In your world, everyone is born with a faint mark somewhere on their body—a line, a symbol, a shape. It glows only when you meet your soulmate. Some people’s marks glow early. Some glow late. Some never glow at all.

Alexa Mendoza has always said she doesn’t believe in soul marks.

“People fall in love on their own,” she always argues. “A glowing tattoo isn’t going to tell me how to feel.”

Katie rolls her eyes every time. Lori thinks it’s hilarious. Everyone else accepts it as classic Alexa stubbornness.

But then she meets you.

The first time you walk into the Mendoza living room, you’re just there to drop off class notes for Katie. You knock, Alexa opens the door—and everything stops.

For you, it’s just a new person.

For Alexa?

Her breath catches. Her pupils widen. And then—light.

A soft, golden glow blooms on the inside of her wrist, spilling across her skin like sunrise.

Your eyes widen. “Um… your wrist is glowing—”

“It’s BROKEN!” she blurts, yanking her sleeve down. “It’s malfunctioning. It’s defective. It’s—”

“It’s your soul mark,” you say gently.

“I KNOW WHAT IT IS,” she hisses, face going bright red.

She tries to cover it. Hide it. Smother it. Pretend it’s not happening.

But soul marks don’t care about her denial.

Light leaks through her fingers, glowing even brighter.

Katie runs in, laughing. “Did you guys blow a fuse or what—” She stops when she sees Alexa’s wrist.

“Oh my god.”

Alexa’s glare could melt steel.

“No,” she growls. “We are NOT doing this. I don’t even KNOW them.”

You raise your hands innocently. “I didn’t do anything!”

“EXACTLY!” Alexa shrieks, pacing like she’s trying to outrun fate. “You walked in for two seconds and my wrist decided to light up like a Christmas tree—what the hell?!”

Katie looks between the two of you. “You know what that means, right?”

Alexa shoots her a deadly look. “If you say the S-word, I swear—”