A big mistake.

Winter's POV:

I can't for the life of me, get some sleep.

How could I? In a few hours, my past will mean nothing, my present and future meshed with the likes of wolves. 

I am to be mated to Derrick Blackbird today. It's drizzling outside, rain dripping down the old windows. The house is over a century old, protected by spells upon spells, yet today it feels fragile. Like it knows something I don't.

The moon looks funny. Like some error in the matrix. It's red, blood red, the sky looking puffy and unnatural. It looks like the sky is bleeding. It's a Blood Moon. My stomach tightens on instinct. Every witch knows what that means. It's been drilled into our heads before we could spell the word witch. 

Stay inside.

Lock the windows and doors.

Do not wander.

Wolves rule when the sky bleeds. 

My powers are malfunctioning, my poor body mixing up signals with the strange moon is giving out. I take a deep breath, inhaling like Mother taught me to do when my powers go off. Inhale for 6, Exhale for 6.

It doesn't work. Nothing does.

It's nearly 2am. In 12 hours I will stand on an altar and be forced to swear myself away to a brute. Consent is a useless word in our world. It's either do or die. My body for peace.

Would I be so evil if I just let Father die?

My bed is old and I can feel the wood piercing my back. I groan loudly sitting up. I shiver when my feet touch the ground. I've always been cold easily. One of the downsides of being weak like me. We will always get the short end of the stick. Why couldn't Ariana be the one to be mated off? Oh yeah, she's the strong sister, one of the most powerful. The coven can't do without her. 

Me though? I'm weak, disposable.

Bullshit. 

I get up. Father's not around. Mother's probably in bed by now. No one will be around to stop me.

I pull off my nightgown, changing into black leggings and a dark hoodie. My hand reaches for big boots on the top of my closet.

If I only have a few hours of my freedom left, I'm going to use it on having a nice time, not cowering in fear like some sacrificial lamb about to be slaughtered.

My hand glows in the dim room, and a few seconds later I'm outside, rain drops pouring in my hair. Up ahead, the forest stares at me. The air is wet and oxygen feels heavy, like a predator is waiting for me to take two steps in before ripping me to shreds. My insight flares. 

I'll only be gone for a few minutes. One hour tops. By 3am I'll be back in bed. I just need some fresh air. Freedom from all of this.

I take a few steps in the wet soil, my magic pushing me deeper into the forest. There are no birds out tonight, no insects and definitely no stars in the sky. Everything seems to have paused, like the forest itself is afraid of what might happen.

I'm in there for at least 10 minutes before I reach a clearing, a wide space surrounded by tall trees. My insight is almost screaming at me to go back. 

My arms are twitching, a headache forming at the back of my head. Something is wrong. I turn around slowly, trying to spot anything amiss in the dark night. 

“Get a grip Winter, jeez.” It's nothing. My insight is probably not working right because of the moon. I take a few steps forward.

I hear a branch break a few feet behind me. 

It's too heavy to be a critter. Fear makes me take a deep breath, as I try to calm myself down. “Hello?”

I don't get a response, only movement. 

I don't even have the time to react.

Something huge runs out of the darkness and right into me, taking me to the ground with brute force. Pain hits my spine and I freeze for a moment before I scream. 

This is it. A witch has caught me. I'm going to be punished for disobedience. I don't want to be whipped. I fight and claw against the force pressing me down.

He growls, and I freeze, true fear entering me. It isn't a witch or wizard. It's worse. Far, far worse. It's a wolf. A big rogue wolf. His claw is the size of my head, his nails digging into the ground beside me. Our eyes meet, and his eyes are glowing red. The pupils that are supposed to be there are gone, his body a horrid mix between man and wolf. 

My magic is basically useless on someone his size. I try kicking against him, but his huge hand pins me down. He bends down and smells me, the intimate move making me dizzy. His nose is all over my body, and my insight flares loudly, screaming wrong, forbidden, mistake. 

“Let go of me! Let me go!” My screams fall on deaf ears, and when his canines bite into my back. My limbs go numb in shock.

Everything stops. I've been bitten. No, marked by a rogue. 

I scream so loud even the wolf freezes. My back is aching, my body conflicted. Witches and wolves were never meant to be. And being marked by one out of nowhere is taking a toll on me. Confusion and fear hit the hardest, then heat. 

It feels like something foreign is spreading through my every vein all at once, my body shaking against my will. I can't see properly anymore, different parts of me acting against each other. “No! No! No! No!” Something ancient crashes into me, numbing my resistance, while the wolf howls loudly like he's hurt. 

I feel myself fall into his arms before I lose consciousness, his touch gentle, my cheek presses against something warm, solid.

When I regain consciousness, it's dawn.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I'm in the arms of another wolf on the day of my wedding.

Fuck!

I get up immediately, removing myself from the wolves grip. I turn around and flee for dear life.

By the time I reach home, it's nearly 5am.

I appear in my room shaken. I tear off my clothes, running towards the mirror. Maybe he didn't mark me right, and there's no evidence of my mistake permanently on my skin. 

The mirror says otherwise.

“Fuck! Fuckkk!” Right there on my back is a crescent mark, dimly glowing. Fuck. A marked wolf is a tainted, unclean wolf. If anyone finds out about what happened, the mating will not go through and war will ultimately happen.

Shit.

I shower in under five minutes, using my magic to scrub all over me several times until I'm sure the smell of the forest is gone. I throw my clothes in the trash, sitting down on my bed ass naked. I'm scared. I'm so scared.

Relax Winter, no one will know, the dress will cover it up. In a few hours, you'll walk down the aisle like you didn't get assaulted, and be mated to Derrick. Hopefully he'll mark me on my arm instead of my back and by the time he notices the mark I'll tell him he marked me again when we were mating but he couldn't remember because he was drunk.

“Winter? Are you awake yet? Get up.” Mother's knock brings me back to the present. Oh yeah. I'm being mated to Derrick, a man I have never met, today. 

Fanfuckingtastic.