What is on Mara’s body and how will Axel deal with the revelation?
MARA Ria hums in my mind, satisfied but restless. It’s been six months since I’ve shifted, and tonight was when I released her. The cool twilight air still sticks to my skin as a testament to my run which left a trail of euphoria and pleasure in me. The run was like a stolen moment where I could just exist as I am, without the pressure of my disguise or the suffocating rules of this human world. But as I approach the dorm window from the woods, the sharp tang of alcohol and the smear of too-bright makeup meet my senses. It is Axel. Of course, it had to be her. She’s perched at the window, fumbling with the latch, her glittered dress shining bright under the moonlight. She's stumbling, her high heels dangling loosely from one hand. The strong smell of vodka clings to her, making me feel nauseated within seconds. Our eyes meet for a brief moment - hers flashing with drunkenness and accusations, mine wide with fear. I try to move past her without a word, but her voice cuts
MARAI didn’t have any plans to steal anyone’s boyfriend. Honestly, I didn’t even know if I was capable of feeling anything for anyone at all. Being a wolf, living in this human world, I wasn’t sure if that was even possible anymore. But there’s always an exception to everything right?Yeah I am talking about JacobHe kept pushing, drawing near, like some kind of magnet I couldn’t escape. And Axel? She was just obsessed. A fantasy she had built up in her own mind, one where I was her rival, a competitor, her hater, enemy of her progress, a sorcerer who could shift shapes and everything more she could think of.It was laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.After the cafeteria drama, I should have felt angry and so humiliated. But I didn’t.Maybe I was just too tired of it all, or maybe I had learned by now to swallow the hurt, to let it sink beneath my skin where no one could see it. Axel could taunt me all she wanted, but she wasn’t going to break me. I wouldn’t allow her.The n
ROLAN The wind hums low and steady through the little opening from the tinted window as I keep my eyes on the long road gripping the wheel tighter. The drive back to Seattle is quiet except for Mara humming softly beside me occasionally. Beside me, Mara is sitting, her legs tucked up on the seat. She’s gazing out the window with a calm face, though the occasional furrow of her brow betrays the constant sight of her pretty face. I know she's been thinking about something ever since she returned from wherever she was taken to from my surgery. Her mind is clouded with a worry she refuses to share with me. Every time I try to bring up the topic, the deal she had to make to save me, she becomes distant—sensitive, closed off, and unwilling to talk about it. “Mara.” My voice breaks the quiet, and she turns to me. Her sharp and questioning green eyes meet mine. “What?” I pause, considering my words. “You’ve been quiet for the last twenty miles.” “That usually means you’re about
ROLAN My hands are firmly gripping the wheel as my hawk-like eyes dart forward like a hawk on the road ahead. The boredom of the trip is getting to me; we've been on this road for far too long. However, I sense the slight change in the air once more as my thoughts start to stray. It feels as though we are both holding our breath, waiting for something to break the oppressive and heavy tension between us. “Masked men again?” I murmured. I'm not expecting an answer. To be honest, I'm not particularly interested in getting one. Beside me, Mara is quiet, her eyes focused on the windshield, and the only sound between us is the beat of the engine and the tires on the road. However, I sense her pain and anxiety. It lies just behind her silence like an apparition. The kind of pain I can't get rid of. She seems to be gradually closing down on me, and I can feel that. And I dislike it, damn it. I hate the fact that, unlike everything else, I am unable to break her mental code. S
MARA My phone buzzes in my hands, pulling my attention away from the intense tension that hangs between Rolan and me. I glance down at the screen, expecting maybe a text from my masked man, but instead, it’s a memo from my school. I open it, the words blurring together as I skim through the message. My heart sinks with each line. “An indefinite strike?” “A state of emergency in Seattle.” I read the outline out a bit loud, out of my subconsciousness. Something about suspicious creatures wreaking havoc in the city. I scroll further, my fingers trembling as I absorb the details—there were records of deaths and injuries. And the government is scrambling to identify the threat. Pictures of the dead and injured flash across the screen, their faces twisted in pain, bodies scarred by deep, claw-like marks. My stomach churns as I recognize the marks. The jagged, uneven lines stretch across the skin, deep and raw, like something had slashed through it with savage force. The edges a
MARA I keep looking at him with awe and my mouth widely apart. If someone were looking at us from the outside, they’d think I knew this guy. But I don’t. I mean, I’ve never seen him before, but there’s something oddly creepy about the way he holds himself, as if he’s been in control of situations like this a thousand times. He’s…cute. In a too-perfect, I-just-walked-out-of-a-catalog kind of way. His skin is flawless—smooth, almost glowing, like he spends hours in front of a mirror, following a skincare routine and making sure every detail is perfect. It’s almost unnerving how perfect he looks. No rough edges, no signs of wear, just smooth, flawless skin. His lips are so full, so tempting and looking sumptuous, that if it weren't for my self-control, and, okay, The little camera and microphone bug Rolan planted in my scalp to track my every move in order to find out where these people are trooping out from-I’d probably have kissed him or eaten those lips raw by now. But
MARAMy heart sliced through me as Ria cried out, "Our mate is injured!" Panic swelled within me—could it be Kael, my former mate from Ravencrest Pack? Fear rippled through my veins, imagining his wrath if he found me, he will either drag me back to face the pack as a fugitive, or worse, KILL ME! which was his best option. I knew how much Kael hated me.“MATE!” Ria kept purring.“Shut up Ria! Do I have two mates now?!” That is not Kael, can’t you see?” I snapped back at her when I soon noticed something about the scent we’ve been perceiving."Not Kael!" I gasped. Ria purred in agreement. This scent was different—not the familiar honey and jasmine, but a tantalizing blend of caramel and rosemary.“A new mate?” Confusion and curiosity mingled as I studied the injured wolf before me, caught in a vicious boar trap.I realized why the beast couldn't shift—doing so would tear its leg apart. Rival packs often used such traps to catch and interrogate enemies.Despite its shattered leg and
3 YEARS AGO MARA “The Moon Goddess has decided,” the sage of Ravencrest Pack announced after a while of silence, his gaze zoning in on me and making me want to sink into the ground from all the attention I was getting. “You, Mara, are destined to be the next Alpha of the pack.” ~ “Your coronation is drawing closer by the day. How do you feel?” Alpha Kalen, the man who had adopted me as his own, said. It all felt surreal. Ever since I had been announced as the rightful heir to the throne of someone who wasn’t my biological father, things had gone off the rails. I felt eyes on me every single time I moved, and Kael—Alpha Kalen’s own son—now had hatred for me. We were having dinner now, and I couldn’t help but notice Kael glaring at me from the other side of the table as Alpha Kalen waited for my answer. “I feel…” I sighed, not sure what to say. I couldn’t tell if I was more happy than scared or vice versa. “I don’t know, it doesn’t feel real enough for me to believe just
MARA I keep looking at him with awe and my mouth widely apart. If someone were looking at us from the outside, they’d think I knew this guy. But I don’t. I mean, I’ve never seen him before, but there’s something oddly creepy about the way he holds himself, as if he’s been in control of situations like this a thousand times. He’s…cute. In a too-perfect, I-just-walked-out-of-a-catalog kind of way. His skin is flawless—smooth, almost glowing, like he spends hours in front of a mirror, following a skincare routine and making sure every detail is perfect. It’s almost unnerving how perfect he looks. No rough edges, no signs of wear, just smooth, flawless skin. His lips are so full, so tempting and looking sumptuous, that if it weren't for my self-control, and, okay, The little camera and microphone bug Rolan planted in my scalp to track my every move in order to find out where these people are trooping out from-I’d probably have kissed him or eaten those lips raw by now. But
MARA My phone buzzes in my hands, pulling my attention away from the intense tension that hangs between Rolan and me. I glance down at the screen, expecting maybe a text from my masked man, but instead, it’s a memo from my school. I open it, the words blurring together as I skim through the message. My heart sinks with each line. “An indefinite strike?” “A state of emergency in Seattle.” I read the outline out a bit loud, out of my subconsciousness. Something about suspicious creatures wreaking havoc in the city. I scroll further, my fingers trembling as I absorb the details—there were records of deaths and injuries. And the government is scrambling to identify the threat. Pictures of the dead and injured flash across the screen, their faces twisted in pain, bodies scarred by deep, claw-like marks. My stomach churns as I recognize the marks. The jagged, uneven lines stretch across the skin, deep and raw, like something had slashed through it with savage force. The edges a
ROLAN My hands are firmly gripping the wheel as my hawk-like eyes dart forward like a hawk on the road ahead. The boredom of the trip is getting to me; we've been on this road for far too long. However, I sense the slight change in the air once more as my thoughts start to stray. It feels as though we are both holding our breath, waiting for something to break the oppressive and heavy tension between us. “Masked men again?” I murmured. I'm not expecting an answer. To be honest, I'm not particularly interested in getting one. Beside me, Mara is quiet, her eyes focused on the windshield, and the only sound between us is the beat of the engine and the tires on the road. However, I sense her pain and anxiety. It lies just behind her silence like an apparition. The kind of pain I can't get rid of. She seems to be gradually closing down on me, and I can feel that. And I dislike it, damn it. I hate the fact that, unlike everything else, I am unable to break her mental code. S
ROLAN The wind hums low and steady through the little opening from the tinted window as I keep my eyes on the long road gripping the wheel tighter. The drive back to Seattle is quiet except for Mara humming softly beside me occasionally. Beside me, Mara is sitting, her legs tucked up on the seat. She’s gazing out the window with a calm face, though the occasional furrow of her brow betrays the constant sight of her pretty face. I know she's been thinking about something ever since she returned from wherever she was taken to from my surgery. Her mind is clouded with a worry she refuses to share with me. Every time I try to bring up the topic, the deal she had to make to save me, she becomes distant—sensitive, closed off, and unwilling to talk about it. “Mara.” My voice breaks the quiet, and she turns to me. Her sharp and questioning green eyes meet mine. “What?” I pause, considering my words. “You’ve been quiet for the last twenty miles.” “That usually means you’re about
MARAI didn’t have any plans to steal anyone’s boyfriend. Honestly, I didn’t even know if I was capable of feeling anything for anyone at all. Being a wolf, living in this human world, I wasn’t sure if that was even possible anymore. But there’s always an exception to everything right?Yeah I am talking about JacobHe kept pushing, drawing near, like some kind of magnet I couldn’t escape. And Axel? She was just obsessed. A fantasy she had built up in her own mind, one where I was her rival, a competitor, her hater, enemy of her progress, a sorcerer who could shift shapes and everything more she could think of.It was laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.After the cafeteria drama, I should have felt angry and so humiliated. But I didn’t.Maybe I was just too tired of it all, or maybe I had learned by now to swallow the hurt, to let it sink beneath my skin where no one could see it. Axel could taunt me all she wanted, but she wasn’t going to break me. I wouldn’t allow her.The n
MARA Ria hums in my mind, satisfied but restless. It’s been six months since I’ve shifted, and tonight was when I released her. The cool twilight air still sticks to my skin as a testament to my run which left a trail of euphoria and pleasure in me. The run was like a stolen moment where I could just exist as I am, without the pressure of my disguise or the suffocating rules of this human world. But as I approach the dorm window from the woods, the sharp tang of alcohol and the smear of too-bright makeup meet my senses. It is Axel. Of course, it had to be her. She’s perched at the window, fumbling with the latch, her glittered dress shining bright under the moonlight. She's stumbling, her high heels dangling loosely from one hand. The strong smell of vodka clings to her, making me feel nauseated within seconds. Our eyes meet for a brief moment - hers flashing with drunkenness and accusations, mine wide with fear. I try to move past her without a word, but her voice cuts
AXEL The cafeteria confrontation kept replaying in my head like a broken record; every detail kept sharpening so fresh, every humiliation keeps on magnifying. Jeff's words were etched into my memory, cutting deep into them with pain. He’s broken up with me, all thanks to our glorified witch Mara. The way he’d glanced at Mara, like she was the answer to some question I’d never even been asked made my skin crawl and inside filled with wrath towards her. I couldn’t stand the thought of her. The girl who had stolen not just Jeff’s attention but Jacob’s too, as though she was some magnetic force none of them could escape. Who the hell was she? What did she have that I didn’t? I paced my dorm room, my thoughts spiralling almost out of control and my chest keep tightening with frustration. Tears pricked my eyes, hot and unwelcome tears, blurring my vision. “Damn it,” I hissed, scrubbing my face with the back of my hands. I couldn’t let this consume me, but it already had. My
MARA Jacob’s been a constant shadow since that night when his intentions became clear. Not the creepy kind of shadow, but the thoughtful, steady one that makes you feel like someone’s got your back. He calls, texts, and checks in regularly as his own way of weaving himself into my life. It’s not like I need anything; the black card my father handed me that morning is more than enough to cover all my expenses. Yet Jacob keeps surprising me, showing up with random gifts that make me smile despite everything I’m going through. When classes run long—especially after those brutal pharmacology lab sessions—he waits outside, either ready to walk me home or drive me to the dorm in his beautiful but modest Toyota Corolla. It’s old enough to feel relatable, but well-kept, with a gleaming navy-blue exterior that suits his grounded personality. I think he calls it “Bluebell,” which is honestly adorable. Sometimes, as I watch him, I wonder if Voltex is a university or some odd hybrid b
MARA Social and academic life blend seamlessly for Axel. She’s the queen of all-nighters, balancing textbooks and tequila shots like it’s an Olympic sport. Parties, grades, accolades—it’s her domain, and she owns it unapologetically. For me, the story is different. I’m no wallflower, but the human world is a minefield, each step a potential explosion that could reveal what I truly am. So, I steer clear of the parties and wild nights. Not because I can’t keep up, but because I can’t risk the wrong kind of attention. That’s where Axel’s hatred finds its roots. To her, my refusal to join the chaos of college life isn’t discipline—it’s a subtle critique of her choices. The more she sees me excel in class or gracefully fits in a room, the deeper her resentment grows. In her eyes, I’m not just competition; I’m her mirror, reflecting the cracks she’d rather not see. Today, though, Axel isn’t my concern. I’ve decided to visit Clara, Mr Jorge’s daughter. One of the few people here