The Enforcer's Mark

RAVEN

I didn't sleep that night. How could I, knowing monsters were real and I was becoming one? Mom tried to talk to me when Dominic dropped me off, but I locked myself in my room and pressed my face into my pillow, refusing to cry.

By morning, everything felt like a fever dream. Maybe I'd imagined it. Maybe stress had finally broken something in my brain.

Then I saw the claw marks on my bedroom window.

Four deep gouges in the wood frame, fresh and deliberate. A message. A warning. I was still staring at them when Mom knocked.

"Raven?" Her voice was small, broken. "Can we please talk?"

I opened the door. She looked like she'd been crying all night, mascara smudged, still wearing yesterday's clothes. Part of me wanted to comfort her. The rest wanted to scream.

"Did you know?" I kept my voice flat. "When you got pregnant with me. Did you know my father was a werewolf?"

She flinched. "Yes."

"And you never thought to mention it? In eighteen years, you never thought I deserved to know what I was?"

"I hoped you wouldn't be." She reached for me, but I stepped back. "Some half-breeds never shift. They live normal lives, never knowing what they could have been. I prayed you'd be one of them."

"Well, your prayers didn't work." Bitterness coated every word. "Now I'm stuck living with your husband and his pack of predators because you made a deal behind my back."

"I was protecting you!" Her voice cracked. "Your father's pack wanted to claim you when you were born, raise you as one of them. I ran. I've been running for eighteen years, keeping you away from that world. But when I met Dominic, when he offered protection…."

"You sold yourself." The words hung between us like poison. "And me. You sold us both."

"I saved us." Tears streamed down her face. "The other packs, they're not like the Iron Howlers. They would have used you, bred you, turned you into nothing but a vessel for their bloodline. Dominic promised he'd protect you, train you, keep you safe. So yes, I married him. And I'd do it again."

Before I could respond, a motorcycle roared up outside. Then another. And another.

Mom paled. "They're early. The wedding isn't until Saturday."

I looked out the window and saw five bikes, riders in leather cuts emblazoned with the Iron Howlers patch. The man in front, not Dominic, swung off his ride with predatory grace. Dark hair, darker eyes, and a face that would have been handsome if not for the violence etched into every line.

"That's Jax," Mom whispered. "Dominic's enforcer. He's here for you."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"Training starts today. Dominic told me last night." She gripped my arm. "Raven, listen to me. Jax is dangerous. Don't challenge him, don't mouth off, just do what he says."

"I'm not—"

The doorbell rang. Not a knock. A single, authoritative ring that said the person on the other side didn't ask permission.

Mom answered before I could stop her. Jax filled the doorway, all six-foot-something of lethal muscle and barely contained aggression. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, found me immediately.

"Raven Carter." His voice was rough gravel, nothing like Dominic's smooth command. "Get your shoes on. We're leaving."

"Excuse me?" I crossed my arms. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

His smile was all teeth. "That wasn't a request, princess. Alpha's orders. I'm your trainer for the next three days. Where I go, you go. What I say, you do. Or you can shift wild on the blood moon and tear your mother apart when you lose control. Your choice."

The image hit me like a fist. Mom, bloody and broken because I couldn't control whatever monster lived inside me.

"How do I know you won't hurt me?" My voice came out smaller than I wanted.

Something flickered in his expression, surprise maybe, or respect. "Because Dominic would rip my throat out if I did. You're pack now. That means you're protected. Even from me." He jerked his head toward the bikes. "Now move. We're burning daylight."

Mom squeezed my shoulder. "Go. Learn. Come back safe."

I wanted to argue, to refuse, to be brave. Instead, I grabbed my jacket and followed a stranger who could probably kill me with his bare hands.

The other bikers watched as Jax led me to his bike, a matte black beast that looked like it ate smaller motorcycles for breakfast. He threw me a helmet.

"Ever ridden before?" he asked.

"No."

"Then hold on tight and don't let go." He swung his leg over, and I realized I was supposed to get on behind him. "Arms around my waist. If you fall off, I'm not stopping to pick up the pieces."

I climbed on awkwardly, my thighs bracketing his, and tentatively wrapped my arms around his waist. He was solid muscle, warm even through the leather, and when the engine roared to life between my legs, I grabbed him tighter.

He made a sound that might have been a laugh. "That's it, princess. Hold on."

We took off, and the world became wind and speed and the terrifying thrill of complete loss of control. I buried my face against his back and held on like he'd told me to, feeling his muscles shift as he guided the bike through turns.

When we finally stopped, we weren't at the compound like I'd expected. We were at an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town, rust and broken windows and the kind of place where bad things happened.

Jax cut the engine and twisted to look at me. "Welcome to training. First lesson, never trust anyone." His smile turned predatory. "Not even me."

Then he grabbed my wrist and dragged me off the bike, and I saw the other bikers circling us like wolves, eyes glowing in the morning light.

"Let's see what you're made of, little wolf.”