The cursed mark

Ryker

“Anya, always watch your back! She can…” I spoke too late. A sword hit Anya from behind and she fell to the ground with her right knee first. Hagar moved quickly, swiping her left foot off the ground with her right, and Anya crumbled to the ground totally.

The men cheered as Hagar emerged the winner. She was the recent addition to my warriors, and was only sixteen. Anya was older with about two years. A sense of pride filled me as I watched them with a smile on my face. These were my warriors, my brothers, and my sisters. There was nothing I wouldn’t give to them.

Hagar turned to me and bowed, and I replied with a smile. Her cheeks turned tomato red, and she looked away quickly.

Kiara appeared beside me.

“The girls are growing fonder of you. You’re becoming their favorite commander.”

I nodded in agreement.

“I’m their king.”

She heaved a sigh and reached for my hand.

“Oh, Ryker. You’re so much more.”

I said nothing in reply, only turning to her when I caught a whiff of Elora’s scent on her body. Whether I liked it or not, my wolf, Caesar, knew Elora’s scent far too much for his own good.

“Where were you, Kiara?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on her.

“One moment you were with Anya, and the next…”

She avoided my gaze, and parted her lips to speak when a loud scream cut through the air.

“My Lord!”

I turned just in time to see a servant running toward me, almost tripping on his own two feet as he screamed and threw his hands in the air.

Before he could even reach me, he stumbled and fell hard onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Dread settled deep in my chest. Something was wrong.

Kiara and I exchanged confused glances before I made my way to him.

“What is it?” I barked. “Speak!”

The servant lifted his head, his face was pale with fear, and adorned with the wet sand from the ground.

“The princess…” he paused to catch his breath, earning him a frown from me.

“she’s dying!”

The world around me came to a still halt.

She’s what?

“Somebody needs to go help her, and fast!”

“Ryker, let me…” Kiara started to speak, but I was gone before she could finish her statement. I couldn’t tell if the fear in my heart was Caesar's or mine. Frankly, I didn’t care. She was the key to fulfilling my prophecy. I couldn’t let her go.

I ran faster than I ever had, my heart pounding in my chest as I rushed to her tent. The moment I pushed inside, I stopped, my breath hitched on seeing

Elora was on the ground, curled, her body shaking violently. Her hands clutched at her chest, her face twisted in pain.

There was a mark on her neck, and it glowed.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me it was a mate mark.

My teeth clenched.

The southern bastard had marked her and tossed her aside. They couldn’t resist the urge to take, even from their own.

Pathetic bastards.

Something ugly and unfamiliar twisted inside me, sending me rushing towards her.

Jealousy?

I didn’t understand it. I shouldn’t feel this way. She wasn’t mine first. She had been his. And the sight of that mark on her neck made my blood boil.

“Elora,” I called her name, but she didn’t hear me. She only cried harder as her body jerked from the pain.

I didn’t waste time. I scooped her into my arms, and ran as fast as I could to the healer’s tent.

She was barely conscious by the time we got there. Blood dripped from the corner of her lips, as she let out slow and tired breaths.

The healer, an older woman with sharp violet eyes, turned to me the second I burst in.

“My lord!” She rushed towards me. A cautious look appeared in her eyes as she glanced at Elora’s frail body, but I was desperate for time.

“Odessa, she needs your help. Please.”

She led me to a small bed at the distal end of the room. I placed Elora on it and stood beside her.

“What’s happening to her?” I asked.

She glanced at Elora’s mark and frowned.

“The mate bond,” she said. “It’s punishing her.”

“What?” I snapped.

“Her mate took her, marked her…” The healer’s eyes darkened. “And now he’s in bed with someone else.”

My stomach twisted.

Of course.

Kael married the warrior, Selene, today. That meant—

I looked down at Elora as my chest tightened. She was suffering because of him, a man she had no doubt loved.

The pain suddenly grew worse. She gasped, coughing hard, and blood splattered onto the ground. I moved closer to Elora and found myself holding on to her.

“Save her,” I ordered, looking up at Odessa.

“No matter what it takes.”

The healer nodded quickly, moving to mix a potion. I held Elora tighter as she shook in my arms. Her body was struggling to fight against whatever was happening inside her.

The healer ground herbs together, added a dark liquid to a small bowl, and stirred it into a thick paste.

She turned back to Elora and tried to press the mixture against her lips.

“She needs to drink this.”

But Elora was too far gone. She kicked vehemently, almost uncontrollably, fighting against the pain. Her movements were getting too wild for even me to control.

And suddenly there was blood everywhere.

But it wasn’t hers. It was my mother’s.

The memories came rushing back, crashing over me like strong tidal waves. No matter how many times I blinked to push the image away, it wouldn’t stop.

I could see it all again, fresh.

My mother’s lifeless on the ground. Blood dripping from her lips. The soldiers from the South laughing as they wiped their swords clean.

Elora’s people.

A sharp rage tore through me.

What was I doing?

Why was I here, trying to save her?

I stood up, my body stiff with anger. My hands curled into fists as I turned to leave.

“Please, don’t go. I’m scared.”

I froze on hearing the voice in my head.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I turned back to her, my breath caught in my throat.

She was looking at me.