The Mark

Bella

I lay there silently on the verge of death with tears streaming down my face, too weak to fight back as he extracted his teeth from my skin before pulling back to glare down at me. His eyes moved over my face slowly, taking in every little twitch of my muscles. His hand shifted on my throat so he could press his thumb over the spot he bit, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. I let my eyes flutter closed as dark shadows twirled around me. The shadows of goodbye filled my vision, making it impossible to stay conscious as I prayed for death.

While I drifted between various states of unconsciousness, I felt his hand loosen around my throat until it lay beside my head while he breathed deeply. Moments later, he climbed off me and I was lifted off the bed. I didn’t know where he was taking me. It didn’t matter. I was going to die. I knew it. It was only a matter of time.

After I was laid on something soft, he positioned my arms on my stomach before brushing my hair back, shocking me. “He can’t have you,” he murmured. “I meant it when I said you were mine. You will serve me for all eternity. You will live and breathe my orders. You will stay in my quarters now, so I know you’re not disobeying my orders.” He paused as he ran his fingers over his bite mark again. “I may not want you, but he can’t have you either. I’ll make sure of it.”

Edward

I watched her lie there, pale and trembling, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. Her defiance had wilted, leaving behind a fragile, broken thing. So different from the fire I had seen in her eyes when she first arrived. Something about her still gnawed at the edges of my resolve, a maddening whisper that I could not silence. She was mine. I have no clue how this fragile human could be mine, but she is mine. Maybe it is because she reminds me of Ara, but she has long since been dead and I became The Beast.

I could never love her in the way she or Armold, my head guard, would think. Not in the way of human affection or mortal bonds. No, she was my servant, my possession. I did not want her in the romantic sense, not the way men might pine for women. That would require a softness I had long since discarded. The idea of her with someone else, the mere suggestion that Arnold might take her, touch her, twist her to his will roused a fury so deep it bordered on primal. Mine, she is mine!

She stirred slightly, her lips parting in a shallow breath. The sight of her like this, weak, vulnerable, dependent should have satisfied me, but it did not. Instead, it left me with an ache I could not name and a rage I could not temper. I ran my fingers over the bite mark on her neck, the faint bruising forming a crude mockery of a claim. Her scent overwhelmed me, whispering fear and lies. Or perhaps I was lying to myself because I wanted to believe that she had betrayed me.

I exhaled sharply, the sound echoing in the quiet of the room. What’s done is done. She is now mine for eternity and she would stay here now, where I could keep her in sight. Arnold would try again, of that I was certain. He was not the type to let go of a desire once it took root. I was not the type to yield, especially not to him. He may have given his kingdom to me as I got my revenge for Ara’s death, but it would have been mine anyway once my child was born. Even if my Beast were capable of love, I would not let any woman suffer as Ara did. “I may not want you,” I repeated softly, almost to myself. “That does not mean you will ever belong to anyone else.”

Her lashes fluttered, a brief flicker of consciousness before her body relaxed into the bed again. The sight brought a grim satisfaction. Proof that she would survive, that she would endure. I needed her to. Her life was not hers anymore. It was mine. Standing, I moved to the door, pausing to glance back at her one last time. The faint light illuminated her fragile form, her dark hair was now pale and tangled against the dark bedding. What hold do you have on me, little human?

I dismissed the thought with a scoff, closing the door behind me. The guards outside flinched as I passed, their gazes fixed firmly on the floor. They would not dare question my actions. They knew better. She would learn, too, in time. She had no choice. We are now bound as our lives have fused into one. Now neither of us would be alone in the darkness and perhaps her fire would soon ignite.