Chapter 179: Why Is There An Alpha Mark On Your Skin?

Zara

"I don’t snore." I snapped back, "And stop peeking at me while I sleep."

"You’re not the only one who can break ties," Marcus shrugged, a false smirk playing across his lips. "Besides, if I remember correctly, you came to me first. You left the door open. I just walked in."

"Next time, I’ll make sure the door is closed and locked," my voice was sarcastically sweet.

"You couldn’t just leave it like that, could you? You should have run and saved your friends," Marcus shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Looks like someone was in a bad mood today. I expected him to practically dance with joy, shoving my surrender in my face, trying to get into my heart, or my pants. Instead of a smug or happy expression, he looked irritated.

His blond hair was pulled back behind his head, the top half in a ponytail, the bottom loose over his broad shoulders. This time, he wasn’t dressed to impress, but in a casual T-shirt and loose jeans.

"I couldn’t leave them," I replied. "She’s my best friend."

"What about Govinda?" Marcus asked, narrowing his eyes. "How quickly you accepted him, knowing whose side he was on."

"People can change, Marcus," I snapped. "He’s her chosen one, and he’s chosen her. I’m willing to trust her judgment."

"I hope you have a plan, Zara." Marcus’s voice was icy, though something else flickered in the depths of his crystal-clear eyes. "Now that he has you, he’ll never let you go."

"I can handle it," I replied, trying to keep my voice calm and confident.

"You can do it?" Marcus asked, raising one light eyebrow in disbelief. I saw a brief flash of pain in his eyes, but he quickly hid it. "If you can truly endure this, answer me one question. Why is there an Alpha mark on your skin? Why can I smell him on you?"

"He’s my chosen one," I winced. "That answers all your questions."

"If I saw his mark on your skin, if I smell his scent on you again, I’ll kill you both," he hissed quietly. "It was a stupid mistake, Zara."

"What should I do?" I asked sharply. "I let him mark me because he’s my chosen one. I slept with him because I love him. I can’t just remove his mark, and even if I could, I wouldn’t."

A low blow, my conscience told me. I felt a sharp stab of guilt as his eyes darkened, as if he were frozen. His voice was like shards of ice piercing my skin, causing tiny beads of blood to appear all over my body.

"You don’t need to remove it, just hide it." His voice dropped to its lowest pitch. "Ask the shadows to hide the mark and mask your scent."

"What about those who brought me here?" I asked, my voice no longer so venomous. "I’ve been sitting in the car with them for who knows how long. They’ve already smelled me."

"I took care of that as soon as you arrived," he grumbled, looking away from my face and at the crackling fire warming the room.

"You penetrated their minds?" "I asked, my voice filled with surprise. "Your psychological games don’t work on purebred werewolves."

"Fortunately, most of the late Luna’s people are half-breeds," he replied, his gaze running over my face, uttering the word "late." He had penetrated their consciousness, erasing my scent from their memories.

He had done it for me, to keep me alive. This somewhat selfless act surprised me, but that didn’t mean I was ready or willing to sleep with him.

Somehow, he knew that Luna Freya had died at my hand. I wondered if her daughter was here, if she lived somewhere in this warehouse. It was a reassuring thought. I could kill two birds with one stone: save them and kill her.

"Don’t flatter yourself, I did it for completely selfish reasons." He winced, but I could see the lie burning in his eyes, brighter than the fire crackling in the room. "Go ahead, summon the shadows."

"I’m not willing to pay their price." I shook my head. "They ask too much."

"That’s because you let them ask too much." Marcus sighed. "You..." I know so little about what you’re capable of. Surprisingly, you went so far.

"Eco."

"Well, thank you." I rolled my eyes. "How can I keep them from asking too much?"

"Most often, they provide services for a small fee." He shrugged. "More serious services require a unique and often unpleasant price."

Even he knew more about the Shadows than I did, and the thought was somewhat daunting. I had no doubt my Father could teach me a lot, but I wasn’t ready to betray my entire pack for information. I’d rather remain ignorant and save those I love than trade thousands of lives for power.

"Do you have a knife?" I asked, my voice full of determination.

I can handle this, I told myself. I’ll keep Sophia and Govinda safe, I’ll give Kane information that will change the outcome of this war, and I’ll return home to him.

"Are you planning to feed them your blood?" He asked, his face contorted in surprise.

"I’ve done it before," I shrugged, wincing at the strange expression on his face. "It doesn’t seem to bother them."

"Well, of course it doesn’t bother them," he chuckled.

"It’s not like I have an endless line of willing victims." I rolled my eyes, already catching a glimpse of the kind of man my father was.

"Use my blood." He replied, pulling a small silver blade from his pocket and carefully placing it in my hands.

Confusion gripped me at the tender expression on his face. I never trusted him with anything, but I wondered what game he was playing. Did he think the werewolves would win? Maybe that’s why he suddenly started fawning over me?

He hadn’t tried to rape me yet, which was a positive sign. Not only was he infiltrating the minds of Freya’s people, but he was also willing to use his blood to summon shadows to protect me from Marcus’s Alpha.