WHERE IS THE MATE MARK?

Zephyrine's pov 

I sat on the riverbank,Cormac sat behind me, his arm tucked around my shoulders and his body hugging mine.

  We had spent a good few days getting to know each other, and I had to admit that this was far deeper in the love aspect than anything in which I had previously imagined.

As we sat there, it was not long before Cormac leaned forward, his gaze set upon a beautiful water lily floating upon the river's surface. "Look, Zephyrine," he said excitedly, "is it not lovely?"

I smiled, watching him pluck the flower delicately from the water. He brought it back to me, and I couldn't help but giggle as he tried to tuck it behind my ear, his fingers tangling in my hair.

"Let me fix it," he said, his eyes sparkling with childlike excitement. He reached out and moved my hair to the side, his fingers grazing along my neck. But in so doing, his face changed, his eyes meeting mine with a serious concern.

"Zephyrine, where's the mate mark?" he asked in a low, grave tone.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as what he was talking about finally hit me. The mate mark that he had left on me a few nights after we consummated our mate bond on my neck was gone.

I looked at him, my heart racing in fear. "I.I don't know," I stammered.

And when my eyes met Cormac's, all concern and confusion were palpable in them. Slowly, he turned my head, peering toward my neck as if will could make the mark come into view again.

But it was gone.

I swallowed, feeling a wave of fear now. Cormac's shocked stare went from concern to stark panic. What did this mean? Was our bond broken now? Was I no longer Cormac's mate?

Cormac must have seen the panic in my eyes, for suddenly he pulled me into a tight hug. "It's okay, Zephyrine," he said, and in his voice was so gentle. "We'll figure this out. We'll go talk to Elwes, and he will know what to do."

"A-are you sure?"

"Very sure."

Cormac held me for what felt like a very long time, trying to comfort me, but even he couldn't hide the flicker of worry in his eyes. Finally, he drew back and gave me a weak smile. "Let's go home, all right? We can work this out in the morning."

I nodded, ill at ease but took his words for granted and trusted Cormac to see me through. We walked back in the direction of my house. 

As we approached the house, Astrid was standing on the porch, an expression of concern etched across her face quickly replaced the smile. "What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes darting between us both.

Cormac explained the situation about the mate mark, and Astrid listened intently as her expression grew more somber by the second. "I'll look into it," she said. "Don't worry, we'll figure out what's going on."

Cormac nodded, turned to me, and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, all right? We'll find out what's going on."

I nodded, and a wave of relief washed over me. Astrid walked Cormac to the gate, and I watched as they said their goodbyes.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, and soon I found myself falling asleep.

A mournful howl cut through the darkness, jolting me from my sleep. I sat up in bed, heart racing, looking around disoriented. Already Astrid was out of the house, her footsteps echoing down the street.

"What's going on?" I muttered to myself, throwing off my covers and running after her. I didn't bother with shoes, my bare feet pounding the pavement as I followed the sound of the howl.

As I made my turn onto the Street, a group of people ran toward the sound. They were talking and shouting; faces were filled with concern and fear.

"What's going on?" someone shouted.

"I don't know, but it sounds like a wolf in distress!" said another voice.

I swam my way through the bodies as I tried to make out where Astrid was but the moon shone lazily making it hard for me to see even a few steps ahead of me.

But the moment I started trying to force my way through the crowd and closer to where everyone was looking at, , they took one step back and gave way, their eyes so filled with fear and suspicion.

"Get back, she's the cursed omega!" someone whispered.

"Don't let her near him!" another person shouted.

Anger and frustration ran high, but still, I plunged forward because my focus was to try and reach the center. "What is happening?" I said, tugging on somebody's arm. "What about Cormac?"

This guy shook me off with terror-stricken eyes. "You are his murderer, are you not?" he said with venom in his teeth.

A sting burnt my eyes as it welled up with tears. "No, I didn't!" I exclaimed in protest, but no one seemed to believe me.

Finally, breaking through the crowd, I saw Cormac lying there, his body contorted at some weird angle, his mouth foaming with a black substance, his hands clawed razor-sharp.

The scream began to build in the well of my throat as I comprehended that Cormac was dead. I fell on my knees beside him and wept, hot tears rushing down my cheeks.

"Oh, Astrid, oh no, oh no." I muttered, rocking forward and backward.

But before I even had time to register what was happening, someone threw a handful of wolfsbane at me, the acrid smell filling my nostrils. "Cursed omega!" they screamed. "She killed her mate!"

The growled noises of ascent grew to louder murmurs, twisted faces contorted in anger and fear. I raised my eyes, scanning up toward the now blurry crowd, my mind wildly searching for anyone I'd seen who looked or remotely acted like they could stand with me. I was one; they blamed me for the killing of Cormac.

I could feel the wolfsbane burning my skin as the fear and adrenaline shot through my body. 

“Run zephyr!” I heard Astrid scream.

I had to get out of there, and fast.