Maria.

The moment I managed to pull away from him, I didn’t wait.

I ran.

I didn’t look back.

Didn’t give him the chance to call my name again, to stop me, to confuse me even further with words I wasn’t ready to understand.

My chest heaved as I pushed the door open and stumbled into the hallway, my heart pounding so loudly it drowned out everything else.

"How could he just? No..." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head as I kept walking fast and aimless.

I didn’t want to go to my room.

I didn’t want to go to Noah either.

Not now.

Not when everything inside me felt tangled and overwhelming.

So I kept walking.

One corridor.

Then another.

My steps echoed softly against the marble floors as I moved, my mind racing faster than my feet.

I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply as I turned another corner without even paying attention to where I was going.

I just needed space and air, something to clear my head.

But instead...I heard it, a sharp sudden sound. It came from nearby.

My body tensed instantly.

That direction...The Alpha’s quarters.

My brows furrowed as unease settled in my chest. Without thinking, my steps slowed, then shifted toward the sound, toward Adrien’s room.

Something felt off.

Very off.

I reached the door and hesitated for only a second before pushing it open.

And then...I froze.

A figure dressed in black stood beside Adrien’s bed.

My heart jumped violently.

Another assassin.

Before I could even process it fully, I saw it...A syringe, pressed into Adrien’s arm.

My breath hitched.

"No—!"

The word barely formed in my throat as I tried to scream, but the assassin was faster. In a blur of movement, he turned, his face hidden, and without hesitation...He leapt through the window.

Gone.

Just like that.

The room fell silent again.

My heart pounded as I stood there, frozen for a split second before my feet finally moved.

"Adrien..." I breathed out as I rushed toward him.

He was shaking.

Violently.

His body strained against the chains, muscles tightening, his breaths uneven and rough.

Fear gripped me instantly.

What did they inject into him?

"Adrien!" I called again, my voice trembling as I got closer but then...something changed.

The moment I reached his side...he stilled completely like a storm that had been raging suddenly... stopped.

My steps faltered, his head slowly lifted and his eyes found mine, tears streaming down his face silently and uncontrollably.

My chest tightened painfully at the sight.

"Adrien... are you okay?" I asked softly, my voice almost breaking.

And to my surprise, he nodded, slowly and deliberately.

Relief rushed through me so quickly it made my knees feel weak.

"You’re... you’re okay..." I whispered, more to myself than to him.

Without wasting another second, I glanced around, my eyes darting quickly across the room until they landed on the keys resting on the table nearby. A small breath escaped me at the sight, though the tension in my chest didn’t ease.

I moved toward them immediately, fast, almost rushed.

My fingers closed around the keys, gripping them tightly as I turned back to him. There was no time to hesitate now, no space to second-guess what I was doing.

Still... my hands were trembling.

Just slightly.

But enough for me to notice.

Enough to make every movement feel heavier than it should.

I stepped closer to him again, the faint sound of my own breathing filling my ears as I reached for the chains. The metal was cold against my skin as I slid the key into the first lock.

A soft click.

Then another.

One, then the other, as the restraints gave way. The metal clinked softly as they loosened and fell away, the sound echoing faintly in the quiet space around us.

I paused for a second, my eyes lifting to his face.

To me...He looked sane, calm and composed, nothing like the violent, uncontrollable state I had seen earlier, no tension, no aggression, just stillness.

And for a brief moment, I allowed myself to believe it, that it was over.

That he was fine.

But the moment the last restraint came off...Everything changed.

He moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

Before I could react, before I could even take a step back, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me tightly against his chest.

The sudden force of it caught me completely off guard.

I gasped softly, my body going rigid from the contact, my breath hitching as I tried to process what was happening.

"Adrien..." I started, my voice uncertain as I attempted to pull back slightly, my hands pressing against his chest in an effort to create some space.

But his hold tightened, firm and unyielding, yet not violent but desperate, almost... needy.

The way he held me made my heart skip unevenly in my chest, something about it felt wrong, not in the way I had expected but wrong enough to send a quiet unease creeping through me.

"Adrien...?" I tried again, softer this time, confusion threading through my voice as my hands remained pressed lightly against him, unsure whether to push him away or steady him.

And then I felt it, a sharp sudden pain.

A gasp tore from my lips as his teeth sank into my neck, the sensation immediate and overwhelming.

"Ah...!"

My body stiffened instantly, my mind went blank. For a second, I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t even breathe properly.

And then unconsciously a word echoed deep within me, not from my lips, not from my thoughts but from somewhere deeper, stronger and raw.

"Mate...".The whisper slipped out of me before I could stop it.

My eyes widened.

My body went still in his arms.

Adrien pulled back slowly, his breath uneven, his eyes locked onto mine and I...I could only stare at him, shock flooding every part of me.

He had marked me.

Adrien had just marked me.

But...How?

My thoughts spiraled wildly, that wasn’t possible. It shouldn’t be possible.

Didn’t they say...?

Didn’t they say he had lost his wolf?

Then how...How did he just mark me?