Marked Twice by the Alpha King

Ava's POV

Lie, Lie, And It Get Ugly

Ava, listen to me. Guys who just want a quick fuck don't do that. They don't take care of you like that."

"Maybe he's just... experienced."

"Or maybe he actually cares about you." Her voice

gentler. Have you ever been with anyone else before?"

The question caught me off guard. "I... no. Blake was my first."

"Your first?" Ella's voice went soft. "Oh, honey. No wonder you're so scared."

"Jackson and I never... we never got that far before he marked me. And then when he betrayed me..." I trailed off.

"So Blake was your first everything."

"Yeah."

"Jesus, Ava. And he took his time with you? Made sure you were comfortable?"

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. "He kept asking if I was okay. If I wanted him to stop. He was so careful."

"That's not casual, honey. That's a man who cares about you. A lot."

"Then why was he so focused on her today?"

"Because he's the Alpha King and she's a diplomatic guest? Because he has to

be polite?" Ella sighed. "Or maybe because Sophia made sure you saw it when it would look worst."

"You'really think she'd do that?"

"I think that girl's been watching her dad be alone for years. Now suddenly there's another woman in the picture, and s probably scared of losing him."

I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache building. “This is all so complicated."

"Only because you're making it complicated. You wanna know what you should do?"

"What?"

"Talk to him. Ask him straight up what's going on."

"I can't-"

"Yes, you can. You're brave as hell, Ava. You've faced down every other challenge

in your life. This shouldn't be any different."

"But what if he tells me it's over? What if-"

The bedroom door opened, cutting me off mid-sentence. Blaketood in the doorway, backlit by the hallway light. He looked fired, his shirt wrinkled, his hair messed up.

My heart started hammering against my lbs.

Ella, I gotta go."

"He's there?"

"Yeah."

"Remember what I said. Be honest with him."

I ended the call and set the phone aside. Blake stepped into the room, closing the

door behind him. For a moment, we just looked at each other.

I knew I looked like hell. Eyes puffy from crying, hair tangled, wearing an old t- shirt that had seen better days. But I was

too emotionally wrung out to care.

He moved closer, stopping at the foot of the bed. The moonlight coming through the window caught the sharp angles of

his face.

Sophia said you weren't feeling well."

I rubbed the corner of my eye, wiping away the traces left by too many tears. I'd cried so much this afternoon that my ey felt swollen and raw, like someone had rubbed a handful of sand into them.

"I'm fine, just struggling with the last day of my period," I lied, staring at the blurry moon outside the window. The word fell from my lips without thought, an automatic defense.

Blake stood at the foot of the bed, hands shoved deep in his pockets, like he wasn't sure how to approach me. He looked exhausted tonight, dark shadows pooling beneath his eyes, the scar on his cheekbone standing out sharply in the moonlight.

"Want me to get Ruth to bring some herbal tea?" he asked, his voice rougher than usual.

"No need," I shook my head, fingers fidgeting with a frayed thread on the edge of the comforter. "Sleep will fix it."

He nodded but stayed rooted in place, his gaze traveling over my face. I knew exactly how awful I looked-puffy eyes, tangled hair, wearing that old t-shirt that had been washed so many times it was practically transparent in places. But right now, I couldn't bring myself to care about appearances. After seeing that photo, everything felt absurd anyway.

"That dinner you mentioned in your text," I broke the silence, my voice unnervingly calm, "it went well?"

"Just business," he shrugged, loosening his collar, "Northern Lights' terms are higher than we expected, but still worka! I fixated on a wrinkle in the bedsheet, as if it contained some cosmic secret. "The pictures didn't look like 'just busine

His shoulders visibly tensed. "What pictures?"

"Don't play dumb, I looked up, meeting his eyes directly, "The ones Sophia sent me. You and that silver-haired priest looking so perfect together. She added a little note-'Dad's finally dating again, don't they look amazing together!" Damn it, my voice actually trembled saying those words out lo

Blake's expression shifted from confusion to realization, then to barely contained anger. When did she send these?noveldrama

Shortly after you texted me about having dinner," I said quietly "Thoughtful of her, wasn't it? Making sure I knew where I stood."

"It wasn't like that." He stepped forward, then stopped, like he was afraid getting too close might detonate something. "Sophia had no right to do that."

“But she did, and the photos are real, aren't they?" I forced a sle that felt more like a grimace, my lips quivering with the effort. "You two looked pretty cozy in the council hall."

He shook his head, brow furrowed. "That was just diplomatic protocol." "Does diplomatic protocol include her hand on your arm, her eyes locked on yours, while you look completely captivated?" My voice suddenly rose, "I'm not stupid, Blake. This whole time you've been saying one thing and doing another. That familiar fire ignited in his eyes, the edges bleeding to gold-his wolf rising close to the surface. "You don't understand the situation."

"Then explain it to me!" I practically shouted, "Tell me why you're here pretending to care while making eyes at some priestess! Tell me why you bothered marking me if you never intended to take it seriously!"

My hand went automatically to the golden mark on my neck-the one he'd left that night in the moonlight, lost in passion I swear it was throbbing now, feeling like it might peel right off my skin.

"I'll handle it," he said, his voice low and firm, "but right

now you need rest."

He walked straight to the nightstand, poured a glass of water and held it out to me, as if that could somehow fix everything. I stared at the tiny ripples on the water's surface, suddenly struck by the absurdity of it all.

"This is your pattern, isn't it?" I didn't take the glass, just stared coldly at him, "Say 'trust me while treating me like I'm too stupid to see what's happening. I thought you were different from Jackson."

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