I pressed my hands against my heated cheeks, while making my way down the hallway. More than anything else right now I wanted to forget the spectacle I had made of myself inside the dining room. How could I have assumed that Jared tattooed me, and that in front of another Alpha?
Just then I walked past the open door of Jared's bedroom and stopped. I glanced from the still closed door of my bedroom to Jared's bedroom and then up and down the hallway. Not a single living soul was in sight, so I moved.
Instead of heading forward to my room, I snuck into Jared's room. Once there, I headed to the big wardrobe next to the full-length mirror. I was sure that since I was Jared's mate, he wouldn't mind me borrowing one of his shirts. I, after all, had nothing clean of my own to wear because all of my clothes had been torn to pieces.
Despite the hint of curiosity, I forced myself to resist the temptation of going through his belongings. Instead, I grabbed a simple gray T-shirt from the top of the pile. A scent of lemon laundry detergent still hung around the fabric while I pulled it over my head, which assured me that the shirt was clean.
Then without taking a peek at anything else his wardrobe might have been hiding, I closed its door and made my way to my bedroom. Instead of a still sleeping Aiko like I expected, I found her pacing up and down the length of the room.
"Morning, Ai. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing for you to worry about." She waved my words away and continued to measure the length of the room with her steps.
I remained nailed to my spot, while watching her pacing. Something was definitely bothering her. Before I could open my mouth, however, an evil itch tingled my neck. Without even realizing what I was doing, I slid the collar of Jared's shirt off my right shoulder and scratched my neck.
The briefest contact of my nails with my skin stopped the irksome sensation, so I turned back around to face my sister. The moment our eyes met, however, I finally remembered that the crook of my neck wasn't an empty patch of skin anymore.
Aiko's eyes were wide open as they moved from my eyes to my neck and then back up. My first instinct was to tug the shirt back up and cover the mark. I wasn't sure why, but for some reason I didn't want Aiko to know about the mark.
As soon as the thought appeared, another realization hit me. If I hadn't known that the wolf and the moon were a mark, then Aiko certainly wouldn't either. She probably came to the same conclusion I had.
"It's not a tattoo," I said. "I know it looks like one, but it's not. It's called a werewolf's mark and it's connected to mates."
Aiko, who had completely ceased her pacing, slowly nodded. But her eyes remained focused on the now covered base of my neck.
"Ai?"
She opened her mouth, but then closed it just as quickly. Without another glance in my direction she shouldered her way past me and exited the room. But not before slamming the door close with a loud bang.
I wanted to run after her and explain what exactly the mark meant. Yet at the same time I struggled to find the right words to explain the whole marking business to her. She was even newer to the werewolf world than I, so I needed to find a way to explain it without scaring her. The last thing I wanted was to make her afraid of werewolves.
I stared at the closed door, while trying to will myself to leave it like that. It wasn't locked, after all. As the by now familiar sensation tightened my throat, however, I rushed to the door. I pulled it wide open, but instead of the empty hallway I came face to face with Jared.
"What's wrong?" He scanned me from top to bottom, and then focused on the rest of the room behind me.
"Nothing's wrong."
"Don't lie to me. Because I marked you, I can now access your loudest thoughts and feel your strongest emotions."
My first thought was that he was making fun of me. Then I remembered what he had told me about mind-linking.
"Why can't I hear yours?"
"Because I've put up a mental block." He tapped his index finger against his temple. "And before you ask, a mind block is a way to keep your thoughts to yourself."
"Can I form one?"
"You can, but I'm not sure I want you to." He rubbed his fingers against his jaw. "It would mean I won't be able to hear what's going on in that head of yours."
I swatted him onto his upper arm, but then quickly retracted my hand and squeezed it against my chest. Did I just—
"Did you just punch me?" Instead of the horrified expression that would match mine, his lips stretched into a slow grin. "I like it. But I'd like it even more if you used your words."
"I'm sorry." The words blurred out of my mouth before I covered it with my hands.
"Don't be." He grabbed my forearm and pulled me over to my bed. "Did I mention how good you look in my shirt."
"I—" I opened my mouth to explain, but he instead forced me to sit on my bed.
"It's okay. My wolf and I love our scent wrapped around you." He pecked my lips and then straightened back up before I could even think about responding. "Now, are you sure you want me to teach you how to put up a mental block?"
"Yes."
"It's quite simple. All you have to do is imagine a wall around your brain whenever you want your thoughts to stay private."
I tried to imagine a wall built around my brain like he said, but every time I asked him if he could still hear my thoughts, he could. It took me twenty tries to finally put up a mind block. It didn't make me feel any different, however, Jared assured me he couldn't access my thoughts anymore. And because I didn't have anyone else to rely on, I had to trust that he was telling the truth.
"I need to find Aiko." I pushed off the bed.
Before I could walk past him, he grabbed my hand and forced me to stop.
"I'll come with you."
"You promised I don't need to be escorted inside the pack house anymore." I pulled my hand out of his hold and crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"Not until I find the lunatic who put peanuts into the lemonade." He folded his arms to match my stance.
"Aiko and I need to have a private girl talk." After all, I still needed to find a way to explain the whole marking business to her. And I really didn't want Jared to be present for that.
The said guy opened his mouth, but before he could say anything another, a male voice rang from the entrance into my room.
"Maybe I can help." A grinning Larry appeared in the open doorway. "I'm much better at girl talks that you Alpha."
"Fine. But don't leave her side." Jared ordered, and with a quick peck on my cheek left the room.
The moment Larry and I were left on our own, the said guy rushed across the room and enveloped me in a big hug. I had no idea what had caused his enthusiasm, but I still hugged him back.
"Braxton finally marked you!"
A hot blush exploded in my cheeks, so I quickly wiggled out of his hold and hurried down the hallway.
"Why am I watching you again?" Larry caught up to me in four wide strides and then swung his arm over my shoulders.
Before I would be forced to explain Jared's paranoid nature, a male hiss pierced through our otherwise silent surroundings.
"Larry, let go of the Luna."
At the other end of the hallway stood Conner, with his arms resting on his hips and his eyes narrowed at the two of us.
"Don't be such a stiff." Despite his words Larry lowered his arm and skipped over to the other warrior.
The moment Larry stopped next to Conner he rose onto his tiptoes and planted a chase kiss right on his lips. I had to blink a few times to make sure that what I saw had been real. I expected Conner to react to the kiss with at least pushing Larry away, however, the said guy only rolled his eyes at him.
"Behave," he said to Larry and then walked away without a backwards glance.
"I... You... I thought you said you had a mate."
"Yes. My mate is Wallis." he said and motioned into the direction Conner had disappeared into.
"No, his name's Conner."
"No, his name is Wallis. Conner is his last name. Wallis Conner."
"Oh." I honestly thought that Conner was his first name. "Okay, then. For a moment there I thought you were cheating on your mate."
"I would never." Larry gasped and rested his open palm against his chest.
"I'm glad."
I swatted off his drama queen performance, and we continued down the staircase onto the first floor. The moment I stepped off the last stair, the front door opened and Aiko walked inside.
"Where have you been?" I asked.
She might be smarter than I, but she didn't have my impeccable sense of direction. She could easily get lost in the woods.
"Out." She shrugged. "I actually want to speak with you. Alone."
The last part was aimed at Larry, who glanced between the two of us, but didn't move a single muscle.
"It's okay." I reassured him. "I want to talk to her alone as well."
"You heard Braxton." Larry shook his head.
"Please." I really didn't want anyone else to be present while I struggled to explain the marking business to my sister. "I promise nothing is going to happen."
"Fine. Just don't tell Braxton." Larry gave in, and then disappeared back up the stairs.
A short silence spread between Aiko and me, while I struggled to find the right words. I still had no idea how to breach the subject of werewolves and marking.
"Let's talk outside." Aiko said before I could form a single thought. "I know how much you love walking around."
"I don't—" I was about to suggest sticking close to the house, but then I remembered the new connection I shared with Jared. Surely that was reassurance enough for him not to worry about me. "Sure."
Together we made our way out of the house, and because of Aiko's dislike of mud, we headed down the single gravel road. I wanted to stick close enough to the pack house, so we could still see its outline. For once, however, Aiko turned out to be the one wanting to walk even farther.
We walked in silence, while I waited for her to start the topic of marking. I told myself I wouldn't start it on my own because I didn't want to make things even more awkward. Yet she didn't say a single word, and just kept her eyes focused on the road in front of us.
After about fifteen minutes, the crossing where I had run into Ryou's friends came into our view. I wouldn't have paid it any mind, if it weren't for the gray van parker at the side of the road. A van I had definitely seen once before.
"We need to go back." I grabbed Aiko's hand.
At the same time, I screamed inside my head for Jared. I wasn't sure how the mind connection worked, so I just hoped he could hear me.
Aiko turned back to me, but before she could utter a single sound the van's side door swung open and two young men jumped out. While my eyes skipped over the one in the front, they stopped at the shaggy blonde hair of the one in the back.
He was wearing the same scowl as the last time he and his friend had been here and tried to stuff me into that van of theirs.
Hunters.
"Keep the engine running," the familiar one—the one the now dead hunter introduced as Kevin—ordered.
Only then I noticed that there were three people here this time. A woman in her late twenties sat in the driver's seat, with her elbow propped against the open window.
"Run!" I shouted the moment the two males took another step closer to us.
I grabbed Aiko's hand and pulled her behind me. Together we began running back in the direction of the pack house.
"Jared!" I shouted as loud as my vocals allowed me to.
We didn't cross even a full twenty feet, when Aiko tripped. She landed on her knees, while I just barely managed to remain standing on my feet.
"Get up." I tugged on her arm, but she simply continued to kneel on the ground. "Aiko!"
Before I could even finish her name, the unfamiliar hunter grabbed my arm. With one swift tug he swung me over his shoulder and turned back into the direction of the van.
"No!" I banged my fists against his back, but he continued without missing a single step. "Jared!"
"Shut up!" The blonde hunter barked.
I continued to trash around with my upper body hanging off the hunter's shoulders, until the world in front of my eyes turned once again. With a loud thud my back hit the cold metal floor of the van's inside and I barely managed to hold in a hiss of pain.
I rose my head just in time to see Aiko meekly enter the van on her own. At least the other hunter had been considered enough now to throw her inside.
"Jared!" I screamed again through the still open door.
With a loud bang the blonde hunter snapped the door close. Before I could even feel my throat start to close up, a sharp slap across my cheek reverted my head to the side.
"Shut up."
I landed with my head on the cold floor, where the vibrations from the roaring engine bumped against my brain. I didn't even have time to pick myself up before the van jumped forward, and we began speeding down the gravel road.
***
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- E