His eyes softened with pride.
“My Alpha mark… it’s no longer active.”
That caught me off guard. Suddenly, everything made sense—why mine burned constantly, why I felt the weight of the role settling in my bones.
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“A younger, stronger Alpha always dominates the older one eventually. The transition doesn’t always require ceremony. Sometimes it happens during the heat of passion—complete dominance, physical and spiritual. One day my mark just… stopped burning.”
He leaned back in his chair, calm. At peace with the shift.
“I haven’t made it public because I want to give you and Mara time. Time to be young. Time to breathe before you’re buried in the weight of duty.”
I nodded, genuinely grateful. Mara and I were still in the glow of newness, still figuring
