The Mark

LORELAI

It wouldn’t work. Everything I had been resting our fate on crumbled away because we had our answer, and it wasn’t the one I wanted.

“Don’t despair,” Tabby said. “I said the simple answer was no. And although correct, I haven’t known you to pick anything simple.” She smirked, and a spark started inside me, a glimmer of hope that gave me something to pull on.

“Tabby, please, just tell me what I’m meant to do.”

“What we’re meant to do,” Derik corrected, and I smiled at him before nodding.

“I need the beast to find Adrenna.”

“So use him to find her. But adding him to the pack? It might help you find her easier, but it will be to the detriment of the wolves. You will not be able to turn him back to human if he has already sworn into the pack. That is the part that is not possible,” she explained, and I frowned, my thoughts racing as I chewed over her words.

“So we use it to find Adrenna, then give them their happy ever after?”

Tabby nodded.

“But if we haven’t sworn him in, then his loyalty is not to the pack; it is only to Adrenna. How can I risk that?” I demanded, not sure how to go about things when the beast had a single goal.

It would do whatever it took to find Adrenna, including betray us. Adding him to the pack meant that couldn’t happen, but if it wasn’t possible, then we were stuck trusting that it wouldn’t happen. And even if I thought I could, the pack wouldn’t.

“The pack will trust you though, Luna.” She smiled, probably reading my thoughts as clearly as my mates.

“And turning the beast back into a human, that is possible?” I asked. Tabby shrugged.

“It is possible. Whether the witches will let it happen, that is an unknown not even I can answer,” she admitted, and it was another kink in the plan that didn’t settle well within me.

There were so many variables, and those made our entire future hard to navigate. But the pack needed an answer; they needed a plan going forward, and I had to give them something.

“If he is turned back, he will be back to how Adrenna remembered him?”

“Yes.”

“And what about Adrenna? Without magic, will she be the same as he remembered?”

Tabby turned her head to the side, assessing something in her wise eyes before smiling and nodding.

“Yes. She will be a love-sick human, in love with her human soul mate.”

“So we just have to convince her. And the witches,” I sighed, and Tabby sipped her tea.

“So it would seem.”

“What is the price, Tabby? For taking the magic from Adrenna and for asking this of the witches?” Brax asked, walking over with a calculated gaze on Tabby, who tightened her shawl around herself.

“I cannot see that, Braxton. You know that.”

“Convenient,” he snarled, and I snapped my eyes to him. He seethed but pursed his lips, and he stepped back.

“We may not know the price, but what are our options? Let Adrenna keep coming for us, let the beast go after her without backup? That hasn’t worked, and now we are just waiting for the vampires to attack. It’s not good enough; she is the threat to our heirs. We have to get rid of that,” I said forcefully, my words fading into silence as Brax huffed and walked away.

“I’m going to sit with the twins. I’ll agree with whatever plan you need me to, but the witches’ consequences might be more than we’re willing to pay. Last time it was almost Zale’s life, remember that, Spitfire,” he warned before going inside to replace his shadows with the twins. I swallowed his words with a heavy heart and a sinking stone in my stomach.

“So we don’t add him to the pack. We find Adrenna, then we assess. Once we have her locked up, we can see if we can convince the witches and find out what giving them back to each other is going to cost us,” I murmured, not willing to be as headstrong about it as Brax’s reminder hit me where it needed to.

I couldn’t rush into this the way I wanted to; I had to think through things, remind myself that there were consequences. It was hard to do when all I wanted was Adrenna and the threat that came with her, gone. But some prices were too high, and I needed Brax’s pessimism to remind me of that.

I sipped my tea, shivering as it heated me up from the inside, the bite of winter not as harsh in the cover of the gardens and Derik’s body brushing against mine.

“We’ll keep sending out hunting parties; the beast can go with them,” Derik said with finality, and I nodded.

“I’m going too.”

“Little Luna, I will shackle you to the bed before I let that happen,” Kai warned, but I gave him my sweetest smile.

“And I will fight you, win, then go anyway, so how about we just agree that I am going and if you care that much, then you can come too.”

Kai glared, but I saw the smirk he tried to hide.

“I’ll come with you.”

“I’ll stay here,” Derik said.

“I’ll watch over Zale and Enzi,” Brax said in our minds, and Tabby sat there, sipping her tea, grinning.

“It’s a marvelous thing when pieces come together, isn’t it?” She teased with her cryptic messages, and I smiled, understanding she meant us but not much more than that.

“It’d be nice if we didn’t have to though, the witches could just come down and help,” I sighed, but Tabby shrugged.

“They’re on their own schedule and will only come down when they need to, not a minute before. They won’t interfere either, so don’t think they will do anything that will affect this war, only personal things that won’t be construed by the balance,” Tabby eyed me, saying her words carefully.

I knew I was meant to read into them, see something that she was hiding in there, but I didn’t have it yet.

“More tea?” Mom asked as she came out, Galen standing at the edge of the gardens again. He was a faithful stalker; I’d give him that.

I nodded, smiling up at Mom as Tabby gasped, her teacup clinking against the small plate in her shaking grasp. I frowned at her reaction, but her gaze was on Mom.

“It is…not possible,” Tabby murmured, putting her cup and saucer down, standing on a quivering frame. She stepped closer to Mom, who smoothed her dress down, clearing her throat at the attention.

Galen stepped forward, his eyes narrowed on the interaction, the icy air tense.

“Tabitha, I’m Pearl Valarian.” Mom smiled, not showing her intimidation as she offered Tabby her hand. Tabby ignored it, her eyes taking in every inch of my mother before tightening her shawl in her grasp and circling her.

“You are so…human,” she breathed, and Mom chuckled awkwardly. I didn’t even know how to respond; it was weird to say the least, but I wasn’t even sure what it was.

I looked up at Kai, who just smirked and circled his finger at his temple like he was explaining everything by implying Tabby was crazy, and she was, but usually it made sense, or came with some kind of promise toward answers, but this was not that.

I eyed Derik, who shrugged.

“You are a Valarian, that is obvious, but the rest of you? No, that is not,” Tabby said, and I raised a brow as Mom looked between Tabby, me, and Galen, who promptly stepped forward.

“Your opinion is respected, Tabitha, but when it is making my precious Pearl uncomfortable, I’m afraid I must insist on you keeping it to yourself,” Galen said in a polite, passive-aggressive way, but his deep, warning tone had Tabby stepping back.

She gave Galen a respectful nod before looking over Mom again.

“Enzi got a lot from you, Miss Pearl. A lot more than our Lorelai here.” Tabby smiled before sitting back down in her seat and sipping her tea like she hadn’t just made everything weird.

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked, and Tabby shook her head.

“I wouldn’t suspect so. Not if Lorelai is anything to go by.”

“Oh, that means she is going to be trouble but worth every second of it,” Mom said, and I smiled up at her. I was not an easy child, but she made me feel like I could have been the literal devil and she still would have looked at me with those proud eyes.

It made everything different, and I wondered whether my brother would have been who he was if my father had looked at him like that instead of feeding his delusions. Probably not.

Pain pierced my heart, memories of Lucas filling my thoughts. I had trusted him, I had laughed, smiled, hurt with him, and he had betrayed me. It still sat like cold, dark obsidian in my otherwise light heart, and I didn’t think it would ever heal, but it was still hard to remember.

“Oh, of that, I am sure,” Tabby chuckled before emptying her tea and putting her cup down again. “I should take my leave. Ruby won’t be happy if I stay out much later,” she said, and Mom frowned.

“Who is Ruby?”

“My alligator, of course. Cranky bloody thing, but loyal as anything,” Tabby said, leaning on her cane heavily as she began to walk from the gardens.

“I’ll get you to the carriage, Tabby,” Kai said, going to help her, and she put her arm through Kai’s before giving us a wave.

It was a dismissive gesture that had me wondering if we would ever get away with something like that. Tabby was all smiles and warmth most of the time, but I felt the electricity in the air ready to zap anyone who dared cross her—I wasn’t brave enough to test that.

“That’s because she’s terrifying,” Derik whispered once they were out of sight. I laughed, agreeing with him.

“Well, that was the weirdest thing I’ve experienced since I came here, and I have seen a lot since then,” Mom breathed. I nodded.

“Yeah, she’s like that.”

“Any idea what she means?”

“That she doesn’t think Enzi is all human. That she has magic in her blood, and Tabby’s theory was a genetic link. I’m assuming she meant she believed you were that link,” Derik explained in a better way than I could, because I was still processing.

Mom had always been the normal one, the human, the one that did everything she was meant to do as a lady of the village. If she really carried a magic gene in her body, then it was something we had to find out about, in case it affected Enzi.

It hadn’t so far, but Lucas and I had made it to eighteen before we were thrown under the bus by what we were. So, I wasn’t holding out hope for fate and its plans when it came to the twins.

“I’m human, and whatever she sensed, I would prefer if we pretended like it didn’t happen. I like being just a human,” Mom said, frowning as she smoothed her dress down again—it was a nervous habit she’d been doing my whole life.

“You are much more precious than just a human,” Galen said softly, grabbing her hand and kissing the top of it. Such a gentleman, much more refined than my alphas, but I think my mom needed that after the crassness of my father.

No, she deserved it. Mom blushed and pulled her hand away, clearing her throat.

“Shall we get out of this cold then?” she said, heading inside before anyone could argue or agree. Galen disappeared with her, and I stood from the bench seat.

“I need to go explain things to the council,” Derik sighed and stood up.

“I should go tell the beast.”

“Kai can handle the hunting plans with Tatum. I don’t want more than ten wolves gone, and I don’t want you coming back with a single scratch on you. So, as long as Kai agrees to the terms, then you can go.”

“I didn’t realize we were negotiating,” I raised an eyebrow at him.

He smirked. “Then you’re not paying enough attention.”

“Or maybe I’m not making any promises or compromises. I’m going tomorrow, I’m going to find Adrenna, and I am going to make sure she knows who owns her now,” I said, making Derik’s grin widen.

He held my cold face, leaning down to kiss my lips before looking me in the eye with that intensity that held me at his mercy.

I couldn’t look away, I couldn’t feel anything around me, as if his lock on my eyes was a window into his soul where I could read everything he kept hidden. And I was the only one allowed in that particular book.

“And for that to be the case, you will need the special shackles with magic runes that keep her from using her powers. Ones that I happen to have, and you don’t, so…” He let his blackmail run out, and I raised a brow at him, challenging him to finish that sentence. But he smirked, waiting for me to respond.

“And you think you have the willpower to keep them from me?” I teased, and he held me against him, his warm body keeping mine hot too.

“I do. Unless you agree to my terms.”

I laughed. “What kind of terms?”

“You won’t get hurt, not a single scratch, and if there are vamps, you will not engage, you will retreat. Then, I might just let you have the shackles you need to capture her and keep her locked down,” he teased, running his fingers down my face.

He tucked my hair behind my ear as I tightened my grip on him. He had a strong argument, I was enticed, but I was also determined to go without the anchor of a promise. I didn’t want to be bound to any words that might stop me from getting her.

“Hmm, interesting tactic. I’m going to go with no, though.” I smirked, leaning up to capture his lips with mine. He melted into the kiss, keeping me connected with him until we were both breathing hard, our breaths misting.

“And why is that, beautiful?”

“Because I have a Kai. And he will get the shackles from you if I can’t. Not to mention I have it on good authority that you want my fangs in you. I’d be willing to mark you before I left as a promise that I will still be yours no matter what happens, and if I get hurt, I will heal, I will come back to you,” I said, my lips a whisper away from his, my voice soft, my fingers tracing over the lines of his clothes that hid his muscular frame.

Then he was kissing me again, his mouth hot and demanding.

“You should deal with the council from now on, you’re a much stronger negotiator,” he laughed, and I did too.

“I’ll take the beast, thanks though.”

And then we were silent, giving into the moment, passion and pleasure keeping us kissing, warm and creeping up on desperate as Derik’s arms wrapped even tighter around me.

“If she’s marking alphas, I dibs next,” Kai grinned, coming over, his eyes hungry as they raked over me. I looked over my shoulder as Derik put me back on the ground.

“How about I go let the beast know the new plan. D, you can go tell the council what they need to know, and Kai, you can talk to Tatum about the hunting tomorrow. Then we go back to the suite, and whoever gets there first, I bite,” I wagered.

They both grinned—Kai with a lazy, cocky, confident grin, while Derik’s was more refined, hidden in a knowing smirk.

“Jokes on you two, I’m already here, that means I win, right?” Brax interrupted, and I laughed as the other two scowled.

“Fuck off, cheat. You had your turn.” Kai snarled before taking off.

“See you soon, beautiful.” Derik smiled, kissing me one last time before taking off.

Both of them left me there in the cold, dark gardens. I shook my head with a smirk.

~“Guess I’ll keep myself company on the way to the barn, thanks, Alphas,”~ I teased in my head, and they were both silent in my head.

~“Sorry,”~ Derik broke first.

~“I left you with Derik. He left you alone. He should be punished for that.” ~Kai barked out a laugh that I heard from my path to the barns. I grinned and rolled my eyes as I walked. Anetta found me just before I headed into the barn, bumping into me with wiggling brows.

“So, you marked one of them. How was it?” She grinned, and my jaw dropped.

“Uh, how did you know that? I swear to the balance if Brax let out some pack wide thing—”

Anetta laughed heartily before shaking her head.

“No, he didn’t.” She laughed again. “But we all felt it. You marked the alphas, you officially claimed Brax as a wolf—not just a mate—that kind of thing ripples through the pack. We’re all a little high from it.” She grinned, surprising me again.

“Yeah, it was pretty powerful for me too,” I admitted.

“I bet. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had another heat because of it.”

“And if I was to mark Nikolai and Derik tonight as well?” I was scared to know. That had her eyes widening with some kind of excitement. I checked the pack link, sucking in a breath when I felt exactly what she meant.

They were high. A euphoric, lingering powerful feeling that kept them light and happy. I grinned at that, and she nodded knowingly.

“You mark all three of them and the wolves are going to be delirious.”

“But we’re meant to be hunting tomorrow,” I frowned.

She shrugged. “That’s okay, good in fact. They'll be stronger, faster, their senses more refined. And excited, like pups again.” She laughed, not as a dialogue tag but as an action.

“And then it'll start the heat? We can't afford one of those right now, not with the vampires on our doorstep,” I murmured, but she grinned.

“The vamps won't attack during the heat. We might be distracted during that time, but we're savage as hell. If they get in the way of what we want during that time, we'll rip them to shreds as a snack, then feast on them to keep our energy up for other things.” She waggled her brows so I knew exactly what she was talking about, and I laughed with her.

“And it’ll be your first heat as one of us. You’ll feel it as the luna—it’s going to be the best heat yet,” she said, and her excitement infected me, the kind that had me looking forward to something.

It was a foreign feeling after everything that had been going on, but I savored it. I wanted that feeling to soak up the fear and resentment inside me, to take it over like the alphas took over me.

“So what are you doing out here then? I thought you’d be with your mate?” I asked, but she shrugged.

“Derik called the council for a meeting. I was bored, so I came to find you.”

“Oh. I’m heading to the barns to see the beast,” I said.

She nodded. “When I sensed you out here, I figured. Want some company?”

“You want to see the beast? Most of the wolves are pissed to get put on babysitting duty,” I laughed as we kept walking, arm in arm, down the cobblestone path. Our way was lit by torches, the smell of the herb gardens filling my senses as we did.

“I’m not scared of it like they are. They think it will attack them, but that’s because they don’t listen. If you really focus on his roars, on his howls, you can hear the whine. It’s like a mating call for our kind, and his is distorted, like everything else about him.

“Truthfully, I think he’s just in pain—of all kinds. Physically, he looks awful; it can’t be comfortable to be half turned and stuck there. Then emotionally, he has our savagery, our craving for bloodshed, but for a single person? One he can never catch and one he hates to need? Excruciating.”

“So you pity him?” I asked, and she thought about my question before nodding.

“I suppose so, yes.”

“Then let's go see if we can put him out of his misery.” I smiled, and she nodded. We were a few steps closer to the barns I could see at the end of the path when a howl ripped through the air. I spun to the sound as Anetta growled and released a howl of her own that pierced my ears.

I fell into the pack link as it called to every one of us to find out what was going on, sucking in a breath when the volatile smell hit my nose.

Vampires.

I snarled and checked everywhere, my eyes piercing every shadow, every movement for what shouldn’t be there.

~“They’re getting close, on the eastern border,”~ Tatum snarled in the link, already shifted and barking orders at the pack.

~“There’s more on the south, near the lake.”~

~“It’s mutual territory—do not attack outside the city. If they breach the walls, kill them,”~ Derik snapped, turned into his wolf form with the rest of the council, joining the border patrol.

~“I have the luna. We’ll be in the barn with the beast,”~ Anetta said, and I nodded, running toward the barn.

The vampires might not breach the city, but if they did, I’d bet they’d make a play for our beast. He was our wild card, the thing we had that they didn’t, and I wouldn’t want them to have it if it was me.

~“They’re hovering on the outskirts of the city. They’ve stopped moving.”~

~“There’s more in the north,”~ another pack member said, and my heart raced as we burst into the barn. The beast was alert, growling and snarling.

~“Vampires are surrounding the city,”~ I explained, and it growled, inching toward the door, sniffing the air.

~“They’re not attacking,”~ Tatum said, and I waited for more information.

~“And the humans?”~ I asked.

~“Securing themselves in their huts with our toxin as planned,”~ Galen said, ~“Your mother is in the mansion with the twins and Braxton,”~ he added, hearing my next question before I had to ask.

~“And the vampires are surrounding the city but not attacking?”~ I clarified.

~“They’re being evasive. We’re chasing them, trying to get them to make a move, but they’re on the defensive,”~ Kai said, and I checked in on him.

He was running, the forest dark around him, the shadows seeming to move unnaturally. I could sense them in his peripheral. He was running with Tatum and their attack team, chasing vamps, but there were a lot of them.

~“We should pull back. See what move they make,”~ I murmured.

~“I thought you wanted us to attack?”~

~“Yeah, on our terms, not theirs. I don’t like this. It feels like a trap,”~ I murmured, and my shadows agreed. My magic burned in my palms, and I kept with Kai.

“Pull back, Nikolai,” Brax said forcefully, and I knew he felt it too—either in his shadows or the twins. Whatever it was, Kai was smart enough to recognize the warning and pulled the team he was with back.

They inched back, drawing into the city, and the vampires crowded the city wall. Anetta was listening too, as the beast grew impatient, snarling.

“We can’t add you to the pack. Not if we want to give you back your humanity, which is what I’m going to do. Then I’m going to offer Adrenna hers. So if you can control yourself at all, don’t kill her; just catch her. And until then, do you want to come kill some vampires with me?” I asked, and the beast’s grin grew in a creepy way. It couldn’t help it, though; its whole face was creepy, and I knew what it wanted.

I grinned and nodded out the door. “Let’s go then.”

Anetta grabbed my arm. “Wait, the alphas didn’t okay this. You should stay out of harm’s way.” She was trying to persuade me, but I shook my head.

“I’ll convince them to forgive me later. Are you coming?” I asked, and she rolled her eyes before nodding.

“You’re going to get me in trouble,” she huffed before heading out of the barn with me, the beast following.

“It’ll be worth it to kill the vamps before they can hurt us,” I said, and she shrugged.

“Unless they hurt you, then the alphas will kill me for not keeping you safe.”

I ignored her comment, not sure whether it was true or not, but determined enough not to get caught by the vamps to worry. We went along the path, but the night was covered in the scent of vampires. There were enough to circle the city; that was obvious, but what were they doing? Why were they waiting?

“They’re moving in! On the north side!” one of the wolves called, howling as they defended the wall from the vampires that climbed it. The north team of wolves fought with vampires, the growling and crunching echoing through the city. I shivered and started running to help when another howl broke through.

“The group in the south are coming over the wall!”

“They’re checking our defenses, checking for weaknesses in our border patrol,” I said in realization as another howl came and more vampires attacked at the west wall.

“They’re not going to find any.” Kai grinned as he charged the vampires coming over the wall near him. I ran to him, the gate remaining closed and untouched as vampires climbed the wall and broke into the city, meeting some very hungry wolves.

They gnashed and fought the vamps with teeth and claws, the rush of the fight filling the pack as I fed them magic. I let them pull it from me with no resistance, so their wolves were strong enough to fight the vamps— who were pristine. Like porcelain, pale and translucent, their skin flawlessly white, their eyes beady, their frames lithe and quick. But it was their fangs that had my attention. They were long and snapping at the skin of my wolves, trying to get that poison of their bite into my pack. I couldn’t let that happen.

I ran with Anetta at my side and the beast at my back, shoving a line of vampires back from Kai and his team with a blast of magic that threw them into the concrete wall. It shuddered on impact as the vampires were stunned.

“Thanks, Little Luna, now go back to the barn,” Kai said in the link, grabbing a vamp between his teeth and ripping it to shreds before it could come out of its stupor. I shook my head, and my shadows fell out of me, wrapping around more vampires, squeezing the life from them.

“No,” I said, not bothering to explain myself because if I asked him to sit out, then he wouldn’t either.

Before he could answer, there was an ear-splitting cry, a scream that had chills racing through my blood. My skin prickled, and I turned to the noise. It was a vampire, a stunning one with dangerously red eyes staring at Kai like she wanted to eat him. She probably did.

Kai grinned at her, his snout covered in the blood of the vamp she looked ready to avenge. Her body was covered in a black dress, tight and long with bare feet and talons for fingernails. She looked scary, but Kai was even more so. He was licking his chops, baiting her, and I wasn’t ready to see her go for him with that look in her eyes.

So I took her out, my magic and shadow entwining in tendrils that went through her. She sucked in a breath, releasing another scream, and I smirked at her as her eyes found me. Then I twisted my magic and shadows inside her before breaking her apart. Kai came over then—in the middle of the carnage of vampires and werewolves with a beast there too—and licked up my face. I laughed and petted him.

“That was my kill, Little Luna. Any other wolf and I might’ve killed you for it.”

“Gotta be quicker than that, Alpha,” I teased, and he shook his head. “Zale and Enzi feel it. Their shadows are getting pretty angry,” Brax interrupted, his voice rough, and I knew it was because the fight was in his blood too. But our twins were a part of us, and they probably felt that too.

I smirked and looked around. The beast was smashing through vampires, the wolves were fighting, Derik was fighting with the council on the opposite side of the wall, and they had almost torn through every vampire. And I wanted to see what my heirs could do.

“Let their shadows go, Brax. Let’s see why Beenie said they were the key,” I whispered, and Brax hesitated, Kai and Derik going tensely silent in the link.

“You sure?”

~“Yeah, let their shadows go where they need to, then follow them with yours. If they go where they’re not meant to, tug them back, and I’ll help,”~ I said in the link, and he let go of his hesitancy.

“Here goes nothing then,” he breathed, then released his hold on their shadows. I felt it as soon as he did.

Their shadows burst from the room, making their way down the stairs, moving quickly through the city. And killing every vampire they touched. Each one dropped, one after the other, as the wolves watched, their awe soaking the link, and I had to admit, I was feeling the same. It was beautiful, the protective instinct in their shadows so clear in their direction. It was so damn powerful. Both of their shadows intertwined into a smoke that only Brax and I could see, but if the others could see, they’d know just how amazing it was. The shadows glowed, like some dark, foreboding thing that I couldn’t turn away from.

It put every single threat down before stopping in front of the beast. It grunted at the shadows before sitting on its haunches. The shadows slid over the beast, and I tensed, thinking they were going to kill him too, but they didn’t. They petted him, covered him like a hug, and I grinned. They seemed to recognize each other, and I knew the beast had been locked in their world, but it was still different to see the interaction between shadows and beast. Especially when those shadows belonged to my children.

“Beenie was right,” I whispered, and Kai rolled his eyes.

“Don’t tell her that. Her ego is big enough.”

“I heard that,” Beenie interrupted, and I laughed; of course, she did. I met the twins’ shadows with my own and soothed them before they retreated back.

“They’re going to be powerful alphas.” Tatum blew out a breath as he came over; he’s back in human form with pants on. I nodded.

“They already are.”

“Good, because those vampires broke in for a reason, and I don’t think it was to test our defenses.”

I turned to him and frowned. “What do you think it was then?”

“To see how we would react, learn what formations we would come at them with. Information is power, and no one knows that better than Silas. He’s testing us, and we just showed him every card in our deck,” Tatum admitted. I swallowed hard at that because I knew he was right.

We had won the battle, but we had just given Silas exactly what he wanted.