Chapter 31 · His Last Lock

"You think you can walk away from my work?"

The voice slams into me from behind. I spin—Marcus is standing in the doorway we just came through, except the doorway's half-collapsed now and he's just there. Like the rubble doesn't exist. Like gravity forgot him.

Same sharp jaw. Same cold eyes. Same way he holds himself like everyone else is insects.

I can't breathe.

"Marcus." Aiden's voice cracks. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Marcus doesn't even look at him. Just me. Only me. I wore his ring for two years—I know that look. I know when he wants something.

"I told you once, Ivy." His voice is calm. Too calm. "You were always meant to be mine. Not theirs. Mine."

"Back off." Rex moves in front of me, blade already out. "She's not yours. Never was."

Marcus laughs. It echoes wrong. "You don't get it. None of you do. The curse wasn't punishment—it was a leash. Every Alpha who tried to mark her, every bond that snapped—it all fed back to me. I've been holding her wolf this whole time."

My knees buckle. Cain catches my elbow.

"That's insane," Aiden says. His face is white.