MARKED

OUTNUMBERED

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Tamara says as she comes back out to join me on the sofa. "I can smell the marked on her. Why go through the trouble of marking her if you're just going to push her away?"

Meeting her gaze with a cold gaze of my own, I tell her, "I brought you here to help me figure out who is abducting female alphas. Something tells me its tied to Kiara, and if I can stop it from happening, I might be able to save her life."

"Ah." She nods. A smirk spreading across her face. "So that's what that was all about. You like her. And even though you've marked her, you're afraid to complete the bonding and claim her, because you're afraid to lose her. Which is also why you pushed her away tonight. If I would've known you were this chivalric, I might not have let you go."

Undressing me with her eyes, she climbs onto my lap, and I stiffen beneath her. Meanwhile, my brothers look on in shock.

"Get off." I tell her.

"You called me over... remember. And we both know why."

Tamara rocks her hips into mine, and surprisingly... I feel nothing. Gripping her by the hips, I lift her off of me and toss her back into her seat.

"I didn't bring you here for that. Besides, what we had was a long time ago. If Kiara isn't enough of an indication, let me be frank with you and tell you, I've moved on." I shut down any lingering thoughts that may be swirling around in her head about us.

"She means that much to you?"

"Yes... she does."

Ignoring her, I sift through the stack of books my ancestors have been documenting in since the beginning of time. Hoping something in one of these book will help me find a connection to Kiara and whoever her parents might be. Tamara and I search all night, but we both come up empty. However, I refuse to give up that easily. So, I approach the only person other than Kiara I can get answers from.

Tarik.

Only, the smug look on his face makes me regret ever coming to him.

"Never thought you'd be the one to come see me first. Or are you still keeping my sister away from me?"

"You knew she wasn't your sister growing up." I studying him closely.

"Blood or not, she will always be my baby sister."

"Where did she come from? You're old enough to remember, so don't tell me you don't know."

"All I remember is an old woman handing her over to my parents for safekeeping. My mother had been pregnant, and she recently lost a baby girl. But she hadn't gotten around to telling anyone yet. And I don't know how this old woman knew, but she did. She offered Kiara as a replacement for the daughter she lost, and my mother instantly fell in love with her. But as Kiara grew up, we started to notice how much faster, stronger, and intelligent she was. Only... so did everyone else. That's when the old woman returned, unannounced, offering to bind Kiara's wolf to the moon. Hence why she can't shift." Tarik explains.

"Why?" I frown.

It all sounds so far-fetched.

"Don't know and my mother didn't ask. She was just happy there was a solution to the growing problem that Kiara was at the time. She couldn't be controlled. Not by my mother, not by my father, and not by anyone. And she often got into fights with other wolves... alphas... males. And she won each time." He continued. "That didn't sit very well with the other packs and soon people started asking questions. So, when the old woman offered to tame her wolf, she agreed."