Chapter 42

A

pulse throbbed in my neck and my teeth clenched.

Nicholas parked the car in front of the house before stepping outside. It was past midnight, many hours since I left. His mother was going to be enraged. I smiled at the thought of that and followed him in.

My arms tightened around my coat as I entered. It had been chilling outside, I couldn't even imagine how the other people in the woods could spend the whole night hunting each other.

I couldn't.

"Go up. I'll see you in a bit." Nicholas turned to me and whispered while covering my body with his large frame.

A moment later I heard footsteps of his mother as we arrived into the house. He knew it before I did. There were some better perks of being a werewolf, specifically an alpha. I nodded and took the stairs. My breath stalled as I heard his mother's heels clicking the crippling silence in the house.

"I expected for you to return earlier, Nicholas." She said, her voice low, but it still reached my ears.

I slowed on my steps, wanting to listen her, wanting to hear her fury after all she had done with me. A smile played on my lips.

"I was occupied."

"With? Her?" Her voice was laced with anger and frustration, I could hear it well.

I stepped up on the second floor of the house and stopped. Their voices faded as they disappeared into another room rather than staying in the foyer. I went to my room and my muscles strained as I removed my coat and tossed it over to the side. It was dirty, with mud and so was I.

My hand flattened over the mark on my neck and I glanced at myself in the mirror, wanting to see the reflection on it. It was still there, obvious, a small fresh wound and a stark reminder of what had happened earlier. My heart throbbed as I recalled the intensity of it all.

I didn't believe Nicholas would mark me.

But he did.

It changed my view entirely.

Water ran down my sore and stiff muscles. I washed my body, cleaning most of me, but every time the hot water touched the bite, it stung and burned. I wasn't sure if I felt any different, or if there was something that was supposed to happen after the marking.

Steam collected around me and then flooded out of the room upon the opening of the door. I turned, finding Nicholas on the doorway, a blank expression over his face till his eyes fell over me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and said, "I wouldn't have gone until your mother told me to go. She was very persistent."

"I'm aware of that now," He stepped in, still watching me. "But don't let it happen again. I don't want people seeing you, neither I want you roaming between unmated wolves."

I lifted my head and moved away from the shower head for a moment. The water continued to dribble down my bare back and my hair. My muscles became warm.

"I won't." I whispered, shaking my head while knowing well I was going to do something else again. The excitement and the thrill of being wanted by someone was something I had never felt, and now when I finally felt it, I wanted to keep the feeling intact.

A violent shiver ran down my spine as he closed the distance between us. His cold hand wrapped around my throat softly, his thumb brushing over the mark while his eyes flickered all over me, glowering with something more. Water dripped, but barely touched him. His grip tightened slightly, and I couldn't help but feel drawn to him.

"You belong to me now," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Don't forget that, devil. Everything that you are is mine to control, to do with as I please. Your body, your mind, your soul—they all belong to me."

I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. I was in dangerous territory with him, but I couldn't help but crave more. The power he held over me was intoxicating, and I wanted to give myself over to him completely.

He leaned in closer, his lips brushing against my ear while tendrils of his hair became wet with the dripping water. "And if you disobey me again, you'll regret it, truly."

I shuddered at the promise in his voice. He pulled away and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Come to my room after you're done." It sounded like more than just an order.

My eyes trailed him as he left the room. I finally took a few quick breaths and cleaned myself off before stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around me. My insides ached and throbbed as I dried myself up and wore something for the night. It was the first time I had felt this, all these emotions and I wanted more there was to this.

I had spent most of my life in misery, running from one place to another after the death of my mother, the only woman that ever cared for me. For years, I didn't belong anywhere and I feared returning back to it, to the sense of nothingness and void. The mark promised me otherwise.

But for how long?

I opened the door of Nicholas' bedroom and looked inside before walking in. From the sound of it, it appeared he was in the shower, rinsing himself off after what we had done. I sat down on the bed and moments later, I was lying on it.

It took me a few more minutes before I dozed into a careless sleep.

Nicholas was asleep when I woke up parched early in the morning. My head twisted around and I saw the sunlight seeping in from the sides of the black out curtains. Rubbing my forehead, I sat up straight and look for some water to drink, but there wasn't any, not in the room.

I removed the sheets over my body and glanced over Nicholas once more.

His back was turned on me as he was asleep on his face. The marks on his back were prominent, even in the darkness. I traced my fingers over it, wondering how he had gotten them. They were inches deep on his skin, but healed which meant he didn't get them any time recently.

I traced one down his lower back and then moved my hand away. My heart clenched tight with raw emotion. What happened? I continued to wander for several minutes until my thirst reminded me that I needed to find some water.

I rose up from the bed and fairly-dry hair behind my shoulders before quietly stepping out of the room without making any noise. I didn't want to disturb. This was first time I had seen Nicholas sleeping.

Without a thought in my mind, I headed down the stairs and entered the kitchen where I found one of the morning maids. She hurried out when I came into the kitchen. I filled my glass with water before taking a long sip of it. The glass slammed against the counter and I breathed heavily before turning around to leave.

Just then I found Nicholas' mother standing at the doorway with the morning maid behind her. She folded her hands over her chest and walked in.

Sensing the tension and anger over her face, I could tell why she was here. "I didn't do anything wrong. I went, just like you wanted me to. It's not my fault that Nicholas chased me in the woods while you were waiting for him, here." I didn't want to smile, but I still did.

She neared me, her gaze threatening. "Do you really think a runt like you can possibly play me?" She asked.

"I already did, didn't I?"

As much as I wanted to gloat and tell her about her son marking me, I couldn't. Nicholas didn't want anyone to know that he had marked me and I had to respect that. I was in his territory, between his people, in his pack and he handled things differently. I couldn't interrupt his way of sharing such crucial information with his pack, and even his family.

After all, a man could only mark one woman in his lifetime.

Never another.

"Who do you think you are?" She spat out. "You come into my house, and you try to take my son away from me while you're nothing but a whore, a pity case for Nicholas. And if you don't know, he has had several of those coming in here and leaving without their dignity. You're just another one of them."

I didn't let her words affect me. They reeked of jealousy.

"I wouldn't still be here if I was pity case," A smile fell over my mouth and stretched. "I don't want to hurt anyone, and I'm not here to fight with you either. Nicholas wants me here, that's why I'm here. If he lets me go, I will go." I pressured on if, it wasn't happening anytime soon.

A gasp fled my throat as her hand came wrapping around my elbow. She pulled me toward and I hissed as her claws dug tore through my flesh. She didn't stop.

"You're hurting me." I choked out while trying to pull away from her, but her hold on me was stern, just like her son's.

"Remember your position here. It's nothing more than a whore's." She dropped my arm and I stumbled backward, nearly hitting my back over the counter.

At the same time, my hair moved, falling backwards and my neck became exposed, only for a split second, but it was enough for her to catch a glance of the mark her son had given me.

Then, her eyes turned red.

She stared at the mark on my neck, her face contorting with rage. "What is this?" She demanded, her voice trembling with fury. "He would never!"

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