Zara

A shudder ran through my body at his touch, igniting me differently. Something tingled in my head, reminding me that I’d felt this before. I’d felt it with someone else.

"Yours?" The thought wasn’t so bad. What was wrong with being with him?

He was everything I wanted; the only thing that mattered, the only thing that made sense.

"What the hell, Zara?" a caustic voice pierced my mind, but was immediately dismissed. It felt like two people were fighting in my mind. One was a man, the other a caustic woman. They waged war while I sat in blissful peace.

"Beauty, are you still here?" he murmured, cupping my chin in his hand. The caustic woman retreated into the darkness, and my mind clouded over again.

"I’m here," I muttered. "I’ll always be here."

"Always," he murmured. "It’s been so long, Zara."

"A very long time," I repeated, wanting another reason to hear his gentle voice.

"I’ll claim you as mine," he murmured, his lips moving lower. "You’ll come home to me tonight, beautiful."

It was music to my ears, making my heart skip a beat in a love-fueled frenzy. It was everything I’d been waiting for, everything I’d hoped for.

His lips moved lower, pressing just above my shoulder blade. The moment his lips pressed against my skin, I knew there was no turning back. My mind was still in a confused fog.

Part of me was trying to figure out what was happening, while the other was completely indifferent. "I wouldn’t do that." The rational part of me snapped back, "Who cares, just look at him." The dreamy part of me responded.

His tongue slid over my sensitive skin, and a blissful sigh escaped my lips. His touch was divine, cold yet gentle. It was when his teeth erupted and pierced my skin that the fog in my mind cleared. The rational part of me was being dragged away, kicking and screaming.

I saw it all in my mind. The rational part of me, reaching by my hair toward a huge, man-sized chest, next to a lock and a gold chain. She screamed at me, begging me to save her, but I was too far away.

"Get away from her, you freak!" someone shouted, and whatever was pulling the rational part of me dissolved into nothingness. And then I realized Marcus was holding me. He pulled away abruptly, and I slid down to the cool balcony floor. Something wet dripped down my shoulder, warming my chilled skin.

"What the hell just happened?" a desperate voice rang out. Someone grabbed my shoulders, and I knew it wasn’t Marcus.

I wanted to find him, to reach out and feel his cool skin against mine. I wanted to hear his velvety voice, to feel his shiny hair beneath my fingertips. He was no longer with me. I could feel it.

The fog slowly cleared, leaving me with unbearable fatigue. I couldn’t remember where we were, why we’d come here. I only knew that I needed Marcus as much as I needed sleep. Names and faces began to float through my mind, but I couldn’t place them.

I combed my hair, brushed my teeth, and slipped into the shower. I absolutely needed a shower, as I had no energy for anything other than rubbing my throbbing head. I slipped on something clean and stepped out of the bathroom.

Marcus attacked me at the club. But I think I even enjoyed it, or did I? My mind was foggy, which definitely felt like some kind of mind games, but I still wasn’t sure.

This fog made me doubt some parts of last night. For example, how he said I was his, and I completely agreed. That couldn’t be true. I wasn’t even old enough to have a mate, and I had no idea if he even had a mate.

"Don’t ever do that again," Nova moaned in my head. I could feel her feeling the same pain I was.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about," I grumbled, eating another helping of eggs. "That guy pushed me away, and you let him." Nova shook her head, snorting angrily. "I tried to help you, but you didn’t even fight back."

"I didn’t even know there was anything to fight," I groaned. "It wasn’t you who was confused and sleepy." "They were so sad. I couldn’t even remember who you were."

"You didn’t remember me?" Nova frowned, and I sensed her worry.

"I didn’t remember anyone," I shook my head. "Anyone but you know, Marcus."

"We’re staying away from Haze," Nova shuddered, horrified at the thought of me forgetting my wolf.

"We’ll never see him again, and we need to figure out how to erase that ugly mark from your neck."

I silently agreed with Nova. But somewhere deep in my head, a piece of that fog lingered, a longing for him.

"What?" My stomach clenched, and I tasted yesterday’s breakfast. I wasn’t sure I could handle another lifelong secret.

"I should have told Alpha Kane what happened," Dad sighed. "He’s coming back."

Something new flared in my stomach, besides fear. It was a longing for Alpha Kane, somehow suppressed. It felt like a crudely constructed dam inside me had finally burst, and I remembered how Alpha Kane had made me feel.

"What did you tell him?" I breathed out, mentally imagining every possible bad scenario.

"Everything." Dad frowned, looking away from my trembling body.

"Why tell him everything?" I growled.

"Zara, he’s our Alpha." Dad winced. "We shouldn’t have kept this a secret in the first place."

"I think you know why." He frowned. "If these threats are related to Marcus, then he could very well be the same one who attacked you at the club. The mysterious wolf outside your window is proof of that."

I bit my tongue until it bled. What would Alpha Kane think if he saw the mark on my neck? I don’t know why I cared, but the thought of hurting him made my stomach clench.