Marked
1149 Words
The air still carried his heat.
Ava lay curled on the couch long after Lucien had disappeared into the night, her lips swollen, heart thundering, skin alive with the ghost of his touch. She hadn’t expected the way he’d kissed her. Hadn’t expected the way it would unravel something primal inside her. She’d never wanted someone like this—never needed them like her body needed his.
And yet he’d pulled away.
Without another word, he’d vanished into the dark like he’d never been there.
Ava couldn’t sleep.
When the sun finally rose, she went to town.
Black Hollow looked different in daylight—less eerie, more deceptively normal. But she could feel the eyes. She passed people on the street, and they looked too long. They sniffed the air subtly. Their gazes flicked down to her bandaged ankle and then darted away.
She wasn’t imagining it.
At the diner, the waitress paused mid-pour when she saw Ava walk in.
“Back already,” the woman said, not unkindly. “You look tired.”
Ava offered a tight smile. “Didn’t sleep.”
“Storm coming. Wolves been howling all night.”
Ava looked up sharply. “Wolves?”
The woman nodded. “Big ones, too. You hear them?”
She thought of Lucien’s lips on hers. Of his voice, rough and low, saying he could smell her blood.
“No,” Ava said. “Didn’t hear a thing.”
The waitress poured her coffee and walked away.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. She picked up supplies, ignored the too-quiet glances of the townspeople, and made her way back toward the ridge just before sunset. The wind was colder tonight. The forest heavier with scent and shadow. Her heart beat faster the closer she got to the cabin, like her body knew he was near.
He was waiting.
Not at the cabin—but by the creek.
Lucien sat crouched on a rock, shirtless, hair damp, as if he’d been bathing in the freezing water. His muscles gleamed in the fading light, thick with tension and covered in jagged scars that looked like they’d been earned in war.
Ava stopped short, breath catching.
He looked up. His eyes weren’t golden this time—just dark, unreadable, but still devastating.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
“Neither should you.”
He let out a low laugh. “Touché.”
She walked closer, unable to stop herself. “Why did you leave?”
“Because if I hadn’t, I would’ve taken you right there. And not gently.”
Her stomach clenched.
He stood slowly, water dripping down his chest. “And because I know what happens if I claim you.”
“Claim me?”
Lucien’s jaw flexed. “You felt it, Ava. The moment I touched you.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
“I’m not just some man out in the woods,” he said. “I’m alpha of the Shadow born. My bloodline is cursed. My power is violent. If I mark you—if I mate you—you’ll never belong to yourself again. You’ll be mine. Mind. Body. Soul. That isn’t some fairy tale. That’s nature. And it’s brutal.”
She stepped closer until there was only an inch between them. “What if I want to be yours?”
Lucien’s hand came up to brush a strand of hair from her face. His fingers trembled.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Then show me.”
In a breath, his mouth was on her again.
This kiss was different. Rougher. Desperate. The control he’d clung to before was gone. He lifted her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around his waist, and he pressed her back against the nearest tree, growling into her skin like he could devour her whole.
She arched into him, moaning softly as his hands roamed her body with reverence and possession. Every touch ignited sparks across her nerves. Every kiss scorched deeper.
He pulled back just enough to look at her.
“There’s no going back from this,” he whispered. “If I take you now, you’re mine.”
“I already am.”
He made a sound halfway between a groan and a growl and kissed her again, harder this time. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, feeling the raw power underneath his skin. The wolf inside him wasn’t dormant anymore. It was awake. And it wanted her.
She wanted it back.
Then, suddenly, he stilled.
His body went rigid, his nose lifted slightly, and his face darkened.
“What is it?” she asked breathlessly.
“Someone’s watching.”
He set her down gently, eyes glowing now, scanning the woods. A second later, he grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.
Ava’s pulse pounded.
Lucien’s voice dropped into a snarl. “Come out.”
From the trees stepped a figure—tall, lean, clothed in black. His face was unfamiliar, but there was something feral in his smile.
“Alpha,” the stranger said mockingly. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your little moment.”
Lucien didn’t move. “This isn’t your territory.”
The stranger’s eyes flicked to Ava and narrowed. “She’s the one. The mark sings.”
“Step back,” Lucien said, his voice dangerous.
“Or what? You’ll kill me? You’d break the treaty for her?”
Lucien growled, a low sound that vibrated in Ava’s bones.
“She’s not just human, is she?” the stranger continued, circling. “I can smell it. Old blood. Forgotten magic. Does she even know what she is?”
Ava gripped Lucien’s arm. “What is he talking about?”
Lucien didn’t answer. His focus never left the other man.
“You can’t protect her from all of us,” the stranger said, eyes flashing. “If she’s unclaimed, the others will come. They’ll tear this place apart to get to her.”
“She is mine,” Lucien said, voice a growl. “Touch her, and I will burn this forest down with your bones as kindling.”
The stranger laughed. “We’ll see.”
And then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished.
The woods went still again.
Lucien turned to Ava, his face a mask of fury and panic.
“We’re out of time,” he said. “They know. You’re not safe here anymore.”
“Who was he? What did he mean—what am I?”
Lucien hesitated.
“Ava,” he said, voice rough, “you’re not just marked for me. You’re marked by something far older. Something ancient. That stranger… he wasn’t just a rogue. He’s part of a faction that’s been hunting your bloodline for centuries.”
Her stomach dropped.
“But I don’t even know what I am.”
“You’re about to find out.”
- Writer
