Wolf Marked by Alexis Calder

7

It wasn’t possible. There was no way the fates were cruel enough to put the two of us together. He had to be messing with me. Besides, our pack took mating bonds very seriously. If a wolf was lucky enough to form a bond, it usually meant increased strength and other perks. Things like possibly even breaking curses.

He had to know that myth. He was trying to get one last dig at me. “That’s a fucked up thing to joke about, even for you.”

“I wish it was a joke,” he said. “I wasn’t certain until this past week. As we got closer to the time you should have shifted, my wolf made it pretty fucking clear we’re supposed to be together.”

My insides twisted as my emotions went to war. There was a tiny glimmer of hope trying to fight through the other negative emotions. I hated Tyler and I wanted nothing to do with him. The thought of being intimate with him made my skin crawl. But there was that rumor about the bond breaking the curse. I’d given up long ago of ever feeling my wolf rise to the surface. I’d long ago resigned myself to a human existence free of magic.

What if he was telling the truth? What if there was a way to get my ability to shift back? “You’re sure? You’re not messing with me?”

His smirk was vicious and I took a step back without thinking. He finally released his grip on me. I knew that look well. It was the same self-satisfied half-smile he wore every time he beat the shit out of me for fun.

“You’re lying to me.” Even as I said the words, I feared it wasn’t true. Tyler was a lot of things, but I didn’t think he would use something as sacred as a mating bond for sport. It was rare to find your mate at all. It wasn’t something most wolves would be willing to joke about.

“Now, I’d heard the rumor that a mating bond could break a curse. I mean, you’re attractive enough, you’re a little too mouthy, but that could be fixed with a few beatings.” He moved closer to me and Kyle and Julian stepped closer as well, closing me in.

If Tyler thought I’d willingly choose to be his mate with a speech like that, he was insane. “I’d never submit to you.”

“It doesn’t matter. There’s one thing about you I could never overlook. You’re broken. You won’t be any good to anyone without the ability to shift,” he said.

I kept my mouth shut. He was clearly enjoying listening to himself speak and I’d rather get this whole charade over with.

“If bringing you here tonight on the full moon around your mate and all the others didn’t force the shift beyond the confines of your curse, nothing will. So, you’re useless to me,” he said.

“So that’s why you brought me here. To test your theory?” The moment of hope was long gone. Even if being with Tyler meant freeing my wolf, it wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth enduring being shackled to this asshole. “Well, it failed. So if you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way.”

“That’s the other odd thing about mating bonds…” Tyler stepped away from me and Kyle and Julian moved even closer to me, one on either side, boxing me in. Both wolves had their hackles up and they growled at me.

The hair on my arms stood on edge. Something was very wrong here. Tyler had me surrounded by wolves and we were alone. “Just let me leave and I’ll never return. Like you asked.”

“I’m afraid I suggested that before I knew that in order for me to be free of the bond to you, you have to die. And here’s the really funny part: I can’t kill my own mate.”

“There are other ways to sever a bond,” I said. “You know I don’t want to be mated with you. I’ll do what it takes.”

He shook his head. “And risk you getting a second chance with a new mate? Or worse, having everyone know I formed a bond with a broken wolf? I don’t think so.”

I didn’t wait to hear what was coming next. I took off at a run. What choice did I have? Tyler wasn’t going to see reason with this. Cursing myself for not hiding in the woods last night, I raced forward, eyes on the tree line ahead.

In the distance, I heard a wolf howl and several howls responded. My heart raced faster. There were wolves all over these woods and I knew Kyle and Julian had to be right behind me. I was insane to think I’d ever get out of this place alive. Now that I was so close to freedom, I wasn’t ready to give in to the eternal sleep of death. I wanted to know what it was like to not feel like I was a walking target at all times. I worked my ass off to make it this far and I sure as hell wasn’t going down easy.

That’s when I felt a jaw close in on my calf, teeth breaking the flesh, sending burning pain with the force. I was pulled back, landing face first in the dirt. I was able to break my fall with my arms, but my right hand twisted on impact and I heard the snap as my wrist broke.

Searing pain made my vision go black for a moment and I cried out in agony. My leg felt like it was on fire from the bite and my wrist sent shooting pain through my arm. “Oh, fuck!”

Grabbing my injured wrist, I rolled over to face my assailant. In the nearly pitch-black darkness of the forest, I could just make out three huge wolves looking down on me, panting and growling. Tyler had joined his friends in wolf form. Drool from one of the beasts landed on my cheek and I wiped it away with my good hand before returning to cradling my injury.

I tried to scoot away from them, but the movement sent a fresh wave of pain through the bite on my leg. I winced and hissed. “If you’re going to kill me, you might as well get it over with.”

One of the wolves, a dark gray wolf, who was the largest of the three, took off, leaving me with the other two.

“So he’s making you do the dirty work?” I asked. “That’ll go over well when your grandchildren ask for stories about your youth. Like, hey, remember that time we killed your Uncle Tyler’s mate? You two are pathetic.” I spit at the wolf nearest me.

The creature growled, then went for my arm, biting down. I screamed and tried to pull away but each movement made the pain more intense. Suddenly, the second wolf clamped down on my other arm and my vision blurred as the pain crashed through me. The wolves started to drag me, pulling me over the rocky and rough terrain.

Rocks tore up my back, thorns caught in my flesh, chunks of hair caught on the ground but the wolves pulled me on, forcing the hair to rip from my scalp. “Let me go, you assholes!” I yelled at them between gasping through the pain. Everything hurt. My body was broken in multiple places and each jostle over the ground sent fresh waves of agony surging through me. Soon, the discomfort was too intense and I found myself in and out of consciousness. It was as if my body was trying to protect me. Or maybe I was at death’s door.

When they finally released their jaws, I was dumped on the ground, in the dirt. Every inch of my body hurt. My arms and legs felt like they were on fire and my head throbbed. My skin was sticky with blood and sweat and all my open wounds were full of dirt. Even if I survived this, infection would set in if I didn’t get medical attention. I knew all this, but I couldn’t make myself move. Rolling to my side, I tried to catch my breath. Maybe they were done with me. Maybe they’d leave and hope I’d die. If I could find some strength, I could limp or crawl out of here, right?

I looked around, trying to assess my surroundings. We were out of the cover of the woods now, somewhere different. The full moon was so bright I could see everything clearly. In front of me was a huge rock formation that took up most of my line of sight. Behind me, was the woods. I hadn’t been this far before. We were either at the border of pack lands, or we’d ventured beyond.

“Are you dead yet?” Tyler asked.

I turned to see three naked men walking toward me. Tyler looked smug but his friends didn’t look as confident as they had when they started all this.

“What’s wrong? Never seen a girl beat to death by her mate before?” I snapped. “You’re the ones who did this to me.”

“I can’t hurt you,” Tyler said. “I learned quickly that if I inflict pain on you, it hurts me.”

“You’re a coward,” I said. “You didn’t have to do this. What kind of a man hurts someone who can’t fight back?”

“You’ve fought back plenty over the years. Why stop now?” he asked.

“You know I’m no match for any shifter solo, let alone the three of you.” Talking exacerbated the pain I was feeling, but as long as I was keeping him talking, he wasn’t hurting me.

Tyler knelt next to me. “I can be a generous man.”

“You’re a monster,” I spat.

“I could have them kill you now, if that’s easier for you,” he said. “Or, we can toss you in the cave. If you get out, you’ll survive. Otherwise, you’ll perish like the others who were sentenced to their deaths. It’s fitting, really. The place you and your whore mother should have been sent years ago. Then none of this would have happened. I’d never even have known you. Think of all the pain you’d have been spared.”

I should have known the rock formation was the cave we’d all grown up hearing about. The place reserved for traitors and the worst of the worst. Supposedly, there were exits, but nobody had ever found their way out. It was a death sentence.

“The only reason I had pain was because of you. You made a choice,” I said.

“And now I give you a choice. Cave or death?”

“You know what a farse this is? That cave is death,” I said.

“So you’d rather face a quick, merciful death?” he mused.

“There was nothing merciful about any of this, you bastard,” I said.

“Kyle, kill her,” he said.

I looked over to where Kyle and Julian were standing and was surprised that Kyle didn’t move. My brow furrowed as I watched his reaction. He was going against Tyler.

“I’ll do it, Ty,” Julian said.

“I asked Kyle,” Tyler said.

“You said we were going to scare her,” Kyle said. “You didn’t say we were going to do this.”

“Are you defying your alpha?” Tyler asked.

“You’re not an alpha yet,” I said. “Nobody ever saw the mark. You’re a fraud. I can’t wait until someone comes and knocks you and your father from your pedestal.”

Tyler stood then kicked me in the stomach. I groaned, and reached to cover myself, making my broken wrist twist in the process. I screamed as sharp agony shot through my arm.

“That hurt me too, Lola. Why do you make me do that?” Tyler was kneeling next to me again. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from my eyes. “If only you had shifted tonight. Things could be so different for us.”

I spat in his face. “I’d never be with you.”

He groaned and stood as he wiped my spit from his face. “You bitch. Julian!”

“Stop.” I knew Julian would finish the job if given the chance. “Put me in the cave.”

“Slow death?” Tyler sounded surprised. “Here I thought you’d take the weaker way out.”

“Only you would think death of any kind showed weakness.” I glared at him. “I’m going to survive the cave and then I’m going to come back for you.”

Tyler kicked me in the stomach over and over until I couldn’t breathe. At first, it was nothing but pain, then I couldn’t feel anything at all. It was as if my body had given up.

When he finally stopped, I was barely hanging on to consciousness. The copper taste of blood coated the inside of my mouth and I was pretty sure Tyler had damaged some of my internal organs.

“I’d love to see you survive now, crazy bitch,” Tyler said. “Get her in the cave.”