Marked By Him

Chapter 8

“Is this really necessary?”

“Yes,” he answers.

“Really?”

“Yes,” he says again.

“Are you sure that this isn’t a kink of yours?”

He looks somewhat amused. “And why do you think that?”

I shrug. “You seem like the kind of guy who does.”

He smirks. “Come on, we don’t have all day.”

In his hand, Mace is holding a blindfold. I eye it before meeting his gaze. “Like, are you for real right now?” I c**k an eyebrow at him, hands on my waist. “I don’t understand why you feel the need to blindfold me. It’s not like I’ll escape.” But if I see an opportunity to do so, I’m taking it, is what I don’t say to him.

Mace and I are standing in the corridor, with Mace blocking the front door because— “You can’t leave this house without being blindfolded. I can’t risk you knowing where I live or where my pack lives,” he explains.

I cross my arms. “You know, I may have little knowledge about mates, but I don’t think that this is how you’re supposed to treat your mate,” I say.

Something in his eyes shifts—an emotion—but it’s gone before I can decipher what it is. And while I’m pondering whether I saw what I saw or not, he says, “Oh, so you’re admitting to being my mate.” Amusement tinged his voice.

My eyes widen. “What? No, I… Shut up!” I splutter.

And there’s a sparkle of amusement in his eyes too. Is he teasing me? His shoulders shake with silent laughter. “You’re so adorable when you get flustered,” he says.

My cheeks warm up at that, and, oh my god, why am I blushing. “No, I’m not! You shut up!” He is laughing so hard now, a throaty laugh, eyes watery. I don’t mean to, but I find myself pouting. “Just… put the blindfold on so we can leave.”

“Good girl,” he says. My cheeks feel blazing hot then, and just as I’m about to open my mouth, he puts his finger against my mouth, effectively shushing me. I have half a mind to bite his finger. “Come here.”

I shuffle closer to him, and when I’m close to him, I can smell the forest-y scent on him. I suddenly feel the burning urge to throw myself in his arms and bury my nose in his neck and breathe him in. His scent is that good. Mace moves my hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. For a second, I wonder why his touch always feels so good. So electrifying. Is it because I’m his mate? Mace tells me to close my eyes. I do. He then puts the blindfold on, covering my eyes.

“Okay, Little Angel, I’m going to hold your hand,” I hear him say. He doesn’t wait for my reply; he takes my hand in his, and my breath catches in my throat. His hand is so big and calloused and warm. It engulfs my small one. I kind of like it, I find myself thinking.

I clear my throat and shake my head to get rid of that thought, because I can’t be thinking like that about someone who practically kidnapped me. I snap of out of my thoughts when I hear the front door open, the chilly morning air hitting me head-on. I shiver. Even with the cold air, it feels nice to be outside, to be able to breath in fresh air, and not be trapped inside. I don’t get to enjoy much of this little freedom I feel though, because Mace is already dragging me along with him to his car.

I hear the car door open and then he is guiding me inside and fastening my seatbelt once I’m seated. The forest-y scent seems to be stronger inside the car and it leaves me slightly light-headed. I lean my head against the headrest, suddenly feeling drowsy. I jump when I hear the door to the driver’s seat slamming shut. Mace starts the car, the engine purring to life, and then we’re off.

Five minutes pass. “Can I take the blindfold off now?”

“Yes, you can take it off,” he says.

Immediately, I take the blindfold off. I have to blind a couple of times before I’m able to see clearly. “That was really unnecessary,” I grumble, chucking the blindfold in the backseat.

Out of the window, houses —no, mansions — roll by in a flash. It isn’t until Mace's car passes through a guarded gate that I realize he lives in a gated community. Which makes me wonder how rich he is.

“Dominic isn’t coming with us?” I want to ask about Rose too, but I don’t.

Mace, eyes on the road, says, “Dominic is right behind us.”

I look at the passenger-side mirror. There’s a black SUV behind us, and when I squint my eyes I see Dominic in the driver’s seat.

“And Rose?” I ask, wanting to quench my curiosity.

“She has business to attend to,” he says, still facing forward, at the road.

“Okay,” I say.

And then it’s silent. I rest my head against the cool glass of the window, humming quietly to myself as I look out the window at the houses and trees flashing by.

“Tell me something about yourself,” Mace says, breaking what was a comfortable silence.

I almost snort at his absurdity. I’m not about to tell this man, who is keeping me against my will, something about myself. “Something?”

“Yes. Tell me about something you love to do,” he says.

“No.”

“Come on.” When I refuse to say anything, he says, “Okay, I’ll go first. I love hunting.”

Why am I not surprised? “Of course you do.”

“Not the kind of hunting you’re thinking about?”

“And what kind of hunting am I thinking about?”

“I don’t hunt humans. I hunt animals.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“I hope so.”

“Animal cruelty is a thing, you know.”

“I’m aware of that,” he says with a chuckle.

“But I guess it’s better than hunting humans.”

He hums. “Yes, it is,” he says. “So tell me something that you love doing.”

“Uh, I love dancing. I’m actually a dance major—wait a minute.” Panic overtakes me. “I haven’t attended any of my classes in days!”

“What?” Mace takes his eyes off the road to briefly look at me before facing the road again.

“I’m gonna fail,” I say. “I-I have to attend my classes.” I try to take the seatbelt off.

“Whoa,” Mace says when he sees what I’m doing. He slows down the car and pulls over at the side of the road. “What are you doing?”

“I told you to take me home many times!” I say. “I have college to go to! I can’t fail!”

“I took care of everything,” he says. “You don’t have to worry.”

I stop fumbling with the seatbelt to look at him, wide-eyed. “What the hell did you do?!”

“You’re going to study online—”

“What?”

—starting next week Monday.”

My face is a picture of shock. “I am a dance major. I can’t just study online only. I’ll have to go to workshops.”

“I’m sorry, but this is the only way to keep you safe,” he says. “Now—” He starts the car. “—don’t try to take off your seatbelt while I’m driving. That’s dangerous,” he adds.

“Well, you should have thought of that before deciding such a big thing for me!” I shout. “How could you do that? Who the hell do you think you are?!”

“I’m doing this for your safety,” he says, always as calm as usual.

His calmness only makes me angrier. “I hate you so f*****g much!”

“Little Angel, you have to calm down.”

“Stop calling me that! And don’t you dare tell me to calm down! You basically kidnap me, take me away from my brother, and now you telling me I have to study online! Online, really?!” I want to punch him so bad, but I also don’t want him to get distracted and crash the car. I’m going to punch him when we get to… wherever he’s taking me, I decide. I’m going to punch him so bad.

He doesn’t answer me, he doesn’t even react to my outburst. “Answer me!” I demand.

“I won’t answer you until you calm down, Little Angel,” he says. “Should I turn on some music? Will that calm you down?” I stare daggers at him. He smashes a button on the dashboard and the radio crackles to life, the voice of the newscaster booming out. He turns the dial, lowering the volume, until the newscaster's voice is just background noise. “Does this help?” he asks me.

I look out the window, fuming. Mace turns the volume up a tad bit and focuses on the road. And that is how it is for the rest of the drive.

At the outskirt of town, near the woods, Mace stops the car and reaches in the backseat. “You will have to put on the blindfold again,” he says, the blindfold in his hand once again.

He's met with my silence.

He holds my chin, turning my face to face him. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

I smack his hand away from my chin to face the window, trying to hide the stupid blush on my cheeks.

He chuckles and says, “Come on, I have to put the blindfold on.” He turns my face to face him again, putting the blindfold on.

He starts the car. A few minutes later, Mace drives the car on a bumpy road. We must be in the woods now. “I’m going to need you to keep your mouth shut when we’re there,” Mace says. “I’ll tell you when to speak. Understand?”

I nod.

“I’ll need you to vocalize it, Little Angel.”

“I understand,” I say, even though I don’t understand anything at this point.

“Good,” he says, “because we’re here now.”

He takes off the blindfold, and, immediately, I look out the window to see where the hell we are. And when I do so, I’m stunned into a stupor.

I’m so dead.

I’ve never seen this many werewolves —not since ten years ago.