The Masking

Chapter Five

The fireplace in the Alpha’s private chambers crackled, the orange light dancing across the walls like a restless spirit. Deluca stood by the hearth, the small, blood-stained scrap of parchment between his fingers feeling heavier than a mountain.

He looked toward the bed where Nora lay, her breathing shallow, her face still pale against the dark fur throws. He knew the ritual. It was an ancient, cruel way to hunt. As long as Kashton’s mark remained on her—even a fading, rejected one—it was like a beacon. They didn't even need to cross the border to kill her; they could drain her spirit from afar.

"Alpha?"

Deluca turned to see Rex standing by the door. The warrior's eyes were fixed on the note.

"It’s a death warrant, Rex," Deluca said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.

"They aren't just letting her go. They want her soul back to satisfy the Blood Moon’s pride. They’re calling it a ritual sacrifice."

"You can’t let that happen," Rex said, his jaw tightening.

"But if the Council finds out we’re harboring a ritual target, the Northern Ridge will be under siege before the week is out."

Elec, the Gamma of the Northern Ridge walked in looking furious. He didn't have Rex’s quiet loyalty or Deluca’s burning intensity. He was a pragmatist, a man of cold logic.

"She needs to leave, Deluca," Elec said, his voice devoid of sympathy.

"Look at her. She’s a walking war. You’re an Alpha; your first duty is to us, not to a rejected stray with a target on her back. Don’t bring the Blood Moon’s problems to our doorstep. Toss her back to the neutral zone and let them have their ritual."

Deluca’s aura flared so violently the glass of water on the nightstand shattered.

"Watch your tongue, Gamma. You’re speaking about my mate."

"Your second-chance mate," Elec countered, stepping forward. "Is she worth the lives of every pup in this pack? Because that’s the price. If you keep her here, you’re signing our names in blood."

"I am the Alpha," Deluca hissed, his eyes glowing a terrifying, piercing blue. "And I don't give back what I’ve taken. Get out. Both of you."

Rex nodded once and dragged a protesting Elec out of the room. The door slammed shut, leaving the chamber in a heavy, suffocating silence.

Deluca walked to the bed. He watched Nora’s eyelids flutter. She was waking up.

"Deluca?" her voice was a tiny, broken thing.

He sat on the edge of the mattress, the wood groaning under his weight. He didn't hide the note. He held it out to her, his hand trembling with a mix of rage and something far more tender.

"What is this?" she asked, her fingers brushing his as she took the paper. She read it, her eyes widening until they were vast pools of terror. "A sacrifice? He... he really hates me that much?"

"It’s not just hate, Nora. It’s control," Deluca said, his voice softening. "He doesn't want you, but he doesn't want you to exist without him either. The ritual will start at midnight."

Nora’s hand went instinctively to her stomach. If they tracked her soul, they’d find them too. 

"I have to go," she whispered, trying to sit up. "Elec is right. I heard him through the door. I can't bring this to you. You've been... you've been the only person who was ever nice to me for no reason. I won't let you die for me."

Deluca caught her shoulders, his grip firm but careful. "You aren't going anywhere. There is one way to stop the tracking. But it’s... it’s intimate. It’s primal."

Nora looked up at him, her breath hitching. "How?"

"I have to overwrite his scent," Deluca said, his gaze dropping to her lips.

"I have to flood your system with my aura. I have to claim you, Nora. Not just with words, but with everything I am. I have to mask his mark so deeply that when they go to track you, all they find is the Northern Ridge. All they find is me."

Nora felt the heat radiating off him. It wasn't the cold, biting frost of Kashton; it was the warmth of a hearth, the scent of rain on hot stone.

"Will it hurt?" she asked.

"The process? No," Deluca murmured, his thumb grazing her jawline. "But it will change everything. Once my scent is in your blood, you belong to the North. You belong to me. Kashton will feel the shift. He’ll know someone else is touching what he threw away."

Nora thought about the five years of silence. She thought about the trash can. She thought about Maeve’s smirk.

"Do it," she whispered. "I don't want to be his ghost anymore. Please, Deluca. Mask me. Make me yours."

Deluca’s wolf let out a low, possessive growl that vibrated through Nora’s chest. He leaned in, his face inches from hers. "Are you sure? Because once I start, I don't know if I can stop. My wolf has been starving for you, Nora. He’s uncontrollable when it comes to you."

"I’m sure," she breathed, her hands reaching up to grasp the lapels of his coat. "I’m so tired of being alone."

Deluca didn't wait. He moved his head to the crook of her neck, right where the faded, gray mark of the Blood Moon sat like a scar. He didn't bite yet. He just breathed.

His breath was hot, sending shivers down Nora’s spine that felt like lightning.

"You smell like him," Deluca growled, his voice thick with jealousy. "I can still smell that bastard on your skin. It’s making me want to tear the world apart."

"Then wash it away," Nora pleaded, her head tilting back, exposing the line of her throat. "Please."

Deluca’s tongue flicked against the skin, a slow, wet trail that made Nora gasp. She felt a wave of heat wash over her, a primal heat. It was a typical wolf reaction, but with Deluca, it felt like being consumed by a wildfire.

"You’re so soft," he muttered against her skin. "How did he ever look at you and see a mistake? I look at you and see my entire future."

He began to release his aura. It wasn't just a smell; it was a physical weight. It felt like heavy silk wrapping around her, pulling her into him. Nora felt her own wolf, usually silent and cowed, begin to stir. For the first time in years, her inner wolf didn't want to hide. It wanted to howl.

"More," she whimpered, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

Deluca’s hands slid down to her waist, his large palms spanning her entire middle. He pulled her flush against his chest, their hearts beating in a frantic, syncopated rhythm.

"I’m going to be so nice to you, Nora," he whispered into her ear, his teeth grazing the lobe. "I’m going to give you everything he denied you. But right now... right now I need to be selfish."

He began to nuzzle the mark, his scent of sandalwood and mountain air beginning to drown out the cedar of the Blood Moon. Nora felt a strange, intoxicating pressure building in her chest. It was the feeling of being claimed. It was the feeling of safety.

"Deluca... I feel... I feel the heat," she choked out, her face flushing a deep crimson.

"I know," he groaned, his voice sounding more like a wolf than a man. "It’s the overwrite. Our souls are recognizing each other. He’s losing his grip on you, Nora. Can you feel it? He’s slipping away."

Nora felt a sudden snap in her mind. The last lingering tether to Kashton—that cold, heavy chain she had carried for five years—simply broke. She let out a sob of relief, her body goining limp in Deluca’s arms.

But the vacuum left behind was immediately filled by Deluca.

His presence was aggressive, all-encompassing. He wasn't just masking the scent; he was colonizing her.

"Mine," he rumbled. The word wasn't a question. It was a fact.

He moved his lips back to the mark. His eyes were no longer blue; they were a shimmering, predatory silver. The Alpha was gone; only the wolf remained.

"Deluca, your eyes..." Nora whispered, mesmerized.

"I told you," he said, his voice a jagged edge. "He’s uncontrollable. He wants to put his seal on you. He wants the whole world to know who you belong to."

Nora felt a surge of pure, unadulterated desire. It was the kind of obsession she had read about in the old lore, the kind of love that burned packs to the ground. She didn't care about the war. She didn't care about the Council. She just wanted the man holding her to never let go.

"Mark me," she whispered, the words a forbidden prayer. "Truly mark me. Not like he did. Make it permanent."

Deluca froze. His entire body went rigid. "Nora, if I mark you now, while you're still weak... while you're carrying..."

"I don't care," she said, her eyes burning with a new-found fire. "I want them to know. I want him to know. If he wants a sacrifice, let him see that I've already been taken by a King."

Deluca’s control snapped.

The growl that ripped from his throat was loud enough to shake the windowpanes. He didn't hesitate. He didn't play. He pinned her back against the pillows, his body a heavy, warm weight that made her feel cherished and conquered all at once.

He leaned down, his teeth bared, his scent exploding into a fragrance so powerful it felt like the entire mountain was inside the room.

"I'm never letting you go," he promised, his voice a vow of eternal obsession. "You are the Queen of the North now."

He lowered his head, his canines lengthening, pressing against the exact spot where her pulse was thundering. Nora closed her eyes, a smile of pure, defiant joy on her lips.

As his teeth sank into her skin, a blinding light of gold and silver erupted in her mind, and far away, in the Blood Moon pack, Kashton Blackwood fell to his knees, clutching his chest as his soul screamed in agony.

The claim was complete.