Marked To Be Theirs

CHAPTER 4

Ivy’s POV

I woke up on Red's couch with no memory of passing out.

Xavier was sitting in a chair across from me with his head in his hands and Red was back in human form pacing the length of the loft in nothing but jeans.

"She's awake," Red said without looking at me.

Xavier's head snapped up and he moved to kneel beside the couch. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I watched a man turn into a wolf," I said. "So not great."

"That's fair," Xavier said. "Do you want some water?"

I nodded and he disappeared into the kitchen area. Red finally stopped pacing and sat on the coffee table across from me. Up close I could see that his tattoos were not just random designs but intricate patterns that looked almost like protective symbols.

"Sorry for scaring you," Red said but he did not sound particularly sorry. "Xavier wanted to ease you into the truth but I figured ripping off the bandaid was better."

"You could have warned me first," I said.

"Would you have believed us without seeing it?"

He had a point. "Probably not."

Xavier came back with water and I drank half the glass in one go. My hands were still shaking but at least I had not passed out again.

"So I'm a werewolf," I said. "But I've never turned into a wolf so how does that work?"

Xavier and Red exchanged another one of their looks. "That's complicated," Xavier said. "Most wolves have their first shift during puberty but sometimes trauma can delay or prevent shifting altogether."

"And you think my trauma with Jeremy is why I never shifted?"

"Partially," Xavier said. "But there's more to it than that and we need to tell you some things about Jeremy that are going to be hard to hear."

I braced myself. "Just tell me."

"Jeremy was giving you wolfsbane," Red said bluntly. "It's a plant that suppresses wolf nature and in high enough doses it can prevent shifting completely."

That explained the pills Jeremy used to give me that he said were vitamins. I had stopped taking them after we broke up but the damage was apparently already done.

"So he knew I was a werewolf and he deliberately kept me from shifting?" Anger burned through my confusion. "Why would he do that?"

"Because you're an Omega," Xavier said carefully. "It's a rare type of wolf that's more powerful than Alphas in some ways and Jeremy wanted to control that power for himself."

"What's an Omega?"

Red leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Omegas can have multiple mates and create pack bonds that make everyone stronger."

"So Jeremy wanted to claim me?"

"He already partially claimed you," Xavier said. "That's why you feel drawn to him even though you know he's dangerous. And if we are to break that claim bond it's going to be difficult."

I touched the mark on my neck that Jeremy had left. "This is a claim mark?"

"One of them," Red said. "He would need to complete the claiming ritual during a full moon but the partial mark is enough to make you feel connected to him."

The room started spinning again and I put my head between my knees to keep from passing out. Everything about my relationship with Jeremy suddenly made horrible sense. The way I could never leave him no matter how badly he hurt me. The way I always went back even when I swore I wouldn't. The way my body responded to him even when my mind screamed no.

It had all been because of a forced mate bond that I did not know existed.

"Can you break it?" I asked.

"Yes but it requires you to accept claims from other wolves who are willing to override Jeremy's mark," Xavier said. "And it has to be done during the full moon which is in two weeks."

"So I just need to find other werewolves willing to bite me?"

"It's not that simple," Red said. "The wolves have to be compatible with your Omega nature and you have to genuinely want them as mates otherwise the new bonds won't take."

"And where exactly am I supposed to find compatible mates in two weeks?" I sighed while wringing my hands nervously. I just wanted to be so free from anything Jeremy.

Xavier and Red looked at each other again and I was getting really tired of their silent conversations.

"What?" I demanded.

"We're both compatible with you," Xavier said quietly. "I recognized you as my mate the moment I saw you at the gallery and Red recognized you at the airport yesterday when he saved you from the enforcers."

My head hurt from trying to keep up. "So let me get this straight because you both think I'm your mate you're willing to claim me and break Jeremy's bond?"

"Yes," they said at the same time.

"But I don't even know you and you're brothers which seems weird."

"Omega pack dynamics are different from regular pack dynamics," Xavier explained. "It's not unusual for an Omega to have multiple mates including family members who share the same mate."

"That's definitely weird," I said.

"It's nature," Red said with a shrug. "And honestly you're going to need multiple mates to fully break Jeremy's hold because one claim won't be enough."

"How many mates are we talking about?"

"Usually three or four," Xavier said. "The magic number seems to be whatever makes the Omega feel complete."

I laughed but it came out slightly hysterical. "So I went from having one abusive boyfriend to potentially having three or four werewolf mates and I'm just supposed to be okay with this?"

"You don't have to decide anything right now," Xavier said. "But the full moon is in two weeks and if Jeremy completes his claim before then you'll be bound to him permanently."

That sobered me up fast. "Permanently as in forever?"

"Permanently as in your wolf will be completely submissive to his and you'll never be able to leave him no matter what he does to you," Red said. "So yeah we're kind of on a deadline here."

I stood up and started pacing the same path Red had been pacing earlier. This was too much information to process and I felt like my brain was going to explode.

"I need air," I said.

"You can't leave," Xavier said. "Jeremy is still out there and he knows you're with me."

"Then I'll go to the roof," I said.

I climbed the stairs without looking back and pushed through the roof door. The night air was cold but it felt good against my overheated skin. I walked to the middle of the roof and sat down on the concrete.

The city stretched out below me full of lights and people who had no idea that werewolves existed. I had been one of those people just a few hours ago and now I was apparently part of a secret supernatural society that operated beneath the surface of normal life.

The roof door opened and I expected Xavier but it was Red who came and sat beside me. He did not say anything at first and I was grateful for the silence.

"You doing okay princess?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Stop calling me that," I said. "Jeremy calls me that."

"Fair enough," Red said. "What do you want me to call you then?"

"My name would be nice."

"Ivy it is," he said. "Though I reserve the right to come up with a better nickname once I know you better."

I looked at him sideways. "You're pretty confident that you're going to know me better."

"I'm confident that you're not stupid enough to let Jeremy claim you permanently when you have other options," Red said. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know you paint wolves because your subconscious is screaming for you to shift," Red said. "I know you're scared of Jeremy but you're also angry and that anger is what's going to save you and I know you're attracted to my brother even though you're trying really hard to pretend you're not."

"I am not attracted to Xavier."

Red laughed. "Your heartbeat just spiked which means you're lying and also you smell like arousal whenever he gets close to you."

"That's a disgusting thing to say."

"It's a true thing to say," Red corrected. "Werewolves can smell emotions and yours are pretty loud."

I stood up to leave but Red caught my wrist. His hand was warm and rough. Something about his touch made my skin tingle in a way that was definitely not unpleasant.

"Let go," I said.

"Not until you look at me," Red said.

I turned and his blue eyes were glowing in the darkness. "What?"

"You're my mate Ivy and I know you don't believe it yet but your wolf knows it and eventually you're going to stop fighting what's inevitable."

I folded my hands.

Red pulled me closer until I was standing between his legs. "You're going to let me claim you and you're going to let Xavier claim you. It's the only way to stop Jeremy.”

"You can't possibly know that."

"I can smell it on you," Red said. "You're already bonding with us even though you don't realize it yet and by the time the full moon comes you're going to be begging us to break Jeremy's hold."

His confidence should have annoyed me but instead it made something low in my stomach tighten with want. I pulled my wrist free and stepped back before I did something stupid like kiss him.

"I'm going back inside," I said.

"Running away already?" Red called after me.

His laugh followed me down the stairs and I hated how much I liked the sound of it.