The Mark

I woke to pain in feet and smell of meat.

Not village meat — thin soup with one bone. This was thick meat, roasted, with fat, and bread that was still warm, and something sweet — honey? — on tongue.

My feet were wrapped in so many furs I couldn't see them. My hands too, but lighter. White dress was gone. I wore soft grey shirt, too big, that smelled like Kael. Pine and smoke.

Fire burned big. Room was Luna's room again, but now there were extra furs on floor, and a bowl of snow melting near fire — for frostbite, old trick.

Kael slept on floor, not outside door now, inside. In wolf form. Huge black wolf, bigger than any wolf I ever saw, scars visible even through fur, gold eyes closed, breathing heavy. His head was near my bed, near my feet, guarding even in sleep.

Beta Mara sat by fire, stirring soup.

"You're awake," she said, soft, so not to wake wolf. "Two days you slept. We thought we lost toes. But healer says toes stay. Pink again. Good."

Two days? Trial was three days, then I slept two days. Five days since I left village.

Village must think I'm dead.

"Where... where is Kael... Alpha?" I whispered, voice cracked.

Mara smiled small. "He hasn't left room since he brought you down. Hasn't eaten. Council angry. He broke Trial law, but Elder woman named you Luna, so Council can't kill you now. But they say marking cannot happen until you heal fully. Human healing slow."

Marking. I remembered Kael saying human necks soft, bite would kill pup.

Wolf Kael's ear twitched at word marking, even asleep.

"Does it hurt?" I asked before I could stop.

Mara looked at wolf, then at me.

"Yes," she said honest. "Even wolf females scream. Wolf teeth big. But after pain, bond comes. You feel his feelings, he feels yours. You hear his wolf. He hears your heart always, no matter distance. And no other male can touch you after, scent changes. And you live longer. Human Luna lives as long as Alpha, 200 years, maybe more, because bond shares life."

200 years. I was supposed to live 40 years in village, if lucky, with many children and hard work. Now 200?

"And pups?" I whispered, hand going to belly again without thinking. I did that a lot now.

Mara's face got sad, like when she talked about Lira being her daughter.

"That's problem," she said. "No human has ever carried wolf pup. Human womb small, weak. Wolf pup has claws inside even before birth. Lira was strong white wolf, she could carry. Human... healer says maybe, maybe not. Some pups rip mother. That's why Council scared. Alpha without heir is weak Alpha. Pack needs pups."

I looked at big black wolf sleeping by my feet, his scarred side rising and falling.

He had lost Luna and unborn pup. Now Moon gave him human who might not give pups either.

"Does he know?" I asked.

"He knows," Mara said. "He says he doesn't care. He says he had heir once and lost, and it killed his heart. He doesn't want heir if it kills you. But pack... pack wants heir."

Wolf Kael woke then, gold eyes opening, instantly looking at my face, then at my wrapped feet.

He shifted — bones cracking, fur melting into skin, man form now, bare chest, black pants, hair messy — in one second, fast, because he didn't want me to see shift pain.

"Elise," he said, voice rough from sleeping on floor. "Feet?"

"They hurt, but they are there," I said.

He let out breath, big shoulders dropping, and knelt by bed, taking my hands — unwrapped my right hand gently, checking fingers. All pink, all there.

"Good," he muttered, pressing forehead to my hand, claws careful. "Good, good..."

Mara stood. "I will leave soup. Alpha, make her eat. Healer says she needs meat, not just honey."

She left, closing door.

Now only me and Kael in Luna's room, fire, soup, and big grey shirt that was his.

Kael picked up bowl, spooned meat, blew on it like for pup, and held to my lips.

"I can eat myself," I said, face red.

"I know," he said. "But I want to feed my mate who came back from White Peak alive when even I thought she would die. Let me."

So I let him. Meat was good, salty, made me feel human again.

After half bowl, he set it down, and stared at my neck.

My neck — small, pale, with blue veins, with no fur.

His gold eyes went darker, claws coming out slightly.

"Elise," he said, voice lower, wolf pushing through. "Council says I cannot mark until you heal. But I... I need to ask. Do you want marking? Ever? Not now, but ever? Because if you don't, I will not. You can be Luna without mark. You can be Luna and never be mine fully, and I will guard you anyway, and no one will touch you. But if you do want... I need to know you want, not because pack says, not because Trial says, but because you want my bite."

I touched my neck, where bite would go. Place where wolves bite mates — side, where pulse is.

In village, marking was story to scare girls — wolf bites and you become his, you can't run, you feel his anger.

But Kael's bite — would it be scare? Or would it be like his knots tied with teeth — gentle despite claws?

"Will I die?" I asked honest.

"Not if I do right," he said, honest back. "But I have never marked human. Only Lira, and she was wolf, strong. Human necks... I will have to be very careful. Very slow. It will hurt more for you than wolf female, because your skin breaks easier. But I will stop if you say stop, even mid-bite. I will stop even if my wolf goes crazy. I promise on Lira's grave."

He said promise on Lira's grave — biggest promise wolf can make.

I looked at his scarred chest, at his gold eyes that cried gold tears in snow, at his hands that rubbed my blue feet warm with his own breath.

In village, no man ever asked if I wanted anything. Thomas never asked if I wanted to marry, he just told Mama. Priest never asked if I wanted to be Offering. Mara never asked if I wanted to die.

Kael was first to ask.

"Not now," I whispered. "Feet still hurt. And I'm scared. But... not never. Maybe... maybe soon, when I can stand."

His eyes flashed gold bright, like sun, and he smiled — first real smile I saw, fangs showing but not scary.

"Soon is good," he said. "Soon I can wait. Ten years I waited, I can wait more."

He leaned forward, slowly, giving me time to pull away, and pressed his forehead to mine, not bite, just forehead touch. Wolf touch. His skin hot, mine cold.

"You smell like honey now," he murmured against my forehead. "Healer put honey on your feet. My pup Luna smells like honey."

"I'm not pup," I said, but I didn't pull away from forehead touch. It was warm.

"You are my pup Luna," he said, smiling against my skin.

Door banged then — no knock — and young wolf man burst in, breathing hard, eyes wide.

"Alpha! Blackwood Village! They came! With torches! Priest with them! They say we broke deal! They want girl back to burn! They say human Luna is witch!"

Kael's gold eyes snapped black, forehead leaving mine, body standing in one move, claws fully out, wolf ears out.

"How many?" he growled, Alpha voice back, shaking walls.

"Twenty men! With pitchforks! At Blood Tree!"

Twenty men against 100 wolves — no fight, but village was mine once, and they came to burn me, not save me.

I tried to stand, feet wrapped, pain shooting.

"Elise, stay," Kael ordered.

"No," I said, holding bed post, grey shirt falling to knees. "They are my village. I need to tell them I'm not witch. I'm Luna."

Kael looked at me, at my wrapped feet that shouldn't stand, at my neck that wasn't marked yet, at door.

Then he did something no Alpha does — he picked up cloak, wrapped around me, and picked me up again, bridal style, like from Blood Tree, like from White Peak.

"We go together," he said. "You tell them you are Luna. If they call you witch after, I burn their pitchforks, not them. Because you asked me not to eat you once, and I still remember."

He carried me out, bare chest, bare feet in snow, gold eyes blazing, with Beta Mara and 20 wolves behind, towards Blood Tree, towards village that tied me to tree and now wanted me back to burn.

I held his neck, grey shirt, and felt his heart — loud, fast, not scared, angry for me.

For first time, I wasn't Offering. I was Luna being carried to tell village I lived.