Three marks, one mate

Forty five

Brandon's POV

“Keep her steady!” Grayson's voice slid through the room, sharp and alarming. He was holding Desiree’s right hand, his knuckles white as he watched the Head Healer, Martha, work.

Her hands glowed with a soft, green light as she hovered them over Desiree’s palms. The skin was knitting back together, but the silver scarring left behind by the bars was stubborn and refusing to fade.

I knew it was a bad idea getting back to Celine when he was still very much active inside Celine's brain.

“The iron didn't just burn her,” Martha murmured, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. “It reacted with the power she was pulling through. It's…it's kike her blood is trhjnh yi rewrite itself.”

I didn't care about the science of it. I didn't care about the prophecy or the “Moon-Born” stupid legend. What I only cared about was the way her chest rose and fell. Every time her breath hitched, the bond between us, sent waves of cold terror through my soul and I am sure we all felt it.

Zachary was by the window, his arms crossed so tightly he looked like he might snap his own bones. His gaze was fixed on the door, his Alpha senses flaring to their absolute limit.

“She over-bound him,” Zachary said, his voice a low and dangerous rumble. “She didn't just break the connection; she sent a surge of our combined power back through the line. Brandon, If she can do that to a king…what does that make her?”

“It makes her mine,” I growled, my wolf pacing. “It makes her the fitted Luna of this pack, and I will f*****g tear the throat out of any motherfucker who treats her like a weapon instead of a woman.”

I sat on the edge of the bed, my hand resting gently on Desiree's forehead. Her skin was clammy, but the heat radiating from her was intense, as if a sun were trying to birth itself under her body.

“Brandon.” Avery’s voice came from the corner of the room. She looked small, her eyes red-rimmed from the emotional whiplash of our mother’s return and the dungeon confrontation. “Mum says we have to move her. She says the infirmary isn't safe. The ley lines here are too exposed.”

“She’s staying here,” I snapped, the Alpha command leaking into my tone. “She isn't moving until she wakes up.”

“She won't wake up if the darkness finds the scent again,” a new voice drifted in.

Hecate stood in the doorway. She wasn't looking at me; she was looking at Desiree with a mixture of awe and pity.

“The Rogue King is a wounded animal now,” Hecate said, stepping into the room. “Desiree didn't just push him back. She clipped him in so damn much. He will feel the burn of your love for her every time he closes his eyes. It will drive him mad. He will come for her not just for power now, but for revenge.”

Before I could respond, a commotion erupted in the hallway.

Shouts of a woman who was used to being the loudest person in any room and it made my jaw tightened because I already knew that voice.

It was the sound of a headache I had been trying to avoid for weeks.

“Where is she? Where is that little interloper?”

The doors to the infirmary burst open, slamming against the walls with a violence that made the medical equipment shake.

Elder Maeve marched in, her robes swishing behind her like wings. Her face was covered with fury and her eyes darted around the room until they landed on me. She didn't look at the unconscious girl on the bed.

“Alpha Brandon!” She barked, her voice echoing off . “I return from the council borders to find my daughter missing! My guards tell me she was dragged to the dungeons by your Beta like a common criminal. Explain yourself!”

“Your daughter is a traitor, Maeve,” Zachary said, stepping away from the window. “She was acting as a vessel for the Rogue King. She tried to lure Luna into a trap.”

Maeve let out a sharp, mocking laugh, her hands going to her hips. “Traitor? Traps? You expect me to believe these fairy tales? My Celine is a devoted member of this pack. She has done nothing but strive for the position of Luna—a position that is hers by right and tradition!”

She turned her gaze to Desiree, her lip curling in a sneer. “I see. I see what this is. Desiree felt threatened. She knew she couldn't win a fair challenge, so she had my daughter kidnapped and tucked away in the dark while I was out dealing with the political affairs of this pack. This is a kidnapping, Alpha! This is an abuse of power!”

“Watch your tongue, Maeve,” I said, my voice dropping into pure anger. I stood up, my height dwarfing her, “Your daughter admitted to sleeping with Elias. She carried his mark. She nearly killed Desiree tonight.”

Maeve didn't even blink. Perhaps because she was a master of the lie, a woman who I knew had spent days manipulating almost everyone in this pack and rage baiting them into doing what she loved. “Lies! Coerced confessions in a soundproof cell! You are being blinded by this girl, Brandon. She has enchanted you. She is the one with the dark aura. Look at her!”

She pointed a shaking finger at Desiree. “She glows with a light that isn't of the Moon! She defies the Wolfsbane! She is a witch, a monster, and you have locked up my innocent daughter to protect her!”

“Celine is in the medical wing of the dungeon, Maeve,” Grayson said, his voice surprisingly soft, though his eyes were cold as ice. “She’s alive. But she’s broken. If you want to see what your ‘innocent’ daughter has become, go look for yourself. But do not come in here and scream at our mate.”

Maeve’s eyes flickered for a second, it was a brief flash of genuine fear that she quickly smoothed over. She didn't care about Celine’s soul; she cared about Celine’s utility.

“I will be calling an emergency meeting of the Elders,” Maeve hissed, taking a step back but keeping her chin high. “You cannot hold a high-ranking pack member without a public trial. If Celine isn't released into my custody by dawn, I will declare this an illegal Regency. I will strip you of your title, Brandon. I have the votes.”

“You have nothing but spite, Maeve,” Hecate said from the corner.

Maeve froze. She turned slowly, her face paling as she locked eyes with the woman she had once called her Queen. “Hecate?” she whispered, her voice finally losing its control. “You... you’re dead. You’ve been dead for years.”

“I was waiting,” Hecate replied, her voice cold and final. “Waiting for the Moon-Born to arrive so I could watch you burn for what you did to this pack. You pushed your daughter into the arms of a King who eats souls for breakfast. You are the reason Celine is broken.”

“Enough!” I roared, the sound vibrating the windows. “Maeve, get out. Now. Before I forget you are an Elder and treat you like the threat you are.”

Maeve stared at Hecate, then at me, her chest heaving. She knew she had lost this round, but the anger in her eyes told me the war was just beginning. She turned on her heel and swept out of the room.

“She won't stop,” Zachary said, rubbing his face. “She’ll go to the other packs. She’ll tell them we’ve gone rogue. She’ll use Celine as a martyr.”

“Let her,” I said, sitting back down and taking Desiree’s hand.

I looked at Martha. “How is she?”

“The physical burns are healing,” Martha said, wiping sweat from her brow. “But her heart rate... it’s accelerating. It’s too fast, Brandon. It’s like she’s running a race in her sleep.”

Suddenly, Desiree’s body went rigid.

Her back arched off the bed, her eyes snapping open. But they weren't her eyes. They weren't the black void of Elias, either.

It was the deep, terrifying eyes of a blood moon then just like that, a growl escaped her throat and the green healing light around Martha's hands turned black and vanished in an infant.

“Desiree?” I grabbed her shoulders, trying to hold her down, but she felt like she was made of iron.

She turned her head, her red eyes locking onto mine. She looked like she didn't know me, then her lips moved, but the voice that came out was multiple voices.

“The gate is open,” she whispered and she reached up, her fingers digging into my forearms with inhuman strength. She leaned in,

“The Fourth Mate is coming, Alpha,” she rasped. “And he isn't coming for her heart. He’s coming to claim the throne you’re sitting on.”