The Prophesied Claim

The Mark

He pushes himself up from the stairs, leaving me sitting in a lacy bra and nothing else. His hands are shoved in his hair again, but now he's pacing. The top button of his jeans is still undone, and I still see the erection pressing the front of his pants, but he isn't continuing our interlude. Looking around for something to cover myself, I grab his t-shirt and yank it over my head. Time for another talk. Possibly my years as a teacher have helped prepare me for constant interruption of s*x and extremely uncomfortable conversations. Obviously, we're going to need something to help this conversation happen.

I leave Alec pacing around, and sneak to the kitchen. The refrigerator is stocked with a strange assortment of meat, as is the freezer. There are vegetables on the counter, a bunch of bananas and a single can of pop. Opening cabinets, I finally found a bottle of whiskey and opt for a quick Jack and Coke. I pour us each a glass, grab the chips, and return to find Alec sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

I place the glass on the table in front of him, taking a sip of mine I tell him, "You know, when I was in high school, I found out I was adopted. My biological mother was a drug user, abandoned me at a hospital when I was six weeks old. Apparently, I was lucky to have survived. I thought I would die when I found out. It made it seem like nothing in my life was real."

"I know. I ran a background check on you after we met."

I sigh, "Of course you did. Did it tell you I did nearly die? A car accident when I was twenty-one. Ironically, we were hit by a drunk driver while we were on the way to a bar for my first beer."

"Sirena, if I mark you, there's no going back. You'd be stuck with me. You wouldn't be able to change your mind later if things got tough, and they will, especially when Finn gives over Alpha." 

I set my glass down next to his, "That's not why you're hesitating. I don't for a single second believe you wouldn't work at a relationship. That's an excuse, not an explanation, and you owe me one. If for no other reason than showing up and making a giant mess out of my already way too messy life."

He reaches out to take my hand, "I did say you need a keeper. Every time I turn around, you're in some kind of trouble."

"Want to apply for the job?" I quip.

"Finn mentioned the mark because he wanted you to ask. He knows how smart you are and he knew I wouldn't talk about it. It's not a simple process. It's not a ring I slip on your finger. I'd bite you."

I laugh, "You've bitten me before," I tug at the collar of his shirt, showing him the giant hickey between my neck and shoulder.

He shakes his head hesitantly touching the spot with his fingertips, "Not like this. I'd partially shift, the wolf part of me would bite you, deep. It leaves the imprint of my scent inside you. The marks heal, but they change. They scar into the triskelion. Other wolves would know you're my mate from your scent alone."

"That's not a good reason to avoid it. I'm not afraid of a little wolf bite, and it's not why you're afraid either," I touch his face, caressing his cheek with my palm, "It's not why you said I could die."

He closes his eyes, pressing my hand to his face, "No. It's not. Before I was born, Finn thought he'd found his mate. He thought he'd found a female wolf."

"What happened?" I whisper sensing something horrible.

"Finn tried to mark her. He says he doesn't know what happened, but he shifted, bit down, and there was blinding heat. A pain so horrible he blacked out. She knew what he was, Finn had told her she too had a wolf. He told her about mates, the prophecy, all of it. But she didn't believe him. He offered to mark her to prove it was true. When he woke, he was covered in burns and she was incoherent. Her body was completely crippled. The bones and joints snapped as though she'd tried to shift and failed."

I frown, "If her body tried to shift, wasn't Finn right?"

"She was pregnant. Finn read everything he could about the ancient packs, and concluded the child was the reason she appeared to be his mate. The child would be able to shift, and was strong enough, even at birth to share some of those abilities with the mother. Apparently, such a phenomenon as a non-wolf appearing to shift has only happened once before, and the child born was the strongest Alpha the pack had ever seen. But that was nearly a millennium before Finn found this woman."

I rub my hands over my face in frustration, "But she didn't die from the mark, you said she was incoherent and broken. What happened to her? What happened to the child?"

"She never recovered. Finn tried, but there was no way to heal the injuries to her body. The child was born nine months later, she didn't survive the birth."

"So, the child made her seem like a wolf, and Finn's attempt to mark her triggered the need to shift." I shake my head, "I understand why you'd be worried, but we already know I can shift. I did it today, all by myself. I'm not pregnant, so it isn't a miraculous baby that gave me the ability. It's just me. If you mark me..."

"She was my mother, Sirena."

I take a deep breath, "I'm sorry she died Alec, but we need to consider the ramifications if you refuse the claim."

"Screw the f*****g prophecy," He spits slashing a hand through the air, "I'm not willing to risk your life for the supposed salvation of a dying race."

"And if not claiming me does the same? Right now, you said the rogues would want me as some weird serial killer brood wolf. As dangerous as the mark might be to someone who isn't a wolf, it could mean life for me. I won't be able to stay glued to your side every day, eventually something will happen. I'm not super keen on having every bone in my body broken, but I'm even less desirous of being locked up with a pack of animals bent on experimental reproduction."

The stubborn set of his jaw tells me we won't get anywhere with this discussion tonight. His mind is too filled with Finn's actions and the loss of his mother. I sigh heavily, "We don't have to decide anything tonight, just think about what I've said."

"Fine."

I stand up to stretch, hoping to lighten the tension by allowing the hem of Alec's t-shirt to skim the top of my thighs, not so subtly reminding him my panties are somewhere on the staircase. His eyes are immediately drawn to the display, so I straddle his legs, pushing him back into the couch with one hand as I finish undoing his jeans with the other. His stiff c**k springs from a bed of dense hair into my waiting hands. I rub the silky skin, hovering my damp opening above the tip. Allowing myself to just brush the wetness over the head of his erection. He groans in response, grasping my hips with both hands.

With the strength of his arms pushing me down, I start to slide onto his c**k, moaning at the feeling of fullness when he's buried to the hilt. I try for slow and easy, but the constant interruptions to our intimacy don't allow for slow. I move faster and faster, glorying in his harsh groans as he urges me to move on him in a dance that shakes my thighs and turns my insides to jelly. I feel the wave of ecstasy start to build inside, and lean forward for a kiss. Our tongues tangle together and I feel him tense against me, so close to coming himself.

"Come with me," I whisper into his mouth, feeling the wave break and fire spread through my body. As my inner muscles clench rhythmically against his thrusting c**k, I feel him start to come. Spurting inside me as he holds me clamped against his chest, his mouth to my neck.