Marked by the Alpha

"What the hell?" I stood in front of the mirror, horrified at the sight of the red bite mark planted on the side my neck. I feel like throwing up. No--I think I really am going to throw up. Panaginip lang 'to, 'di ba? Maybe I'm having a nightmare. That has got to be it. My body's probably still passed out somewhere in the room...right? Pero, s**t, kung panaginip lang 'to, bakit nasa likuran ko si Riddle at mukhang gusto na akong patayin? "Anong kalokohan 'tong ginawa mo, Euo!" sigaw niya na lalong nagpagising sa akin. Kinagat ko ang labi ko. It wasn't a hard question. I should easily be able to answer her, but I don't freaking remember anything! Ang alam ko ay nagpunta kami kagabi sa Hologram. We had fun and drank a lot, like usual. It was a typical Friday night. Naaalala ko pa nga na sabay-sabay kaming lumabas ng bar ng mga kaibigan ko. Naghintay pa ako ng taxi kasama sila. But everything after that was a big blur! Real good work, Euodias. Isa ka talagang dakilang tanga! "I don't know, Riddle! Hindi ko maalala," I confessed. My best friend looked at me in disbelief. Kaunti na lang yata at tatama na sa mukha ko ang palad niya. "Seryoso ka ba ngayon? Hindi pwedeng hindi mo maalala! Pilitin mo!" I grimaced. Pakiramdam ko ay dudugo na ang tainga ko sa lakas ng sigaw niya. "I already did! Kanina pa ako nag-iisip pero wala talaga! Everything's in bits and pieces." "Oh my, God! Ano ka ba!" Ginulo ni Riddle ang buhok niya. Tumalikod siya sa akin at hinilamos ang palad niya sa kanyang mukha. She looked more frustrated than I am. Binalik ko ang mga mata sa salamin. Tiningnan ko ulit iyong kagat sa leeg ko, na para bang maglalaho iyon kapag paulit-ulit kong tinitigan. I grazed my fingers above it, and winched at the slight pain. This is starting to drive me insane! Bakit ganito ako ngayon? Bakit hindi ko maalala? Kahit kailan ay hindi pa naman nangyari sa akin 'to kahit pa lasing na lasing ako! Madalas nga ay ako pa ang naghahatid sa mga kaibigan ko kapag nalalasing sila, pero bakit ngayon ay parang magic na lang na humina 'yong memorya ko? How the heck did this happen? I really don't get it. "Ano ba kasing ginawa ninyo pagkaalis ko? Lumipat pa ba kayo ng ibang bar?" tanong ni Riddle. Mas mahinahon na ang boses niya ngayon kaysa kanina. Mabilis akong umiling. "Hindi! I mean, we've thought about it, pero hindi namin tinuloy dahil nga wasted na si Callie. Pagkatapos namin doon sa Hologram, sabay-sabay kaming umalis." Tinaasan niya ako ng kilay, at inilagay ang magkabilang kamay sa kanyang beywang. "Oh, e, paano ka napahiwalay sa dalawa?" Sandali akong natahimik. To be honest, I really had no idea. Did I got possessed? Did someone took me by force? Pero hindi, e. Wala naman akong maalala na may pumilit sa akin. Besides, I vaguely remember laughing and enjoying that night with that person. Pero syempre hindi ko 'yon sasabihin kay Riddle kahit pa patayin niya ako! "I honestly don't know," sagot ko. Medyo totoo naman kasi iyon. Isang malalim na hininga ang pinakawalan niya. Riddle looked like she had finally given up. "Masisira yata ang ulo ko sayo, Euo." Naglakad siya at umupo roon sa kama ko. Sumunod naman ako at tumabi na rin sa kanya. We stayed silent for a while. Parehas naming hindi alam ang sasabihin at gagawin sa sitwasyong ito. Riddle and I had been best friends for years. We had our fair share of troubles caused by our own stupidity, but this has got to be the most extreme. Minsan bilib na talaga ako sa katangahang taglay ko. Ayos lang sana kung one-night stand lang ang nangyari. Mas gugustuhin ko na iyon. Kaya lang, may one-night stand na nga, nagawa ko pang magpamarka. And I don't even remember the guy! Paano na ako nito?  "Hindi mo talaga maalala?" ani Riddle matapos ang ilang sandali. Nilingon ko siya. Umiling ako bilang sagot. Aside from his scent, I don't remember anything else. "Baka naman si Caleb lang 'yong nakasama mo? Baka palihim siyang pumunta sa bar para sunduin ka?" Muli ay umiling ako. As much as I want that to be the case, I'm pretty sure that it wasn't my boyfriend, Caleb. Imposibleng siya 'yong nakasama ko kagabi, at 'yong naghatid sa akin dito sa bahay dahil ang unang text niya kaninang umaga ay kung nakauwi raw ba ako nang maayos. He wouldn't ask me that if he was the one who drived me home. And besides, the scent I remember that night wasn't the same as his. It was stronger, minty and musky, like the smell of forest trees. Caleb's pheromones were far from that. It's definitely not him. So then, who was the bastard who marked me without my consent? "Sigurado ka ba? Kung hindi siya, e'di sino?" "Iyon nga rin 'yong gusto kong malaman e." I groaned. Nilingon ko ulit iyong direksyon ng salamin. I swept my hair to the side and stared at the bite mark for the nth time. Kahit na may kalayuan, kitang kita ko pa rin ang pamumula noon. Around it were hickeys scattered all over my pale neck, down to my collarbones. I'm pretty sure there were more on my body, but I decided not to look at them. It's been a while since I got this many hickeys. Huling nangyari ito ay noong nasa Caste Haven pa ako. I remember waking up every morning covered with these red bruises after sleeping with different alphas. That was the kind of life I've been living until I met Caleb.  Siya iyong nag-alis sa akin sa club na iyon. He made everything easy for me, and I thought it would stay that way. But now, this happened. I slept with some random guy. I unwittingly cheated on my boyfriend. On top of that, I even got myself marked by a complete stranger. This is just the worst. "I'm calling Ageha and Callie," saad ni Riddle na muling kumuha ng atensyon ko. "Baka matulungan nila tayo na hanapin 'yong gumawa n'yan." "How? I don't even remember the guy. Isa pa, mas nauna silang makauwi sa akin." "Well, there must be something that they could do. Baka may naaalala silang lumapit sayo, o nagbigay ng interes noong nasa club pa kayo." "I'm pretty sure na mas marami pa akong naaalala kaysa sa kanila." Riddle glared at me. Naiinis na siguro siya dahil panay ang kontra ko sa mga sinabi niya. I'm just telling the truth, though. Totoo naman kasi na mas maayos pa ako kina Callie at Ageha kagabi.  "Well, kung marami kang naaalala, bakit hindi mo hanapin sa memorya mo iyong lalaking gumawa n'yan?" Tinuro ni Riddle iyong kagat ko sa leeg. "Kahit ano lang na naaalala mo, Euo. Iyong kulay ng buhok niya, itsura ng mata niya, even his d**k size, goddammit!" Napangiwi ako. I'm starting to question whether it was really a good idea to ask for her help. "Well... I do remember what his pheromones smell like." Umikot ang mata niya roon. "Well, duh. He marked you, kaya talagang maaalala mo." Kumunot ang noo ko roon. I did not know that that was a thing. Hindi naman kasi ako masyadong naturuan pagdating sa ganoong bagay. All I knew was that I had to protect my neck, and that I had to take my suppressants when my heat came.  "His smell will linger on you from now on, Euo," dagdag na paliwanag ni Riddle. "That's one of the things that happens when you're already marked. Actually, iba na nga 'yong amoy mo, e." Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "Hindi nga?" Tumango siya. Sandali niya akong tinitigan, bago bumuntong-hininga. "Yeah. It's actually quite strong. Sa una ay maaamoy pa iyong pheromones mo, pero kahalo noon iyong amoy ng alpha mo. I think he's a dominant one, since his scent is this strong." Para akong binuhusan ng malamig na tubig dahil sa narinig. Pakiramdam ko ay nawala lahat ng dugo sa mukha ko. I had no idea! s**t, this can't be happening. Caleb will notice! Malalaman niya na may nagmarka na sa akin! Ayaw ko pang malaman niya. Hindi pa ako ready na magpaliwanag. "We have to find that bastard! Riddle, please!" I pleaded as if she was a fairy godmother who could make it happen in a snap. Sumama ang tingin niya sa akin. "Ito na nga, 'di ba! Tatanga-tanga ka kasi, e. Ayan tuloy."  Tinalikuran niya ako, at nagsimula nang tawagan ang iba pa naming kaibigan. Pinanood ko lamang siya habang hawak-hawak ang dibdib kong kanina pa malakas ang kalabog. With the limited information that we have, I doubt that we could find the guy who marked me. But it's better than doing nothing. Kailangan kong mahanap ang lalaking gumawa nito sa akin. Wala naman akong ibang pwedeng gawin kung hindi iyon. After all, once you're marked, you can only be with that person, and no one else, for as long as you live.