Marked in Secret
386 Words
I ran the second I could.
The moment the fake ceremony ended, I slipped out through the garden doors and into the cool night air, dragging deep breaths into my lungs.
That kiss… it wasn’t in the contract.
And it sure as hell didn’t feel fake.
I leaned against a stone pillar, gripping the edge to stop my hands from shaking. My wolf was pacing inside me like she’d been caged too long and finally smelled freedom.
“Running already?”
His voice cut through the night like it had every right to find me. I didn’t turn around. I didn’t want him to see the confusion on my face — or the heat still lingering on my lips.
“There’s no one here, Ezra. You don’t have to act now,” I said, trying to sound calm.
Footsteps. Then silence.
He was right behind me.
“You think this is an act?” he said, voice lower, thicker.
He moved closer — too close — until I felt the warmth of his chest just inches from my back. My breathing hitched.
“Back off,” I whispered.
He didn’t.
Instead, his hand brushed my arm. Barely a touch, but it burned through me.
“Your wolf recognized me, didn’t she?”
That made me turn, anger boiling up.
“You don’t get to talk about her. You gave her up.”
I shoved him, but he caught my wrists gently, like I might break — like I wasn’t already broken.
Then he leaned in, nose brushing my neck.
My skin tingled. My breath caught.
“Ezra… what are you doing?”
“I’m finishing what I started.”
That’s when I felt it — heat blooming at the base of my neck. His scent pressing into my skin. A mark.
I jerked away.
“You’re marking me?! Without my permission?”
His jaw clenched.
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Bull s**t,” I snapped. “You had a choice back then, Ezra. And you chose to leave.”
His eyes flickered — pain, regret, something else I couldn’t read.
“I made a mistake.”
“Yeah. And now you’ve made another.”
I stepped back, heart racing.
“This might be pretend for you. But for me? This is war.”
- Writer
