001: Marked!

MAYA

“Mayalupa!”

The head maid’s voice pierced into my ears and I looked up, immediately jumping to my feet.

No! No! No! She mustn't find me like this!

I could hear her footsteps echoing from the corridor and my poor heart thumped in sync with every step she took. She would murder me if she found me doing nothing.

Doing nothing equaled lazing around. Technically, I'd call it taking a deserved break!

The rest of the maids had gone to scrub the corridors clean, in preparation for tonight's ball.

For the first time in five years, the young Alpha would arrive from his voyage and would be meeting his mate tonight, under the blessings of the full moon.

We already knew who that would be. None other than Lady Elenore, the daughter of the Pack's Beta. There were so many rumors surrounding their relationship, despite how he'd been absent for five years.

No one talked about where or why he'd gone for so long. I didn't care, so why start now? Most of the maids said he wrote Lady Elenore letters every night and named everything he owned after her.

Those two families were the closest and Lady Elenore had never forgotten to rub it in our faces that she would end up being the young Alpha's destined mate.

But what do I know about mates, or destiny? I barely unlocked Sage, my wolf.

Then again, how romantic would that be? The mere thought of love under the moonlight made my toes curl with excitement.

But wolves like me, cursed and rejected, romance wasn't a luxury we dared to afford. Even excitement came with a price. I doubt there would even be a mate for an Omega like me.

“Coming, ma'am!” I cried out, fastening my faded wrapper around my waist. I swear it used to be blue, but now it was a dead shade of brown and would ruin an entire school of fish if by mistake it dropped into a river.

The only other shorts I owned got ripped yesterday while scrubbing the walls of the dungeon.

“Maya! You little good for nothing!” She yelled again and I met her before she reached the door, my breath caught.

Sapphire stood before me with a mean scowl gracing her expression. My stomach sank. Sapphire was the scariest woman in the entirety of this packhouse, after Lady Elenore. That one was the devil's seed herself.

I only remembered she owned a heart when she spoke of how fond of the Young Alpha she was. He was just an idea to me. Never seen the man, and neither did I want to. He was a possession of Lady Elenore and that stood for a paramount of trouble.

The entire clan could go fuck themselves for all I care. Back to Sapphire, her brown, threatening eyes locked on mine, squeezing an apology out of my throat.

“I'm sor—”

The words disappeared from my head when her palm hit my cheek, hard. Tears glistened in my eyes involuntarily. She'd slapped me with her core strength.

This bitch!

She was a full Valtarian, a third-tier wolf but stuck to clean the asses of the prestigious families with us. I wasn't surprised she was rejected by her mate with such a nasty temper and wooden face. A smile could only be carved into her.

I choked the tears back, my hand involuntarily rubbing the sting. Crying would only make her feel stronger. “I'm sorry…”

Sapphire pushed her index finger to my chest, “Daughter of a useless traitor!” She spat, eyes red with venom. “Are you done with all the work assigned to you? Have you come to be a useless piece of junk like your father was?”

Anger bubbled in the depth of my chest and my fists turned balled. I'd love to throw her a punch across the face, just once.

“Are you done with all the work you've been assigned!?”

I reluctantly nodded and she continued to stab her index finger to my chest. That was enough strength to have me hitting the wall hard, repeatedly.

“And you're here? Sitting and doing nothing, Tail-wolf?!”

I hated when she called me that. Omega was condescending enough!

“I-it's…” My voice trailed. “I'm to…wash the guard's bathrooms but it's…occupied so—”

“Shut up!” She roared and I shook in fear. Sapphire, hovering over me, let her eyes roam my chest and her fingers curved around my necklace.

She paused, as though admiring it. It was the only thing I'd gotten from my father before he was incinerated, right before my eyes, seven years ago. It was attached to a fading green locket that contained the only picture of my mother I owned.

Though it had lost color, I cherished it more than life itself. I mean, it was confirmation that the sky didn't rip to puke me out.

I wasn't lucky enough to meet her before she fled to Semtle— the human world— to live safely and I didn't blame her for it. It was better to think she was alive somewhere, than to be sure of her death if she'd stayed.

We, werewolves and humans, were separated by a barrier, so they said. But any wolf who as much as asked questions about Semtle would meet the same fate as my father, burned to mere ashes and forgotten the next minute.

I still owned a nasty burn scar on the right side of my face from trying to save him. I tasted a portion of his death, though minute.

The scar spread from my nose to my ears, completely disfiguring whatever illusion of beauty I might have had.

Now, I wasn't particularly pleasant to look at. Pretty wasn't a word I related to, never had. My skin was scaly and dry like the walls of the packhouse itself.

That was my ill-fate. The price to pay when your father betrays his Valtarian legacy and falls in love with a Duskborn.

A mere human.

Now, you're stuck here, slaving away to make up for his sins. I didn't know who made the rules or what was so special about the human world, but I was desperate to prove to the pack that I wouldn't end up like him.

I wouldn't ask questions about Semtle, ever, even though curiosity kept me up at night and gnawed at my insides. I wondered if the woman who birthed me was happy, wherever she was.

All those questions simmered inside me but I mustn't be like my father.

“This is a pretty piece. How dare you own that?”

“It's mine!”

“Not what I asked, stupid!”

I jerked back. She mustn't touch that. “I'll go wash the bathrooms now, ma…”

Too late.

Sapphire grabbed both my arms and shoved me against the unevenly cemented walls. The pain from the scratch shot up my veins and I winced, unable to fight the tears this time.

“I'm not done checking it, stupid!”

“It's…”

“Lady Sapphire?” Another voice called. It was Alya, the only friend I'd made in this hellhole. “The chief of guards needs your attention downstairs.”

Alya winked at me before running off. I mouthed a quick Thank you to her.

Sapphire released pressure on my arms. “I'll be back for you, scum.” She pushed a heavy bag into my arms. “Take this to Lady Elenore. Spread them on the hangers and have her pick her choice for the ball tonight. Mess this up and I'll have your head, Tail-wolf. The ball is in one hour!”

I pursed my lips. “Yes, ma'am.”

The packhouse was a fortress of stones and bricks. Well, the expensive ones. It was built like a maze, and even seven years of exploring the interior did nothing to lessen the confusion.

I arrived at Lady Elenore’s room. It wasn't exactly her home, but she spent half her life in the packhouse rather than her father's, waiting for this day to come. I inhaled deeply before pushing the huge doors open.

It conceded with a creak and I stepped in. Lady Elenore was nowhere in sight. I had never been happier.

I moved to the huge table at the other end of the room and lit up a candle, then I unzipped the bag. “Woah!” My eyes glistened in awe.

The dress was beautiful. Ridiculously so. I picked out the fragile material from the bag, my mouth still left ajar. A visual representation of paradise, it was.

“Where'd they even…get this?” I held it to my chest and waddled to the mirror. I'd never seen anything more empowering. It felt like a crime holding it with these sinful pairs of hands.

Would she find out if I wore this? Just once?

She was the same weight as I was, though taller. We had the same straight black hair and, a similar petite physique.

Just this once.

It could be my dress too, for all I cared.

I didn't want to, but my body loved pretty too. I slipped into the damn dress and stood before the mirror, admiring what I looked like. I raised my hand to my face and covered my scar.

It could stay hidden for a second. It wasn't all I was. My hair fell to my shoulders in waves. “You can be pretty too, Maya…”

My fingers brushed against the lazy fabric, glistening with sky-blue sequins. “Maya, you…are stunning…” My other hand shielded my scar from the mirror. “You're…beautiful. You're—”

A knock rattled on the door and I almost fled from my own skin.

Oh god! Oh god!

What to do!?

I was too panicked to move an inch!

Heavy winds blew in the moment those doors opened and the candle went off. I was rooted to a spot, my heart trying to claw its way out of my chest.

What to do!?

Then it hit me, like a punch to the gut. That scent! It lit up something intimate inside of me, something carnal! I couldn't explain it!

Whoever had just come in…wasn't Lady Elenore. I'd never picked up this scent in the entire packhouse.

It…

Aah! My veins were pumped with it, whatever this ecstatic feeling was. The scent of my own arousal soon filled my nose. My hands trembled by my side, but I couldn't have my body move even if I wanted to.

It…killed me slowly, forcing its way up my nostrils and all the way up my nose, up my brain. I felt it everywhere.

My senses were heightened and Sage…I-

I…feel her! My wolf stirred awake for the first time in two years. Mate?

Was… it my mate?!

I couldn't turn.

I couldn't move. I couldn't see a thing!

I let the feeling burn me alive. The figure pulled closer, killing all the distance between us in just a few steps. Their body pressed against mine from behind and a small involuntary moan slipped out of my mouth.

I can't fucking run away!

"Mine," the voice whispered, his voice low and husky. "You are mine, Nore. My Luna. My mate.”

No, wait!

It can't be. Right?

His hand trembled as he reached out to trace the curve of my neck. I shivered at his touch, my pulse pounding in my veins. With firm pressure, he tilted my head to the side, exposing the vulnerable skin of my neck.

It feels so good!

I can't fight it!

“I'm…” I strained, blinded by pleasure. What was this feeling!? “I'm not Ele—”

Argh!

I felt his warm breath danced across my skin, and my heart skipped a beat. Then, in a swift motion, his teeth sank into my flesh.

Pain and pleasure mingled in a rush of sensation as I felt his mark take hold. I was his, body and soul. I moaned loudly when he released me and stepped back.

“Mate…” He said, voice full of satisfaction. “I knew it! It was you all along, Elenore.”

His happiness would last until I turn.