The Forbidden Mark
1906 Words
The door slammed shut behind Isabella.
She stood in the hallway, staring at the elevator doors.
Her mother's voice was still echoing in her head.
Don't trust Adrian.
She had wanted answers.
Instead, she had found more questions.
Her mother was alive.
Adrian knew something.
The Silverpine facility had been waiting for her.
And now there was a symbol on her wrist that Adrian was clearly terrified of.
Isabella looked down.
The silver crescent was still there.
Three tiny stars surrounded it.
She touched the mark.
A sharp pulse of heat traveled through her arm.
She immediately pulled her hand away.
“Miss Hart?”
Daniel's voice came from behind her.
She turned.
He was holding his phone.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Daniel stared at her wrist.
“That's not nothing.”
Isabella pulled her sleeve down.
“Did you find anything?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I found something about Silverpine.”
“What?”
“The facility wasn't officially abandoned.”
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
“It was transferred to a private company five years ago.”
“Which company?”
Daniel looked at his phone.
“Lunar Holdings.”
Isabella's stomach tightened.
“Of course.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“But there's more.”
“What?”
“The company hasn't made a single public transaction in five years.”
Isabella stared at him.
“So it exists only on paper.”
“Exactly.”
She started walking.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to my office.”
Daniel followed.
“To investigate?”
“No.”
She stopped.
“To prepare.”
“For what?”
Isabella looked toward the windows.
“For the people who are coming for me.”
Three hours later, Adrian stood in the basement of Blackthorn Tower.
The room was hidden beneath several layers of security.
Only the Alpha and a handful of senior members knew it existed.
Marcus placed an ancient book on the table.
“This was found in the Silverpine archives.”
Adrian opened it.
The pages were covered in handwritten symbols.
Most of the writing was in a language he couldn't understand.
But one symbol was familiar.
The crescent moon.
Three stars.
Adrian stared at it.
“What does it say?”
Marcus shook his head.
“We translated part of it.”
“And?”
Marcus hesitated.
“It says the Moonborn were not created to rule.”
Adrian looked up.
“What were they created for?”
Marcus swallowed.
“To break the bonds of the supernatural world.”
Adrian went still.
“Explain.”
“A Moonborn can apparently sever supernatural connections.”
“Mate bonds?”
“Yes.”
“Pack bonds?”
“Yes.”
“Alpha bonds?”
Marcus nodded.
Adrian's eyes darkened.
“So they could remove an Alpha's connection to his pack.”
“That's what the records suggest.”
Adrian looked back at the book.
“That would make them dangerous.”
Marcus didn't answer.
Adrian continued reading.
Then he reached a page covered in red ink.
He stopped.
“What?”
Marcus leaned closer.
At the bottom of the page was a warning.
Never allow a Moonborn to awaken beneath the full moon.
Adrian's chest tightened.
“When is the full moon?”
“Tomorrow night.”
Silence filled the room.
Adrian closed the book.
“Where is Isabella?”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“She returned to her apartment.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
Adrian immediately stood.
“I'll go.”
Marcus grabbed his arm.
“Alpha.”
Adrian turned.
“What?”
“You need to know something.”
Marcus pulled out another document.
“This was recovered from the old Silverpine database.”
Adrian took it.
The document contained a list of names.
Most had been crossed out.
Some were marked deceased.
At the bottom was a name that hadn't been crossed out.
ISABELLA HART.
Beside it was a handwritten note.
AWAKENING CONFIRMED.
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Who wrote this?”
“We don't know.”
“Find out.”
Marcus nodded.
Adrian walked toward the exit.
“Alpha.”
He stopped.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“If the Council learns she's awakened…”
Adrian looked back.
“What happens?”
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“They'll kill her.”
Adrian's eyes became cold.
“Then they won't find her.”
Isabella sat alone in her office.
The city lights reflected against the glass.
A dozen files covered her desk.
Five years of research.
Five years of unanswered questions.
She opened the oldest file.
Her mother's name appeared at the top.
ELENA HART — RESEARCH SUBJECT 017.
Isabella's hands froze.
She had never known her mother had been a research subject.
She continued reading.
Species classification: Unknown.
Bloodline: Unknown.
Abilities: Dormant.
Then came the final line.
Child carries stronger genetic markers than the mother.
Isabella stopped breathing.
Child.
She turned the page.
There was a photograph.
A baby.
Wrapped in a white blanket.
A crescent-shaped mark visible on her tiny wrist.
Isabella stared at the photograph.
“That can't be me.”
But she knew it was.
Her hands began shaking.
Another page.
Subject 017 attempted to escape with child.
Then:
Father intervened.
Isabella's eyes widened.
Her father.
The man she had never known.
She turned another page.
The next section had been blacked out.
Almost everything.
Except one sentence.
The child's father is classified as—
The rest was missing.
Isabella slammed the file shut.
A sound came from the hallway.
She immediately stood.
Her instincts sharpened.
Someone was outside.
She reached for the weapon hidden beneath her desk.
The door opened.
Adrian walked in.
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
“You have a habit of entering rooms without permission.”
Adrian closed the door behind him.
“You're in danger.”
“So I've been told.”
“You need to leave the city.”
“No.”
“Isabella.”
“No.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“The Council knows you're alive.”
She froze.
“How?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I'm not.”
“Then tell me what the Moonborn is.”
Adrian went completely still.
Isabella's heart pounded.
“You know.”
He looked at the mark hidden beneath her sleeve.
“Where did you get that?”
“I was born with it.”
Adrian's face changed.
“What?”
“My mother had it too.”
Adrian stepped backward.
“No.”
“Yes.”
He shook his head.
“That isn't possible.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
He stopped.
Isabella crossed her arms.
“Because what?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Because your mother wasn't supposed to have a child.”
Silence.
“What did you just say?”
Adrian realized his mistake.
Isabella moved toward him.
“Explain.”
“I can't.”
“You always say that.”
She grabbed his jacket.
“You rejected me five years ago because of this, didn't you?”
Adrian looked into her eyes.
“Yes.”
The word came out quietly.
Isabella froze.
Her grip loosened.
“Why?”
Adrian's voice broke slightly.
“Because my father told me that if I claimed you…”
He stopped.
“What?”
“He said the Council would come for you.”
“And you believed him?”
“I had no choice.”
Isabella laughed bitterly.
“You always had a choice.”
“I was twenty-three.”
“You were the Alpha.”
“I was a son.”
The anger in his voice surprised her.
Adrian looked away.
“My father threatened to destroy the entire pack if I refused to obey.”
Isabella stared at him.
“And you chose them.”
“I chose you.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“I rejected you because I thought the rejection would hide you from the Council.”
Isabella shook her head.
“It didn't.”
“I know.”
“You destroyed me.”
“I know.”
“You made me believe I wasn't good enough.”
Adrian's eyes filled with regret.
“I know.”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Isabella whispered:
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your mother made me promise.”
Isabella's heart stopped.
“My mother?”
Adrian nodded.
“She came to me before the ceremony.”
“Why?”
“She told me that if I claimed you, the Moonborn would awaken.”
Isabella stared at him.
“And?”
“She was afraid of what would happen.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked directly at her.
“Because the last time a Moonborn awakened…”
He paused.
“An entire pack disappeared.”
A cold shiver ran through Isabella.
“What happened to them?”
“Nobody knows.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
Adrian turned toward the window.
A low growl escaped his throat.
“Someone's here.”
Isabella reached for her weapon.
“How many?”
“Three.”
“Wolves?”
Adrian's eyes turned gold.
“No.”
The window exploded.
Glass flew across the room.
Adrian grabbed Isabella and pulled her down.
Three black creatures landed inside the office.
Their eyes glowed silver.
One of them looked directly at Isabella.
“The Moonborn.”
Adrian stood in front of her.
“You won't touch her.”
The creature smiled.
“You still protect her?”
Adrian's eyes flashed.
“She is my mate.”
Isabella stared at him.
The creature laughed.
“You rejected her.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“And I regret it.”
The creature suddenly lunged.
Adrian shifted.
Bones cracked.
A massive black wolf appeared between Isabella and the attacker.
The creature slammed into him.
They crashed through the office wall.
Isabella stood.
Her heart raced.
Another creature moved toward her.
It raised its claws.
Isabella lifted her hand.
The mark on her wrist began glowing.
The creature stopped.
Its expression changed.
Fear.
“No…”
Isabella stared at her own hand.
Silver light spread across her fingers.
“What are you?”
The creature backed away.
“You don't know?”
Isabella took one step forward.
“Tell me.”
The creature shook its head.
“You were never supposed to awaken.”
Isabella's eyes hardened.
“Tell me!”
The silver light exploded.
The creature was thrown across the room.
It hit the wall and collapsed.
Silence.
Adrian's wolf stood over the other creature.
The third had already escaped.
Adrian shifted back.
Blood covered his shoulder.
He looked at Isabella.
She was staring at the silver light still surrounding her hand.
Then the mark changed.
The crescent moon opened.
A fourth star appeared.
Adrian's face went completely pale.
“Isabella…”
She looked at him.
“What?”
He stared at the mark.
“That isn't the Moonborn mark.”
“Then what is it?”
Adrian swallowed.
“It's the mark of the Moonborn King.”
Isabella's blood ran cold.
“The King?”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“Your father wasn't just a Moonborn.”
He looked into her eyes.
“He was their king.”
Before Isabella could respond, every light in the city suddenly went out.
Far away, thousands of wolves lifted their heads toward the sky.
And beneath the clouds, the moon began turning red.
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