Chapter 4: The Mark

The claim mark is a mark that only an alpha can leave. He can mark any wolf, of any gender, to be his and his alone. 

No one, no other wolf, whether from his pack or not, can touch the one who has been marked.

Generally, it was something done by mutual agreement and accompanied by a union ceremony. It was not a painful bite, but one said to be as light and pleasant as a passionate kiss between two lovers who haven’t seen each other for years.

Like the meeting of two souls destined by the Goddess.

Very far from what was happening there.

Moreover, to my misfortune, there was more: Once marked, always marked.

Unless the alpha who made the mark rejected the marked wolf, there was no turning back.

But even that rejection was complicated. It hurt, it stung, and it burned in both, as if someone were trying to peel the skin off one of their limbs.

There were only very rare and specific cases.

I knew that.

And that was precisely why I was filled with despair.

I was the alpha of my pack, so on a normal day, I could have resisted this mark. It would have been simple for me; he would never bend my spirit.

But that was not a normal day. That was the day I had been struck where it hurt the most. Where the hand I had sought for comfort had struck me with a poison-coated knife and twisted the blade.

That was a day when my soul was weak with desolation and the wolf in me was being suppressed by chains.

That was a day when Rayan was stronger than me. Physically and emotionally.

That’s why it wasn’t difficult for him to break through my barriers. To go through my skin, reach my spirit, and carve his name into the skin of my inner wolf.

When he let me go, I felt my sticky blood running down my neck. I curled up, feeling the pain of the violation. I had not agreed to it, I had not allowed it; he had taken it by force and against all my will.

I brought my hand to the open wound on my neck, trembling, and heard his steps circling around. He stopped in front of me and crouched down.

“You know what this means, don’t you, b*tch?” he asked with a snobbish tone in his voice.

I continued to curl up, trying to stop the bleeding with my hand. Normally, I would have recovered quickly from a common wound.

But again, this was not a normal day, and this was not a common wound.

It was a wound of hatred, disgust, and violation.

“Wh… why…?”

I whimpered through stutters of pain.

“Because I wanted to. You are mine now. My Luna. You will bend to me, whether you want to or not.” He lifted my chin with his hand and locked eyes with me. “But I keep my promises: I won’t touch you until you beg for it. And you will”

Rayan pushed my face to the floor and stood up, heading toward the door. Before leaving, he turned and declared with a sarcastic smile,

“Enjoy the wave, dear mate.”

______________________________________________________________________

What that damned mutt had done to me was far worse than I could have imagined doing to him or his father.

I felt the days passing over me, my open wound pulsing on my neck as if acid were being poured onto it.

It would only fully close when Rayan kissed it, that was the rule.

And he had made it very clear what he would demand in our last encounter.

Once a day, someone would open a small hatch in the door and push in a tray with some swill along with a glass of water.

I tried to drink the water, but the taste was terrible. Disgusting. I refused, pushing the tray away every time.

Eventually, I had to surrender to my needs. I knew I should stay strong, regain my physical and emotional strength if I wanted to get out of there. I had no one but myself to count on, so I had to keep going. 

I had to eat wherever they gave me, I had to drink. And I did it using hatred as my fuel.

I was alone.

I had lost the only person I had left.

I had been marked against my will.

Hatred was the only thing that had been left with me in that darkness.

The room remained locked for days, maybe weeks, I couldn’t possibly know.

The sounds of chains scraping, making my skin scream at the slightest movement, filled the room, dancing along with the sound of my breathing.

I tore my blouse and placed it over the wound to prevent flies from landing. I didn’t know how long this would last, but if it lasted until I humiliated myself, then it would never end.

I would rather die than bend before him.

I’d rather stay there with the darkness as my only companion.

I hugged my legs in a vain attempt to comfort myself.

And then it happened.

The room was cold, but suddenly I felt my temperature rising. A sudden heat struck me, intensifying until it became unbearable.

I stopped hugging myself and began gasping for air, wondering if a fire had been lit there or something.

But soon I understood what was happening.

An absurd hunger took over me, an indescribable need running through my entire body, making my skin tingle.

Before I understood how or why, the image of Rayan appeared in my mind.

I imagined his scent, his arms, his sculpted body.

My mind bombarded me with thoughts of how he could come through that door, tear my clothes, put me on all fours, and make me his.

And it was everything I wanted most.

Nothing else existed in my mind: darkness, pain, filth, disgust, nothing.

There was only him.

Only his body existed.

So that was it.

My first Wave had arrived.