MARKS OF THE FORBIDDEN
964 Words
The mark on Aria’s window didn’t vanish.
By morning, it had darkened, the fine etching burned deeper into the wood like it had been carved with fire instead of a blade. The overlapping crescents pulsed in her mind, haunting her like a prophecy. She traced it again and again, as if trying to will it to reveal its secrets.
She didn’t have long to wait.
Whispers and Warnings
The university felt different that morning—tenser, like the air itself had grown watchful.
Kaelen was nowhere in sight.
Lily noticed first. “Hey, did you hear? Two students dropped out overnight. No reason, just... gone.”
Aria’s heart panged.
“Gone?” she asked. “What do you mean gone?”
“I mean campus security was at Dorm B. Then—boom—empty rooms. Weird, right?” Lily chewed her lip. “You haven’t seen Kaelen, have you? He’s got that whole sinister disappearing act thing going on.”
Aria lied. “No.”
But unease curled in her stomach.
The Alpha’s Ultimatum
Kaelen stood barefoot in the center of a stone chamber lit only by flickering torchlight.
His father—Alpha Lysander Duskborne—sat on a throne-like seat, draped in furs, ancient eyes watching him with cold calculation.
“You risked everything for a human,” Lysander said. “You defied the bond. Exposed us. They saw you. You know what that means.”
Kaelen’s fists clenched. “They attacked her.”
“And she still breathes?” the Alpha hissed. “You’re letting your instincts betray you.”
“She’s not a threat.”
“She’s your mate,” Lysander growled. “That makes her a liability.”
Kaelen stepped forward, voice low and razor-sharp. “If you touch her... if any of you touch her, I’ll burn this pack to ash.”
For a moment, silence reigned.
Then the Alpha smiled—dangerous and slow.
“You sound like your mother.”
Kaelen’s jaw tightened.
“You have three days,” Lysander said. “Reject the bond. Or I’ll do it for you.”
Aria’s Awakening
Aria was in the library when she saw it again—the mark, carved into a book on werewolf mythology. The same symbol. She flipped through frantically until she found a faded page:
“The Twin Moon Mark signifies a union that defies the natural laws of the Pack. Forbidden bonds. Cursed strength. Death or power—there is no middle path.”
She ran her fingers down the page.
“Cursed strength,” she whispered.
Her phone buzzed. One message.
KAELEN: Come to the old observatory. Now. Alone.
The Observatory
The observatory stood on a forgotten hilltop just outside campus. It hadn’t been used in years—locked gates, vines strangling the iron railings, rusted steps.
He was waiting inside.
He looked different in the moonlight—tired, furious, and afraid.
“Why did you bring me here?” she asked.
“I needed to see you one last time.”
The way he said it made her stomach drop.
Kaelen paced, breathing hard. “My father knows. The pack knows. We’re not safe anymore. You’re not safe. I need to end the bond—before it ends you.”
“No,” she said. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“You don’t understand what this means,” he snapped. “There are laws older than this country. Blood laws. They’ll kill you, Aria.”
She walked to him, touching his chest. “Then why does this feel like the only thing that’s ever made sense?”
He swallowed. His hands cupped her face like he was memorizing her.
“Because it’s real,” he whispered.
And then—he kissed her.
The Bond Ignites
It wasn’t soft.
It was fire.
Their mouths met with an intensity that shattered every wall between them. Kaelen’s control snapped as her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pressed into his. Every instinct he had roared to claim her, to mark her, to protect and possess.
He pinned her gently against the wall, hands gripping her waist, breath ragged as their lips broke apart.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” he murmured.
“I know exactly what I want,” she whispered back, kissing him again.
And for one stolen hour beneath the stars, they forgot the war waiting outside the door.
The Aftermath
He pulled away first.
His shirt hung half-open, revealing the rune-shaped scar over his heart. Aria traced it with trembling fingers.
“What is this?”
“The mark of inheritance. My rank. My curse.”
She leaned her head against his chest.
“I don’t want you to lose everything because of me.”
“You’re not making me lose anything,” Kaelen said. “You’re the only thing I’ve ever wanted to fight for.”
Then—howl.
Not his.
Not friendly.
Kaelen’s head snapped toward the window.
“They found us.”
A Fight Begins
They burst into the woods, running.
Shadows moved among the trees—four, maybe five wolves in human form, each bearing the Duskborne sigil on their arms. Aria stumbled, breath ragged, but Kaelen didn’t stop.
Until one of them stepped into their path.
“You were warned,” the wolf spat. “Now she pays.”
Kaelen shifted before Aria’s eyes, mid-run—fur rippling, bones shifting, a savage growl rising from his throat.
He launched himself at the attacker.
And Aria ran, heart in her throat, the night alive with snarls and fury.
She didn’t stop until the howls faded behind her.
Didn’t stop until she reached the edge of the woods.
Didn’t stop until she realized—
She was alone.
- Writer
