Chapter 82

REESE

I blinked, trying to make sense of what I had just done. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut, and I felt a wave of horror wash over me. I had marked Valeria.

My heart pounded against my ribs, a frantic, wild rhythm. I stared at Valeria, my mind a whirl of horror and disbelief. How could I have been so careless?

"Valeria, I—" I stammered, my voice breaking. The words got caught in my throat, a choking knot of regret. The gravity of the situation had somewhat paralyzed me.

The mark on her neck glowed a deep, possessive red, a cruel reminder of my impulsive actions. Fuck! I hadn’t planned to mark her.

But deep down, I had always harboured a secret longing to mark her, to make her mine in every way possible. It wasn’t planned—at least not like this—but now that it was done, a twisted part of me felt a glimmer of satisfaction. She was marked. She would forever be mine and no one else’s. That thought brought a sliver of possessive joy threading through the chaos in my mi