That evening, in the study.

Phoebe studied Thomas standing before her, her eyes showing genuine respect and admiration for the first time. "You saved us," she said earnestly. "Well done, my mate."


The word "mate" sounded foreign on her lips, yet carried profound weight.

Thomas's ears flushed red, but instead of lowering his gaze as he once would have, he met Phoebe's eyes directly. "I was protecting our home," he said simply.

Perhaps from the sudden release of tension, or perhaps because her defenses had finally crumbled, Phoebe forgot her regular Suppressant injection.


In the dead of night, Thomas awakened to cedar pheromone so intense it seemed tangible—wild with winter wind and snow.

He understood immediately.


Phoebe's heat had struck without warning.

He watched the Alpha writhing on the bed, her beautiful face twisted with desire and restraint, deep breaths escaping her control.

Thomas didn't hesitate.

He leaned down, deliberately releasing his warm hearth-fire pheromone like a gentle blanket to soothe the raging blizzard. His scent spoke clearly: I am safe, I am yours, take what you need.

Behind the irresistible biological drive and decade of suppressed love, a darker thought surfaced from the depths of his mind.

Even this, he realized, wasn't enough.

Gentleness fades, vows break, and trust shatters at the slightest lie.

Thomas, no longer naive, couldn't risk another loss. He needed a bond that would eternally chain her soul to his—something unbreakable, permanent.

An Omega Reverse Marking an Alpha was nearly suicidal madness.

It meant surrendering every emotion—joy, rage, grief, pleasure—to her perception, becoming the most vulnerable, inseparable echo within her soul.

In that moment, nothing else mattered.

Looking into her lust-hazed eyes, he recognized his only chance. Tomorrow this proud Alpha might rage, might despise him, might accuse him of manipulation once again.

But so what?

Once this bond locked into place, even if she hated him, she could never truly escape. Each pain in her heart would echo a hundredfold in his.

As long as Phoebe loved him at all, she could never ignore his existence—his pain would become hers.

Even if someday she stopped loving him or hated him again, she would forever sense him. His heartbeat would echo in her blood; his breath would warm her pheromones with hearth-fire. He would become the eternal "flaw" in her perfect Alpha body.

He longed for her dominance, yes—but he yearned even more to become her sweetest curse, inescapable for life.

The next morning, Phoebe woke to an alien trembling deep in her soul.

She felt the foreign burn of a Soul Mark on her neck gland—a sensation no Alpha should ever experience.

She sat numbly on the bed, lost in chaotic disconnection, feeling the humiliating yet scorching Mark burning her neck.

The door opened softly, and Thomas entered with a simple breakfast tray.

He appeared as always—calm and gentle. His submissive demeanor formed a stark contrast with the "audacious violator" she'd imagined.

He placed the breakfast beside her, met her eyes, and said with deliberate steadiness: "I believe you won't hurt me."

Phoebe's heart squeezed painfully, as though gripped by a remorseful hand.

She understood completely.

This wasn't trust—it was a desperate test of her boundaries.

The reverse marking wasn't sacrifice but insurance—the humblest yet most unbreakable shackle. No longer believing in her love or promises, he'd chosen self-destruction to bind them together, making abandonment impossible.

She had driven him to this desperate edge.

In that moment, all her Alpha anger and pride dissolved into a heavy, helpless sigh.

What right did she have to be angry?

Phoebe ignored the breakfast and gently caressed Thomas's cheek, her voice carrying unprecedented tenderness and exhaustion. "I know it's my fault."

"It won't happen again. I swear on everything I am."

She pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly. This embrace wasn't about trust but responsibility. She held him as though cradling her own unforgivable burden of guilt.

Just as Phoebe settled into this newfound trust, the alarm suddenly blared.

The woman who had haunted her thoughts for a decade—Dr. Lena, the legendary Beta surgeon from Shenghui Hospital—had returned to the country.

And her first call upon returning had been to Thomas.