Annabelle's POV
"You're a fucking disgrace, Annabelle." He sneered, his face close to mine. "What did I do to deserve you?"
I was sobbing, my knees hugged close to my chest. "I'm sorry daddy."
"Sorry isn't fucking good enough!" He howled, suddenly beginning to change. Fur grew from his skin and his bones began popping and realigning themselves. I screamed and tried to get away from the wolf in front of me.
I scrambled to my feet and tried to get away. I barely took two steps before he got me. His claws slashed at my face. I was screaming now, struggling against him. He was ripping at my skin with his claws and teeth. I was lying in my own blood now.
"Please! Just let me go!" I wailed, crawling away, leaving a trail of blood behind me. Just let me die.
"Annabelle! Wake up!" Noah was yelling and shaking my shoulders. I blindly opened by eyes and panicked, trying to get out of his reach. "Hey! Calm down."
I burst into tears, holding my head in my hands and trying to breathe. He hugged me close and rocked us backwards and forwards trying to calm me down.
"I hate him! Look what he fucking did to me!" I shrieked, looking at my scarred body with distaste. I hated the scars. I hated the man who gave them to me. I had never felt an emotion this strong before. Not even when I felt the mating bond. I wanted to rip him to shreds.
Noah didn't say anything, just hugged me. For a moment I let him do it, then remembered what had happened yesterday. I moved out of his grasp and sat on the edge of the bed, my eyebrow raised. He stared guiltily down at the floor.
"I made pancakes?" He informed me. I rolled my eyes.
"You always think you can give me pancakes and everything will be better. Well it isn't. You can't attack people like that, especially Alphas. Plus, out of all the Alphas you chose to pick a fight with, you had to chose him! Alpha freaking Marcus." My voice got louder and louder, the stress of last night and the dream getting to me.
"This is why I don't want you to leave! He's not good like you are, Belle." Noah said, taking my hands in his. "Please, just stay here."
"It's not like I'm never going to see you again. Taylor gets here in two days, and I really don't want to watch you suck face all day." I complained, shoving his shoulder. He grinned for a second, then was serious.
"I can't, Belle. I can't let you go. What happens if something happens and I'm not there to protect you? You almost died last time!" A single tear fell from his eye and down his cheek. I felt my face soften. I've only seen my brother cry twice. Once when he found me after the attack, and once when I woke up in the hospital.
This time it was my turn to hug him. I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. We stayed like that for a moment, then I pulled away and messed up his hair. That was when I realized what he was wearing. Or, what he wasn't wearing. He wore a pair of boxers and a serious bed head. I laughed, flicking his chest.
"Go and put some clothes on, weirdo. We need to leave in about an hour." He held his hands up and I hustled him out the room.
I was stood in my underwear about fifteen minutes later, staring at my reflection. The glass was covered in a fine layer of steam, which blurred my imperfect body slightly. A hot tear rolled down my cheek and through the three cracks in my face. My dull brown eyes scanned my body, seeing if any of my scars had faded. My thighs and calves had long, chaotic scars from his paws. He had bitten down once on my waist, creating a curved row of bite marks on my stomach and back. He had ripped up my arms in his mouth, before Noah had found us.
Stop thinking about this. My wolf whimpered. You should be happy. You've just found your mate and-
"You really think he even cares about us? Maybe I'm just being naive." I whispered back. I suddenly shook my head and left the bathroom. "You're right. I shouldn't be thinking like this. I need to think about Marcus, and what it's going to be like being a Luna."
Then the next problem hit me like a train. What the hell was I going to wear? Did I want my new pack to see my scars? They've already seen the ones on my face, but I wore jeans and a jumper yesterday so they haven't seen the others. Cody, Cece and Marcus might have seen my legs yesterday but they were distracted and not paying attention.
I finally decided I didn't care. If I was going to be part of their pack they were going to see them soon enough. We started training in a couple of days, so I would be wearing shorts then. Might as well get it over and done with.
I wore a white skirt that fell to about the middle of my thighs with flower pattens. I put a white knitted jumper on, and tucked the front in slightly. I finished it off with a pair of brown ankle boots and an owl necklace.
I dried my hair, which as usual, fell straight and down to my waist. I sighed and left the room, not bothering with make up. What was the point? It didn't hide the scars.
By the time I'd finished breakfast though, I was ready to go and change. The thought of them seeing the scars on my legs made me nervous. When I told Noah, he just rolled his eyes and told me I looked fine. That was a great confidence boost. Not.
Marcus's POV
"So, as you probably know, I found my mate yesterday. Her and her brother will be joining our pack later today, and will begin training tomorrow. Does anyone object?" I knew no one would. My eyes dared anyone to say anything, which they didn't. I nodded to my Beta, Cody, who left with me. He was a few years younger than me, but I knew I could trust him.
Alpha, Noah and Annabelle are here. Cody informed me through the mind link.
I smelt her before I saw her. She smelt fresh, like a bunch of flowers, or a crisp winter morning. Then I did see her. She looked beautiful, but I was suddenly hit with the realization of how young she was. Only seventeen. I had turned twenty three in the summer. She was talking to Noah in a quiet voice, looking around nervously. I felt a bubble of anger when I saw him, but quickly contained it. Her hands were clasped around his arm, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was distracted by her legs. Her creamy skin was covered in slash marks where claws and teeth had ripped up her legs. I took a deep breath, trying not to smash the next thing I saw.
"Alpha Marcus." Noah said, as soon as he saw me. He was looking at the floor, but I could tell he didn't want to. I noticed Annabelle's hold on his arm tightened, her eyes glaring at the side of his head, daring him to do something stupid. She then moved her gaze to me. I watched as she looked me slowly up and down, blushing slightly. I had to admit, I was having a hard time not doing the same to her.
"Come up to my office and we'll talk." I said, gesturing down the hallway. Noah nodded and started walking. Annabelle didn't move for a moment, just held my gaze. Her breathing picked up, and I could feel mine do the same. Her eyes were even prettier up close. The brown was a rich, earthy colour with gold specks. I noticed suddenly, that there was some green in there too.
Mark her. She's ours! MARK HER! My wolf was screaming. My body was shaking, trying to resist the urge. She quickly looked down and started to follow her brother. My wolf was going crazy, so I placed my hand on the curve of her back and led her to the office. My wolf howled with joy when she didn't move away and actually lent into my hand.
I opened the door for them, and watched as they sat down in unison. I sat in my chair, running my fingers through my hair and wondering where to begin. I glanced up and saw Annabelle watching me intently. When she noticed me staring, she dropped her gaze, something I'd noticed she did a lot.
"Since Annabelle is my mate, she automatically becomes one of the pack. I am willing to forget what happened yesterday and ask you to join us too, Noah. You would make a good addition to our warriors. However, I will only let you join, if Annabelle lives with me." The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them, but I kept the stern expression on my face. They wore identical expressions, which would have been almost comical at another time.
"No way! I am not letting my little sister live with a guy six years older than her!" Noah growled, leaning forward. I smiled, but it was a cold one.
"You don't really get a choice. Annabelle stays, one way or another. If you wish to be with her, then you'll agree to my terms." We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us willing to back down. There was a tense silence before Annabelle spoke.
"I'll stay." Her voice was quiet, but it was steady. Noah stared down at her and she stared back at him. They were having a silent conversation, probably remembering one they'd had before.
"I'll be fine, I promise. It's different now. Marcus will be there, if anything happens, he'll protect me." She stopped talking, looking at him expectantly. I was glad they weren't paying attention to me, as a shiver ran through my body when she said my name.
Noah rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that makes me feel so much better." I couldn't help the growl that escaped my lips. I had too much Alpha blood in me to let someone disrespect me like that.
"Please. Please, Noah. Taylor will be here in a few days and it's not fair you get to stay with your mate and I don't." She said, tugging on his shirt in annoyance. I frowned.
"This Taylor. She's your mate?" I asked, wondering why he hadn't brought it up before. She would need to join our pack too.
"She is, but she's human." He muttered absentmindedly, still glaring at Annabelle. It was uncommon for werewolves to have human mates, but not impossible. I could see him weighing up the options. I knew he wanted to stay with Annabelle, but didn't want her to stay with me. I knew he was just being a good brother, but it made my wolf growl like a caged beast.
"Please, Noah. It's different now. We don't have to be rouges anymore, and I'll still see you everyday. It's not like you can't see me again." Her voice was calm, but I could sense an under tone of annoyance. "You were even younger than me when you found Taylor. Why is it OK for you to be with your mate and not me?"
"Because she's not six years older than me!" He yelled, looking more and more annoyed. Annabelle frowned, and it made me want to smooth the crinkle out with a kiss. "I thought you hated Alphas anyway since-"
"Don't you dare." Her voice was deadly calm. Noah's mouth suddenly dropped.
"Belle I'm sor-" He started, but she ignored him and turned her attention to me.
"I'll bring my stuff tonight after we do the ceremony." She then stood up, gave me a little smile and left. The office door slammed shut and there was a tense stillness for a moment before I decided to break it.
"Why would she hate Alphas?" I asked, my voice demanding an answer. My wolf was worried. What if she didn't want us?
"She'll tell you in her own time." his voice was strained. He stood up and held out his hand. "Thank you for accepting us."
I stood up as well, and shook his hand. Before I could say another word, he was out the door and calling for Annabelle. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair again.
Yes! Our mate is moving in wth us! My wolf yipped excitedly. I huffed, annoyed at his antics. I was tired, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, with my mate in my arms.