one questions why you’re here.”
• I stared at him. That was the last thing I expected him to say.
• “School?” I repeated flatly.
• Josh shrugged. “You need a cover. A reason to be here that doesn’t involve running for your life.”
• I laugh now. “You really think I can just sit in a classroom like nothing happened? Like my entire world didn’t just burn?”
• “No,” he said simply. “But I think it’s your best shot at survival.”
• I looked away.
• “You don’t have to like it, kid,” Josh said, calmly. “You just have to stay alive.”
• I stared at the fireplace, the flames swallowing up the wood.
• Blending in. Lying low.
• It went against every instinct I had. But at this point, what choice did I have? It was far better than being hunted.
• “Fine,” I muttered. “Tell me about this college.”
• *************************************************
• **IN ARCADIA COLLEGE**
• I had been here less than three minutes, and I already hated it.
• I could smell different scents and packs as I walked through the crowd, ignoring their curious gazes.
• Josh had set up fake records, but wolves could sense when someone was out of place, especially when you were new.
• Territorial arseholes.
• Too bad. They wouldn’t recognise me. Crestline was too far north, and besides, no one expected a Beta from a dead pack to be walking through the halls of some damn school.
• Still, instincts were instincts.
• My first class was Pack history.
• An entire hour of listening to old wars while pretending I wasn't a survivor of one, recently.
• I entered the hall and took a seat at the back, adjusting my headphones.
• Minutes later, during a lull in the song, everywhere was quiet. Someone with great authority had walked in.
• I lifted my head, expecting to see the teacher. Instead, it was someone else. Alpha Adnam.
• The only Alpha in this damn school, according to Josh.
• Some students bowed their heads as he passed. I didn't, though.
• He stopped right in front of me and looked straight into my eyes.
• Does he know?
• He knew.
• I held his gaze, and a few seconds later, he moved past me.
• It was either I was imagining things or Alpha Adnam knew exactly who I was.
• And it's going to be a huge problem.