Page 29 of Unmarked

Lucian’s expression sharpens.

“I don’t wantyou,” I add.

He steps forward again, and this time, I meet him head-on.

“Then you should’ve stayed hidden,” he murmurs.

“Too bad,” I counter, eyes blazing despite the heat burning me from the inside out. “I made a terrible secret.”

Chapter Nine

Rhea

Lucian’s movements are smooth and silent, but they land like thunder in my bones. Each step tightens something low in my gut - not attraction, not want, just… inevitability.

He stops just short of my space. He doesn’t have to make contact - his presence invades everything.

“I knew I caught something back there. I just didn’t expect it to be this… obvious.”

Ash sighs. “She’s not a threat.”

"She’sthethreat," he says. "Not in control. Half a step from breaking wide open."

"And she’s still not yours," Ash says, voice like ground stone.

Lucian’s jaw tightens. His posture sharpens enough that even I feel the crackle of tension slicing through the air.

Their gazes lock. Two Alphas, both holding still, both coiled in different kinds of violence.

Ash radiates restraint. Grounded, firm, coiled like a wall you can’t climb. Lucian, though - he’s fire under glass. Controlled only because hechoosesto be.

Lucian finally shifts his focus back to me, and the weight of it pins me where I stand.

"You’re in heat," he says, as if it's a decision I made. His voice is low, intimate, cutting. "Clearly unmarked and unclaimed, scenting up a ballroom like you’re calling to every Alpha in a hundred miles."

I feel the flush rise to my skin, heat and fury and helplessness crashing together.

“Fuck you.”

Lucian’s mouth curves - not quite a smile. More like satisfaction.

“There it is.”

"You think Iwantedthis?" My fists clench, nails biting into my palms. "You think I chose to fall apart surrounded by strangers, cornered by Alphas who see me as something they cantake?"

He tilts his head, that cold elegance sharpening.

"No," he says, with maddening certainty. "But you chose to hide. And now you've been found."

My heart slams against my ribs.

"Back off, Vale," Ash growls.

Lucian doesn’t so much as glance at him.

Instead, he steps forward again - just one deliberate shift - and it hits me like a blow.

The heat inside me spikes, roaring through my chest, clawing down my spine. My muscles tense against the pull, but it’s too strong.

---