Love Leaves Its Mark

Chapter 4

This is kind of a Halloween present.. even though you don't give presents unless you count candy as a present.... Anyway, Happy Halloween. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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"Avery, get ready! The Bennett's will be here soon!"

"Okay Mom, I heard you!" All she's been talking about all day was the Bennet's. "You should be on your best behavior when they come over", "Don't pick a fight with Ryder when he's here", blah, blah, blah. 

I'll just take a quick shower and change. My mom told me to dress "nicely". I'm just going to wear some dark wash jeans, a blue t-shirt and my favorite clack hoodie. If my mom doesn't like it, she can send me to my room which, I must admit, would be a pretty good thing. 

I let my clothes drop to the ground and step inside the shower. I wish I could stand here all night, the scorching hot water running down my back. It may sound weird, but it's one of the few places I can really think. I don't have to worry about anything; it's just myself, my mind allowed to be free of everything else and all the problems in my life. Now as I wash my body, I can't help but feel angry and sad at the same time. I have scars covering my entire back and stomach, some small ones even on my arms and legs, but they're not very noticeable. I still can't believe this happened to me. I hate the person who did it and I will never forgive them, not even for a second. 

Enough feeling like this, I get out of the shower and quickly put a towel on and walk back into my room. I have ensuite bathroom, pretty cool, I think. Hunter is still a liitle bitter because I got the cool room and he still has to use the bathroom in the hall, but he's a guy, I'm a girl. He needs to suck it up.

"Avery, are you almost done? They're here," Hunter says outside my door.

"Yeah, I'm just changing, I'll be right down."

Pants, check. Hair, check- I just put it in a clip. I just need my shirt and hoodie. Just as I'm pulling my shirt on, I notice a something on my left wrist. At first I think it's just my mark. Basically all werewolves are born with a weird, tattoo like mark on their right wrist. It's unique to every individual. It's actually pretty cool if you ask me. But what I originally thought- what I was hoping for- was wrong. It isn't my right wrist, but it is a mark. A mark on my left wrist. No, no, no, no, no. This cannot be happening. The only reason I would have a second mark is if I found my mate and we had skin to skin contact. Now this wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if it was on my shoulder. That's where all marks go... if your mate is a regular werewolf. The only kind of werewolf that would cause a mate's mark to be on their left wrist is... an alpha. That's right, Ryder is my mate. My life is officially ruined.

I just won't tell him. Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll keep it to myself and stay far away from him and maybe he won't find out . You see, females figure out who there mate is after they get their mates mark. But for males, it's a little different. They only realize, traditionally after the femal tells them- but on the off chance the female doesn't tell them, they would start to feel a pull towards their mate. This would only happen if they spend a lot of time together. And one thing which I think is pretty stupid is the whole, you feel sparks whenever you touch your mate thing. That is most definitely not true. I mean really, we're not electrically charged wires or something- we're werewolves.

Step one, stay away from Ryder. I don't care if I have to jump in bushes and hide in closets, even at school. I won't allow the chance of him feeling our bond. Step two, wear long sleeves at all times. I can't afford to have anyone see it, obviously not Ryder, but I have to hide it from my family and even my friends. No one can know about this. I don't even want to think about what would happen if my mom found out about this. 

Now, all that's left to do is get through the night. It can't be that hard right.

I have to remind myself to breathe in and out as I walk down the stairs.

"Hello Avery, it's a pleasure to see you again." Yeah it's not as if I live across from you, oh wait. Stop it Avery, you're supposed to be on your best behavior.

"The pleasure is all mine, Alpha Bennett."

"Why don't you, Ryder, and Russell catch up in the living room. Us grown ups have some business to attend to." Can this get any worse? At least Russell will be here. I just have to stay as far away from Ryder as possible.

I walk into the living room and sit in the individual chair just incase Ryder decided to sit down next to me. 

"How have you been Avery?" Ryder asked a little less than sincerely.

"Fine," I answered without looking at him.

"Why aren't you looking at me?"

"Maybe I would if I had something to look at." I hear a snort to the left of me and realize it's Russell. My lips curl up a bit at that. 

"I'm sure that's not what you were thinking earlier when you couldn't take your eyes off me." My head snaps up at that. Big mistake. I guess I was wrong, This is going to be much harder than I thought.

"You have no idea what I think."

"You're right, I probably don't,  but I got you to look at me." A smirk planted on his face. Sometimes I wonder if that's the only facial expression he can make. But I have to admit it's really hot and his big green eyes make my heart melt like... No! I can't keep thinking things like this. This isn't what I want. Ryder is a self centered jerk, but he's also my mate. I have to stay strong and stop looking at him and thinking about him. I can't have him as a mate, I just can't.

"Whatever," is my brilliant response. I can't what for this hellhole of a night to be over.