Page 243 of Unmarked
He sets it all in front of us at the table like he’s done it a hundred times before.
“…You cooked all this?”
Theo shrugs. “I stress-bake. You were unconscious for the first batch.”
I bite back a smile. “So this is round two?”
“This is recovery brunch.”
I eat slowly, trying not to cry over scrambled eggs. It’s harder than you’d think.
And then, without meaning to -
“I should probably think about going home.”
Everything stops.
“You don’t have to,” Lucian says, recovering quickly. “You’re safe here.”
“I know.” I sip my tea. “But I miss my space. My terrible water pressure. The weird dent in my mattress. You know…me stuff.”
Lucian’s jaw shifts, and I can see the thoughts flickering behind his eyes.
Calculating. Controlling. Protective.
“I can take you back,” he says after a pause. “Later. But maybe we give it another night or two. Just to be sure.”
It’s reasonable.
It’s also annoying, because he’s right.
Theo sips his coffee, watching us both over the rim of his mug. He sets it down and leans his elbows on the table.
“So.” His voice is casual, but the weight behind itisn’t.“What do you want to do?”
I frown. “About..?”
"About…everything. You’re bonded to four Alphas. Unregistered. And someoneisgoing to notice eventually.”
Lucian leans forward, arms folding over the countertop.
"If we mark her," he says to Theo, voice clinical, “the OMB won’t be able to touch her.”
Theo nods grimly. "Marking solidifies it."
I freeze, fork halfway to my mouth. “Oh. Well. That’s… reassuringly terrifying.”
“It's true, though. Claiming makes it official. Illegal bonds don’t get prosecuted if they’re…permanent.”
“And how, exactly,” I ask slowly, “do we plan to make the OMB back off?”
Lucian’s mouth tightens. “Well, for starters, we know nobody's reported you in. Yet.”
“We do?”
He nods. “If someone reported you, we’d know. We have… ways.
I narrow my eyes. “Ways?”
