Carve The Mark Series Novels & Stories

We stopped instantly. “What is it?” I asked. He pointed ahead. There were faint marks carved into the bark of a tree. Three deep slashes. Marcus snarled as I scanned them. It was clearly another message. I stepped closer. The wood had been torn by claws — fresh. “Rogue marking,” Ronan said. “But look closer.” I did. The pattern wasn’t random. It was three slashes with a line beneath them. Then another. My stomach twisted. “This isn’t a warning,” I muttered.

They glowed faintly, etched in silver and shadow, curling along her arms and collarbone in patterns that made her stomach twist. Mara sucked in a breath. “That is not Moonfire.” Sera’s voice cut through the tension. “It is older.” Elise turned. Elder Sera stood at the entrance of the temple, her form solid but faintly luminous, her expression grave in a way Elise had never seen before. Sera approached slowly, her eyes fixed on the markings. “The Mark of the Deep,” she said. Ryn’s voice dropped. “You said that was a myth.”

Only for a few seconds before it gave way to the madness in her head. She turned Melonie's head left and right as the vines loosened slightly. "Yes, she will do nicely." The searing pain from earlier appeared again. She gazed down at her arm where she had carved into her skin, and the eerie glow of the brand continued to mark her. She watched on as a crescent moon formed on her skin with the tips nearly connected with a circle between and three dots on each side of that circle. Karmina raised her arm into the air to admire her new marking. With a smile, she commanded the vines to set Melonie in the shack and went to work.

I asked. "Because your mother showed me," Mara said, and she rolled up her sleeve. There, on her upper arm, was a mark. Not a scar or a tattoo, but something that looked like it had been burned into her skin. The shape of it was intricate and ancient, and it glowed faintly in the dim light of the tent. "She marked me with her blood," Mara explained. "It was her way of creating a record, a witness to the truth. The mark glows when a lie is being told in my presence. When false power is wielded. It's been burning almost constantly since Marcus took control."

I need to run some further tests. There are a few pack members that have lost mates when Sarah was taken and Dad got his injury. I should probably give it to them. It will remove their pain and I can monitor the results. If successful, it could help Kara, but it is more for removing the bond, not a mark specifically. Most mates who lose their other half tend to want to keep their marks just remove the pain.

Trying to blow off some steam, I ran around the forest as fast as I could, pushing myself to my limit. I was about to leave, but then something within me seemed to try to say something. Following my instinct, I walked around a little more until I caught a glimpse of something in a nearby tree. I walked closer and approached it, but as soon as I saw what it was, I was momentarily frozen in my place. There was a carving on the tree. It was a skull with a serpent around it, its head coming out of one of its eye sockets. The mark was faint, barely carved, but it was unmistakable. My stomach twisted, and my heart beat fast as more and more of my past was being dredged up at the same time.

I move closer, drawn by something I don't understand, my fear momentarily eclipsed by fascination. The carvings are beautiful and terrible. Wolves with their heads thrown back in silent howls. Crescent moons in various phases, waxing and waning across the stone surface. Symbols I don't recognize but that make something deep in my chest tighten with recognition. How can I recognize something I've never seen before?

Emma moaned, pushing her back toward the wand, the plug shifting inside her as her hips rocked. “Almost done,” Mark said, voice calm and certain. He moved the tip down the small of her back, filling in the spaces between the words, making the lettering bold and permanent-looking. The third baby kicked hard beneath her skin, right where the ink would sit, and she felt it as if the new mark was claiming that spot too. “There. Done. It looks so real now, even though it will wash off in a week or two. But the feeling… that’s forever.”

he said, teasing me. I frowned, “Would we get the mark we were originally supposed to have?” I asked. Carson looked between the two of us. “Not necessarily. In this case, your mark will have had to endure, and it might have shifted slightly but will be no less special or valuable,” he commented.

The taste of her goes straight to my head like the strongest liquor. I feel drunk on her, and I'm unable to help it. Our mouths finally break apart and I still find myself staring at her. My gaze drifts to the fresh bite mark on her neck. My mark. The skin around it is red, already beginning to heal with the supernatural speed, but still tender. “You alright?” I ask quietly, brushing my thumb just below the mark. Eva reaches up, touching it lightly with her fingertips. She winces a little, then nods.