Ch.002

Arley

He only sniffs my scent, but it makes me shiver.

Kydra whimpers weakly inside me, too exhausted to do anything but echo the tremble running through my body.

As he steps closer, his scent grows stronger, my senses sharpening at the sudden pull.

His breath brushes my collarbone as the strap of my dress slips from my shoulder, his lips pressing against my skin.

My body shudders.

I fit too perfectly in his arms.

That thought should scare me.

“You smell so fucking delectable,” he growls against my ear.

A distant part of me is still screaming.

Run.

Push him away.

But my body doesn’t listen. The heat pooling in my belly keeps rising, drowning every warning until I can barely hear my own thoughts.

I want this man.

Gods, I want this.

He presses closer, and before I can make sense of anything, his mouth claims mine.

Everything blurs after that.

His touch, his warmth, the way my body responds to him… it all pulls me under.

I cling to him without thinking as if my body has been waiting for him, my hips lifting on their own.

Like I’ve known him.

Like I belong here.

I gasp softly as the distance between us disappears, my body yielding in ways I don’t understand.

It feels overwhelming.

Too much…too good.

A broken sound escapes me as I lose myself completely, my fingers tightening against him as he moves with me.

“Mine,” he growls.

The word sends a sharp shiver through me.

His lips find my neck, and for a moment, my lungs fill with his overwhelming scent, wrapping around me until I can’t tell where I end and he begins.

I want more.

He groans deep in his throat, his head dropping slightly…

Then I feel a sharp piercing pain, my body freezes for a split second as his fangs sinks into my skin.

A sudden burning sensation spreads through my body, turning into something that makes my entire body tighten around him.

My back arches as everything crashes at once.

A cry tears from my throat as the sensation consumes me.

He follows right after, a rough groan leaving him. For a moment, there’s nothing.

Except my heartbeat, and his that's echoing like a drum beat.

And the mark on my skin, pulsing. I can already feel the mate bond beginning to hum faintly between us, even with Kydra so weak.

Reality slowly creeps back in.

I have just been claimed, marked by a stranger whose face I still can’t clearly see in the darkness. 

I raise my head to look at him, but everything is blurry... my mind isn’t completely clear, but my body remembers every second of the pleasure he gave me.

Still, I can’t stay here. He’s deeply asleep. But I'd hate for him to not have a single memory of me. I stare down at the emerald ring my mother gave me when I was a child, it will only glow when it's in my hand because my essence was channeled into it. 

I took it off, sliding it slowly to his middle finger. “I’ll come back for you, Mate.” I whisper into his ear before dragging myself off his arm, picking up my dress with shaky hands, staggering away from him.

I have to return to the maid’s quarters and retrieve my mother’s belongings—the only pieces of her I have left.

Then I’ll come back for him. We can leave together.

I won’t stay in this pack anymore.I can still feel the faint effect of the heat inducer as my body sways from side to side. But I can't pay attention to it. Just a little more and I will reach the gates to the maid’s quarters.

I just need to grab a few clothes and Mother’s things, then I can run.

My toes press hard against the floor as I step into the hallway. It’s still very early in the morning, and only one person guards this corner of the pack.

A shadow appears at the end of the hall. From the shape of the attire... It's a pack guard. “Oh please…” I beg desperately.

He turns away just then, and the air rushes out of my lungs.

As soon as I push the door open, I found Risa in my room, my mother's box already opened, the Journal she had left for me in Risa's hand.

"Risa?" I choke out, my body freezing.

"Oh dear, look at you, I thought you ran away from your responsibility." She slurs. “What are you doing here? You should be far away by now.”

I don't bother to respond to her, taking a long heavy stride I reach for the journal, but she hides it behind her. My brows furrow. She knows how important that journal is to me, it has everything my mother carefully crafted. 

“Risa, I don't have the time for this nonsense. Give it back!” She grins, although a little surprised at my tone. Flipping the pages, she says “Wow, if I tell father I wanted this, would he give it to me?” I shudder slightly before masking it. 

I can't let that happen, I can't lose that too. I push her hard, her body collides with the wooden table at the corner. Quickly I grab the Journal and stuff it into the bag I prepared the day before, every other thing is still inside.  

Before I make it to the door, she pulls me back, “You want to run away? I don't think so, Arley, it will be a bad idea.” I turn my head, giving her a stabbing glare. “Well, I'm a good daughter of the pack so I won't allow that."

I can easily push her out of my way and make a run for it…but before I can even settle on it, two guards walk in, dragging me to the pack centre as I scramble for freedom, but it was useless.

I curse under my breath. 

They slam me to the ground. My eyes catch a familiar figure... raising my head to see my father towering over me, a death glare clearly painting his face. Beta Vinton stands beside him, brows pulled together.

Dear goddess, it's over for me…still I won't let them have what they want.

"Where did you run to?" He rumbles, the alpha tone shaking the ground I am kneeling on.

"There was no way you expected me to sleep with such an old man, father… tell me you didn't mean it.” My voice hard even though I'm trying not to show how much my bones are shaking.

My father's brows twitch for a moment, I was going to be punished regardless, so acting weak and pleading for mercy is useless.

“On top of that…” I continued, “I was given a heat inducer, how fair is that—”

"You're supposed to be his wife. I'll give you one more chance. Be a good girl and leave with the Beta..." He cuts me off. Just then, Risa takes sharp hurried steps towards us, grabbing the neck of my dress and pulling it down my arm, the force tearing the fabric.

"Wait, Father." She gasps, pointing straight at my neck. "She's been marked. It's a fresh bite."

The crowd erupts in murmurs. My father's eyes widen as he takes a step closer to look at it. He turns sharply to Beta Vinton, who in turn mirrors the expression on my father's face.

As if to understand my father asking if it was his doing, he shakes his head frantically.

My father's head snaps back to me, his black eyes blazing red as anger drags his wrinkles.

"Who marked you?"

Chills run straight down my spine.