Marked

Chapter 1:2. Blue Moon Mate

♤...Ashton...♤

The day I met Lunae Fulton, I knew she was special. She walked into my classroom and took a seat without looking up or saying a word. She was wearing a long blue skirt and a white turtleneck sweater. Her curly hair was stuffed into a messy bun on the top of her head, with only a few umber tendrils dangling around her ears. Her eyes were deep brown until she removed her glasses, and they shined pure honey… almost the exact color of the vest she wore over her sweater. She wasn't just beautiful; she was captivating.

Her attire suggested that she was modest beyond her years. If I didn't know better, I would say she was heavily influenced by the '70s… Possibly a nod to her mother's generation?

Try as I might, I couldn't muster up the courage to speak to her the first few days. Not even a hi or hello. I would tell myself each day that today would be the day I introduced myself and time after time, I would chicken out. It wasn't until the teacher assigned us a partnered project that I got my chance.

I watched as she stuck her hand in the teacher's hat and slowly pulled out the tiny, folded piece of paper. Mere seconds seemed like hours as I watched her open the paper and read the name silently to herself before turning to look at me and saying, "Ashton Crestly." Then she smiled… and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

So much has happened between then and now. For starters, she only calls me "Ashton Crestly" when she's mad at me… and her smiles come more frequently. I'm surprised I'm still breathing.

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I kiss down one side of her neck, and she moans… She likes it. If only she could feel what I'm feeling. If only she knew that with every touch, every kiss, every single time my lips touch her skin, I feel fireworks.

"Now." My inner self begs me to sink my teeth into her… but I can't. I won't! Not until she knows the truth. Not until she chooses me, too.

“Oh, that feels… hmm… nice,” I hear her say before she turns her head, reminding me that I was neglecting her other side. Once again, she moans, and I wine inside. I close my eyes and continue my way down. I'm not sure when I would have stopped, but once I ventured under the neck of her shirt and placed a single kiss on her collarbone, there was searing pain, followed by an intense burn spreading across my lips.

I opened my eyes and saw the reason for the reaction. Right at the spot I kissed was a patch of disfigured skin. A decent sized scar that looked suspiciously… like a mate's mark.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" I didn't mean to sound so frantic, but I had my reasons. Not only was Loo a human, but to my knowledge, she was my mate, and I had certainly not marked her. Well… Not yet. In my head, I heard howling. I struggled to keep all of myself in place.

Lunae said it was a dog bite from when her parents died… and then it all clicked.

And then I freaked out.

And then I calmed down.

... And then I freaked out again.

I thought I had more time, and I told her that. I loved her beyond words, and I told her that too, but there was fear in her eyes that I wasn't used to seeing.

"I need you to trust me." I crouched down in front of her and grabbed her hands. "Do you trust me?" I could hear her heart in her chest. I could literally smell the anxiety through her pores… I had caused that. I was worried that she would say no, but then she nodded her head, and I knew it would all work out.

In the car, my personalities, my two halves, were practically at war. One questioning my intentions and wondering how this would work. Honestly, I didn't know! Having a human mate in itself was considered a once in a blue moon thing… literally. Every human mate ever found was born on the night of a blue moon, so it was rare. But never… has a human mate been marked without consent, except for the baby my grandfather bit almost 20 years ago.

I glance over and see her face dead set on the road ahead of us. I want to say something, but I don't want her to be even more overwhelmed. I want to squeeze her hand, to comfort her, but again, I can't.

I keep replaying it over and over in my head how she approached me earlier.

**********

"Hey Ash…" Her soft voice pulled me away from the TV show we were supposed to be watching. Honestly, the only reason it was on was because he was getting restless with the need to claim her as ours. The show was on, and we laid there on the chaise, her back to my chest, her head resting on my arm, my hand gently rubbing up and down her arm.

"Yes, love?" I replied, closing my eyes inhaling her scent.

"I love it when you touch me." I could feel the anxiety radiating throughout her body.

"I love touching you." She just didn't know how much.

"I think…" I started scenting something else as she turned to face me. "I think I would like it if you touched me more…"

I stopped rubbing her arm and pulled her closer to me. That scent… could it be?

"I'd like it if you touched me… everywhere."

Holy s**t… she is.

"And not just with your hands…"

She's… excited.

I could feel him struggling to take over, wanting to give her what she wanted, what she needed. But I don't let him. I can't. I'm happy to satisfy her, but I need to make sure it's me in control… he would no doubt mark her now.

She looked at me with her eyelids heavy. Her desire wafting around, infiltrating my resolve. She kisses my neck, and the sparks turn into a lightning rod that shoots straight down my body.

"Loo," I said it with needs of my own. Not sure if it was a question… or a warning.

"Hey, Ash…" Her sultry voice only made it harder for me to remain calm. But then she whispered, "I'd like to touch you everywhere, too."

And that was it.

One moment, we were making out on the sofa, and the next, I was carrying her to her bed, happy to give in to our desires.

**********

And now we're sitting in the car, silent. As if we are strangers.

And it was driving me insane.

It's not until we are there at the house about to go in that she finally says, "Who's house is this?" I want to come clean about it all right there, but I say nothing.

When Maxine opens the door and invites us in, Lunae speaks again, wondering why I am being called "master." I tell her it will all make sense in a moment, but I can see every emotion she has. I can feel every emotion that she's feeling. This time, I squeezed her hand before stepping into the house and pulling her behind me.

Her eyes widen as she takes in her surroundings… She looks up at the chandelier, and I watch the lights dance in her eyes. She looks at her feet and then circles around the Crestly family crest before I lead her down the hall. Seeing her this amazed is, well, amazing. Our footsteps echo off the walls as we walk deeper into the hallway, not stopping until we reach the very end. I turn to walk into my grandfather's office, but she stops and admires the Armored statues and family portraits on the back wall.

I take a deep breath, and the explanation begins. I introduced my grandfather to Loo, and she to him. My grandfather never looked up until I mentioned the mark.

And it's not like I flat out expected her to just go with it… but her reaction was one I was not prepared for.

He spoke with so much pride, yet she trembled as he told the story I had heard so many times before. "A rabid dog didn't attack your family… they were attacked by werewolves.” He waited for a reaction, but she didn't move.

“I tried to save them all... but I was too late. I'm sorry. The damage to your mother's abdomen was significant, but I heard your faint heartbeat, well, my wolf did... and knew I had to do something. So I pulled you out."

I looked at her face and then at her chest. She was breathing harder than usual… her heart was racing. "The attack severed your mother almost in two, and you were already bleeding too much. You were barely breathing, so I looked up to the moon and prayed for a miracle, and then… I… I bit you. I surrendered my wolf to you… so that you could live." And as I said, I had heard it before, but this time was different. "Never did I imagine seeing you again… as my grandson's mate nonetheless!”

"Oh please, Ashton! A werewolf? How stupid do you think I am?" She snapped at me and cried, and my heart broke. "God! You went too far this time. My parents? Really?"

The war brewing within me was becoming more challenging to contain. Seeing my mate in tears for the first time was causing physical pain, and when she reached the driveway, I lost complete control.

With a roar, I was down on all fours as every bone in my body began to break and resemble. Usually, turning isn't painful, but with me trying not to turn, not to scare her… it was like my first turn all over again.

She turned to me, and I took note of the fear in her eyes, the concern she had for me, and then I turned to the moon and jumped into the air, surrendering to my other half. When I fell back to the ground, she was there too, the shock was replaced with horror, and then she dropped.

I was frantic, circling around her body, trying to get her up… whining when I was unable to.

"Retreat!” I heard my grandfather yelling at me, trying to get me back in control of my body, but I was too anxious.

"Damn it, Ashton! I said RETREAT." And that was the tone. The tone of the Alpha. I had no choice but to submit.

Once again, my bones broke and shifted… though the process took longer than usual. When I was once again in my body, I looked around for her, but she was not there. I turned back to the house and saw that my grandfather had already taken her unconscious body inside. I grabbed her from him and gently carried her to my room, and laid her under the blankets on my bed.

All at once, I was afraid of the unknown. What if it's too much for her? What if I just ruined everything? What if she does not accept me anymore? I try not to worry too much while I get dressed. The last thing she needed to see when she came too was me naked with her.

Finally, I laid down beside her under the covers and held her close. "I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry." And I knew she couldn't hear me, but I prayed she could.

I closed my eyes, and the whimpers started again, and they didn't stop until we both fell asleep, exhausted from the ordeal we had just been through.

In my dreams, she woke up and kissed me deeply, telling me how much she loved me.

In my dreams, she thanked my grandfather for saving her life, and we rode off into the sunset.

In my dreams, we were still us, and nothing would ever change that.

It wasn't until the morning when she woke up that reality hit harder than ever. When she opened her eyes, she gasped for air and quickly removed herself from my arms. Never in my life had I imagined my life without a mate, but now on her face was an emotion I didn't like. Fear. Not from her surroundings…

It was me.

She was afraid of me.

... And I was afraid of losing her.