Chapter 03

SYDNEY

"Look, it's momma Grace," I cheered happily, clapping my hands as mom and dad walked onto stage. They were followed by my grandpa and Grammy. Mom wore an anxious smile but at the time, I thought it was the prettiest thing in the world.

The nightmare always started off the same. I'd be in Lucille's arms, praising mom as she walked onto the stage. I'd wince when the blade pierced through my dad's palm, flinching away from Lucille at the sight of blood dripping down his hand.

I was so caught up in the moment, so caught up in watching everything happen with awestruck eyes that I hadn't noticed the scowl on Lucille's face. I hadn't noticed the way she looked at me and then at my mom with flames of anger blazing in her eyes. Before I could register was was happening, Lucille held a silver weapon out in front of us and then a loud bang echoed and my ears began ringing. The smell of something burning lingered in the air and I found smoke streaming out of the guns barrel.

With speed I had never seen before, Dimitri had ran across the room and tackled Momma Grace to the floor. Ambrosia used the same amount of speed when she slammed into Lucille and me, getting her to drop the weapon and relinquish me to Victor. Hot, salty tears streaked down my face and soft whimpers left my trembling lips.

Tiana, the fae Queen, joined Ambrosia and they both held her against the wall. I ducked my head into the crook of Victor's neck, afraid to see if my mom was okay or not. I had no mother growing up. I didn't get to experience what it would be like having her read me a bedtime story or singing to me. While everyone on the playground had their mother's watching over them, I had a bodyguard. My grammy usually did my hair if I wanted it braided because there were just certain things my dad couldn't do.

I didn't experience the love of a mother, not until Grace came into my life and now I felt a heavy feeling of dread weigh my heart down. My entire world, even as a six year old, felt as if it were crumbling down and I was too weak to stop it. Too small and frail to pull everything together. A few weeks of happiness and the blissful feeling of having a family only for it to be viciously ripped away from me by someone my father claimed to be my real mother.

Why would she do that? Did she not want to see me happy? I wanted to scream at Lucille. Deep down I knew she did something wrong. Something that could harm my momma. I wanted to hurt her just as much but my world began shaking. The floor beneath crumbled causing Victor and I to fall through it. I didn't panic because this part of the dream was something I became accustomed to, even the eerie voice that followed after. A female voice that held so much command and authority.

"You are destined for great things, little one. One day, you will see."

I jolted up in bed, my cheeks wet from unknowingly crying in my sleep. The dreams would always abruptly end after the woman's voice declared those words and that dream reoccured almost every night since what happened all those years ago.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness of my bedroom. I may not have had a beast but I still had enhanced vision. Victor sat at the corner of my room on an antique chair. He was staring out the window which had ample moonlight filtering through it to light up the room. Victor sat there, as silent as always. Chocolate strands disheveled from sleep, chest barely rising and falling as he took in shallow breaths, face an expressionless hard mask.

He always sensed when I had that particular dream and he would always come to me. As a kid, it was slightly more difficult. He use to break in through my window just to make sure nothing happened to me and then he would stay the whole night, restless for me. Moving into the pack house made things easier. His room was next to mine and he had a spare key for times like these.

I allowed my eyes to trail down his shirtless figure, muscles as buff and rigid as the first time I met him. His tanned skin glistened against the moonlight, a downshadow being cast along his abdominal muscles. I could tell that that he wore boxer briefs and nothing more. He no longer cared to dress up when it came to barging into my room. He'd stopped doing it so long ago and I wasn't one to complain. Victor was a piece of eye candy.

Throwing the sheets off and swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I took in a deep breath. Victor's musky yet earthy scent filled the room, immediately calming down my raging heartbeat. My feet met the cold hardwood floor and made a pitter-patter sound as I made my way to where Victor sat. He definitely heard me approaching but made no move to look at me.

"Vicky?" I called but he only answered with a grunt.

After asking him to show those three wolves to their rooms, I hadn't spoken to Victor — not because I didn't want to but because he had been avoiding me like the plague. Dimitri and Ambrosia left an hour after I had given them the details of what I wanted done. It did feel weird giving the council orders but they were my only beacon of hope without getting my dad involved.

"I'm fine, you can leave," I finally said and that caught his fill attention, deep blue eyes meeting mine and the anger in them nearly knocking me off my feet.

He rose to his feet, standing tall above me and I shrunk back in fear. I knew he would never harm me but he was an intimidating dude. His death glare could kill you and bury you all at once; if that even made sense. I was pretty sure it didn't but the point being that Victor was one deadly motherfuc—

My thoughts halted when he began storming off toward the door. I said he could leave but I didn't actually expect him too. He never listened to me when I told him to leave before, so what changed now?

It was my turn to catch Victor's attention with touch. I clasped his wrist and relished the warmth that seeped out of his skin and embedded itself into mine. He stilled under my touch, muscles flexing and rippling as he clenched his fists and the pulled away from me completely.

"So you're going to leave, just like that?" My voice cracked at the end and it reminded me how fragile and weak I truly was.

He turned to face me once more, hard gaze still in place. There wasn't even a crack in his steel reinforced walls that kept him guarded. A sigh left his lips and he searched for the light switch to turn the light on. A harsh yellow glow lit up the room and made my eyes burn. It took me a while, but I finally adjusted to the new setting and found Victor standing there in all his half naked glory.

Nope. No. You will not look down. YOU WILL NOT LOOK DOWN.

My eyes dipped to the massive bulge in his boxer briefs; a bulge that was so big even though he wasn't hard.

Too late. I looked down.

But now I couldn't look back up. My thoughts flitted from what he'd look like naked to how big he would look with a raging hard on. I licked my lips, closing my eyes and gathering all the power I could muster to forget what I just saw but when my lids fluttered open again, I gasped. Victor's usual Oceanic blue eyes where swirling with obsidian.

He growled, running a large hand through his long hair. I could now see the stubble coating his jaw and cheeks, making him look much more appealing. Padding my way to him, I let my fingers graze the poky hairs and he let me, cupping my hand in his and guiding my fingers along.

My eyes searched his as I asked, "Why are you so mad at me?" in the faintest of whispers.

He grimaced, dropping my hand so he could sign, "I'm not mad."

"You are!" I said frustratedly.

"I do not lie," he signed, "I am not mad but I am disappointed."

"Why? Do you think I shouldn't have allowed those three wolves to stay on the territory?" I mused, brows scrunching as I tried to figure it out. Sometimes I wished I could be part of a mind link just to hear Victor's voice.

"I trust you know what you're doing. You've always put the pack above anything else," his hands dropped to his sides, feebly swinging. Taking a seat at the edge of my bed, he began signing again, "When you were small, I saw you as nothing but a little girl who I would lay down my life for. Your safety was by priority. Then you grew up and didn't need me around anymore but you still kept me. It wasn't right of me to do so but I developed certain feelings for you that I shouldn't have."

I knelt down, grabbing Victor's hands in my own. My thumbs traced lazy circles at the back of his hands as I said, "Well, it's good to know the feelings aren't just one sided."

He brought my hand to his soft lips, placing a lingering kiss at the back. The stubble on his face tickled me but I resisted the urge to pull away. He looked at me as if saying 'I always knew. I always knew you felt the same way but things have changed'.

But I didn't want things to change. I didn't want some strange alpha coming in and claiming to be my mate. The feelings I had for him weren't my own, it was all part of a stupid bond but the feelings I had for Victor, they were all mine and all his. They were real and I could tell that by the way he looked at me, by the way he cared, by the way he put me first and himself last. These were feelings that were formed over years of being together, feelings a mate bond couldn't even push aside.

I was destined for great things said the voice in my head but did that voice know that I would be willing to reject the mate bond with another just to be with the one of my choosing, just to be with Victor. Was I selfish to do so? To reject the other half of my soul to be with someone I felt comfort and warmth with. Someone I knew would never leave me and will always love me.

I didn't think it was selfish and I wanted Victor to know just how unselfish I thought that was. I wanted him to know that I'd choose him because no one could take his place. I wanted to be his just as much as he wanted to be mine. So I leaned into him, tilting my head up slightly. He reciprocated, dipping his head and purposely brushing his soft plump lips over my own. His warm minty breath fanned across my face adding to my need to taste those lips I had thought about on countless occasions.

My eyes fluttered close and I swallowed in anticipation. If my heartbeat anymore faster I would definitely go into cardiac arrest but I didn't care. Nothing around me mattered. Just him. Always him. When his lips finally captured mine, I released a moan. They were decadent soft pillows, sweet and enchanting like the forbidden fruit.

A shiver raked down my spine, his lips moving so in sync with mine. My hands found their way to the back of his neck, bringing him further into me, meshing our faces together. His touch felt so familiar and at the same time so unknown. This was something new, something we had never thought of doing because there was that boundary we never crossed.

His large hands grabbed my thighs and lifted me off the ground, placing me in his lap in a straddling position; a position that I could feel everything! He groaned when my clothed core made contact with his very hard member, hands grabbing my ass and practically begging me to create some friction.

But when my tongue slid over his bottom lip he tensed, muscles going rigid under me. Sensing his discomfort, I pulled away. His eyes weren't on me, instead, they were looking over my shoulder as raw fear flashed in his eyes.

I held his face in my hands as I coaxed, "Look at me," but he refused to and I watched helplessly as he clamped his jaw shut, "Please, look at me," my voice cracked at the end.

I felt his pain as my own, almost every thought that filled his head was known to me. His eyes were the windows to everything he hid and he knew that, so he tried not to meet my gaze but hearing the pain dripping in my voice made him put his feelings aside to grant me what I wanted.

Those striking blue eyes that were mixed with black didn't hide anything from me and the frown on his face made my insides melt.  He brought his hand up to my cheek, brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear. Yes, I wished he could talk. I wished I could hear him tell me how beautiful he thought I looked, or just heard his voice in general but it wasn't his fault that he couldn't do those things and I wasn't going to dwell on it.

"I don't care," I murmured truthfully, "I really don't care."

He must have sensed that I wasn't lying because he met my lips in a feverish kiss, this time allowing me to venture forth into his mouth. I could feel the soft wet flesh of what remained of his tongue, could feel the healed ridges of where it had been cut off, could feel how the small bit still moved ever so slightly, trying to meet my movements.

I held him tighter, closer; my heart constricting in my chest. He needed to be shown that he was perfect and I wanted to be the one to show him that. His lips pulled away from mine, peppering kisses down my cheek, across my jaw, skillfully moving his way down my neck and stopping at the place my neck met my shoulder. A moan so loud I was sure the entire pack house heard it left my lips as he grazed his teeth over the spot.

I tilted my head to give him enough access and as a way to permit him to continue. When his canines punctured the skin a yelp left my lips. Pain overtook all of my senses, blindingly white pain that transformed to pleasure. My energy drained and the next thing I saw was black.

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***Author's note:

Marked by someone isn't her mate....what could possibly go wrong?!