Moon Marked

2| Mark of Torment

Adriel

The moon was taunting me, its light guiding me to the fate I had tried to ignore. It shone brighter than it had most nights, brighter than the nights I had spent as a child curled up in a cage, begging it for mercy from the monster that I would become.

In my dreams she was my salvation and I had spent years trying to become worthy of her, but as my father still lived I knew that I couldn't bring her home with me.

Days turned into months. Months turned into years.

The witches didn't favour me, I knew that much—they hated that I had my father's blood in my bones, that I was a constant reminder of the mistake that had been made as they mourned the loss of my mother who had been gifted to him as his mate.

But the months turned into years again, and I was finally here.

The moon was obvious in her temperament tonight as I drove towards the sanctuary where my moon fated mate was residing. There was a type of fury in the air that twisted around me, circling my lungs and twining with the beat of my heart—reminding me just how lethal the magic that flowed in my veins could become. Tonight, the witches that had bestowed all Alphas with their gifts were angry that they had to relinquish one of their favoured women to me, and at the same time—they were irritated that I had waited so long.

My car slowed to a stop as I finally reached the meeting point, my body filled with impatience as I pulled the key from the ignition.

Years, it had taken.

So much time wasted and so much time lost.

But now I was here, ready to claim what was rightfully mine.

I took a deep breath before I got out of my car, stretching out the pains of the eighteen-hour drive.

The air was humid as I took in my surroundings, the sanctuary standing in the distance shrouded in deep forestry, but right now I was standing in a huge clearing enclosed by wrought iron gates.

Alphas were only invited here with the sole purpose of finding the other half of their souls, it was a one-time opportunity to witness the divine blessings that had been bestowed on this earth. It also happened to be the home of the witches in this world, and a passageway to the land of magic known beyond what we could conjure up.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I took in its power, my body tensing with the familiar sensation of being watched.

I was standing on sacred ground that had been untouched by the severity of the human condition. It was pure in its essence and primal in its truth—and I felt like I had a target on my back.

My senses were heightened as I turned in the empty space, scanning the trees for a threat. My wolf was on its hunches, ready to tear through my skin—until my eyes settled on the moon again. The light of it was shining like a beacon in the far distance and I followed its line of sight easily, my heart jolting in surprise at the suddenness of its findings.

The woman was miles away, leaning over the edge of a canopy roof watching me with a fierce curiosity. I was stuck in her stare, the blue in her eyes glinting with the light that had found a home within her. For a moment my wolf withdrew its claws, simpering with its restlessness as he preened up at her.

Fuck.

I had only been here a moment, and my control was already slipping—the violence in my blood singing with its need to sink its teeth into something.

And there she was, the most beautiful she-wolf I had ever laid my eyes on.

She had a pleasant looking face, but I knew that the shadows of the night were obstructing me from taking in her true beauty. The ethereal disposition she embodied, and the sheen of her skin glittering with such soothing softness as it flared like ice through my bloodstream. The rest of her features were trickier to discern from this distance, and yet—I knew with certainty that she was as wild with the need to take me in as I was with her.