Page 197 of Unmarked
“Only if you ask,” he says, stepping closer but staying just out of reach. Letting me choose. Always.
I glance toward the door. I can feel them - Ash, Lucian, Kai - moving around the house like territorial cats circling the same warm patch of sun.
They’re not fighting. Not exactly. But they’re… recalibrating.
Orbiting each other now when they never expected to share gravity.
And here I am. The sun. Or the black hole. Depending on the mood.
I reach for the water. My hands shake. Overload, probably. Too many knots, too many bonds, not enough carbs.
Theo watches from the armchair, silent and steady, but there’s something behind his stillness; as if he’s bracing for something.
Or maybe I am.
“This is real now, isn’t it?” I say.
He nods once. “Yeah. It’s real.”
I set the glass down. “If anyone finds out what I am…”
Theo’s jaw tics. “You’re not doing anything wrong.”
“Yes, I am,” I say, way too fast. “I’m unregistered. Unmarked and uncontrolled. I’m breaking, like, twelve laws by breathing in this robe right now.”
“You weresurviving. There’s a difference.”
“My survival is a felony, Theo.” I huff. “Fake ID, illegal suppressants, lying to every medical professional since I turned eighteen. Honestly, I’m lucky I haven’t been tackled by an OMB drone in a Rite Aid.”
He frowns. “Why?”
It’s a simple question, and a fair one, too.
I blink down at the water in my hands before I clear my throat.
“My mother…” My voice catches, but I push through. “She was an omega. She was fierce. Smart. And loyal. But when my father died, and she was unmarked again… She didn’t choose the alpha who thought she would be his. She chose someone else. One that loved her - hadalwaysloved her, had been kind and sweet to her ever since they were young. But one night, the alpha she didn’t choose, he… he lost it. Snapped.”
Theo inhales deeply, and I push through.
“She didn’t survive.”
I swallow hard, but carry on.
“It wasn't really that much longer before I began to realize what I was. And I swore I’d never let myself be owned like that - that I’d never give anyone the chance to decide I was theirs, only to destroy me for not choosing them back.”
Theo’s gaze remains fixed onto me, but I can’t look at him. Ican’t.
“I wandered around for a while, and ended up moving to the city once I turned eighteen. I found a supplier, locked it all down. Told myself I’d fake being beta until I died if I had to.”
He exhales, slow and tight. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” I blink fast. “Ilived. I had friends. My own space. A life that was worth something. No being tied down, no giving away my best years, no alpha waiting for me to serve him dinner or carry his pups or beg for his affection.”
Theo doesn’t say anything - he just listens, letting me ramble.
I’ve never told anyone this before, and it feels…good.To get it all out and off my chest.
“I swore I’d never give anyone the power to break me,” I say. “I thought claiming would feel like a cage.”
