Chapter 58: The Marking

"Laughter is ready when hearts are light."

~Louisa May Alcott, Little Women.

***Two days later***

Lucinda

The pack house was an uproar of activity. The whole ground floor and the whole of outside was packed with nearly all the Crescent Pack wolves and several visiting wolves. Everywhere, someone was dancing or fighting or playing some game. Shrieks and booms of laughter bounced all around the house, even from the cellars. There was food in abundance.

It was, quite literally, an engagement party.

My engagement party.

The Alpha finding his mate was surely a big deal. Upcoming Alphas and Betas milled all over the place. Most were Tyler's friends.

The door burst open. "Cindy!" Trish and Dylan crashed into me and hugged the life put of me, laughing hysterically.

"Don't ruin the hair!" scolded Lexi.

"Finally you're going to be the Luna! To think I first saw you as just a scrawny girl who I was gonna share a room with. I swear when I saw you my wolf pitied you. Now look at you!"

Trish giggled. "Hey, remember that time we all went out and scared those vamps half to death?" She winked.

"Those were the days," Lexi and I said together. We laughed and did a group hug.

"Congrats Cindy, a thousand and one times. It truly has been a wonderful journey getting here," said my Beta.

"You're gonna be great for this pack," Lexi assured me.

"Tyler got lucky," added Dylan. "I hope he knows that if he ever messes with you, we'll show up en masse and kick his ass for our bestie."

"Thanks for the offer but I'd much rather kick it myself," I joked.

"That's our girl," Lexi smirked smugly. "Don't forget to play table tennis with his eyeballs afterwards."

"Thanks girls," I breathed. "You three have been there for me since he day I got here. You were my first real friends and for that, I can't thank you enough."

"We know we're amazing, we don't need reminding," snarked Lexi.

Trish raised her head and looked at the door. Soon, we heard a knock.

"Whaddya want?" Lexi asked over the link since all doors and walls in the pack house were soundproof.

"I'd like to collect my mate please," linked Jayden.

"I better go," said aforementioned mate.

We all nodded and shoved her off. She childishly stuck her tongue out at us.

Lexi and Dylan rummaged through the same giant closet through which I had passed several months ago, looking for the perfect dress while I admired my complex bun in the mirror.

The dress they pulled out was sensational. Tyler was going to go insane when he saw me. I smirked at the idea.

Lexi and Dylan ooohed.

"Girl—" they both said.

I smiled.

Lexi's smile turned sinister. "The zip is at the back," she said. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to ruin that dress."

I twirled. "Are you crazy? I wouldn't hurt this jewel for the world."

"You may not," she conceded, "but someone might find it in the way of his amatory advances."

My face heated and my jaw dropped so fast that I covered my face in mortification.

"Lexi," I groaned.

She and Dylan laughed at my expense.

"Get the hell out of this room and go call my mate. Get out! I don't want to see you two anymore."

They chuckled evilly while they exited.

"Ooh, Cindy!" Dylan said, sticking her head back in. "He's right here. And not looking too shabby," she added, wiggling her brows.

I involuntarily snarled.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she automatically showed her neck. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

Tyler appeared in the doorway decked in a nice suit that he seemed to pull off effortlessly. His hair was impeccable and his mouth looked so luscious curled in a smirk.

I stepped toward him.

His eyes lowered down my body in a long, appreciative glance. His ears turned bright red. I waited patiently for him to finish ogling me.

Eventually, he snapped out of it. When he saw me smirking, he smirked as well and shut the door behind him.

"Well, I like to know my mate is feeling possessive," he said, cutting the distance between us and placing his hands on my waist. He placed his forehead on mine so that I could see the twinkle in his eyes. "This dress looks amazing on you," he said in a suddenly low tone. "The only issue would be that too many unmated males will think the same."

I laughed and kissed him affectionately.

His face and demeanor turned serious. "I needed to talk to you, Lucy," he said.

I stared at him cautiously.

"You see, after this celebration, we won't come back to the pack house. You know that."

I nodded. He had told me of the private house he had prepared for his mate. Of course, after he found his mate, we wouldn't reside at the pack house anymore.

"We'll be going so I can show you our home. Where we'll be alone."

I nodded along.

"Darling, I just don't want you to feel pressured to do anything. Whatever anyone may say. I'd like to take everything at your pace and would like for this to feel natural between us. Even though we've only achieved the first stage of the mating bond."

I stared. "By the way, my love," I spoke up, "I need you to explain this mating bond. Properly."

He smiled. "Okay," he agreed, leading me to a couch where we could get comfortable. He held both my hands as he spoke, which I found adorable.

"The mating bond has three stages. The first is actually finding your mate. This stage initiates most of the emotional attraction. It makes the male claim the female and gives the female a sense of security when they are together. It also allows for their subconscious to be in sync— which is how you helped me when I was injured. My mind, wolf, and body had all shut down but you connected with my soul.

"The second stage is the mark. It is a sign of acceptance between the two. When a wolf marks his mate, they develop an even deeper connection. They can feel the physical pain of the other. They also develop a mind-link exclusive to their bond, which no other party can hear. It's also very difficult to block.

"The third and final stage consists of the actual mating. After that, the pair can locate each other from all the ends of the earth— and also other realms. At this point, they develop something almost similar to a mother's sixth sense that allows them to sense danger or hyperactive emotions for the other."

I listened, intrigued. "Wow," I breathed.

"Any questions?"

I shook my head with a grin. "I can always ask you when I think of them, though, can't I?"

He smiled. "Well," he said, rising. "I'll give you some time to chew on that. We have to be downstairs in ten, sweetheart."

As he walked to the door, I suddenly got a feeling of excited determination. I sprang up after him and shut the door just as he opened it. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Uhm," I said, suddenly shy, "Well I was thinking..." His eyes brightened in curiousity and amusement. "That we should get on with the marking. Right now."

This came as a pleasant shock to him, judging by the radiant smile that took over him. He gently grabbed me again and crushed me into his rock-hard body. "Right now?" he growled in my ear.

I crossed by legs against the heat that coursed through me at just those words.

"Yes," I whispered back.

He chuckled lightly and moved his lips to mine, where he bit my lips softly.

I couldn't help moaning as he smashed them into my mouth in a hard kiss. My arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer. My back hit the closed door with a suddenness that forced me to break our lips apart to gasp at the force. Between the Tyler and the door, my legs were lifted and curled instinctively around his waist.

I felt a sudden wetness at my neck. Before I could process that he had licked me, I heard him growl in my ear, "This will hurt."

He bit me. His teeth were no longer in human form, so they sank extra deep. The pain was like nothing else I had ever experienced; it seared through all my bones. I cried out loudly, but his canines somehow sank even deeper. Warm trickles of blood ram dowm my neck. The pain nearly blinded me for a moment; I couldn't help straining against his hold. Then, the agony slowly ebbed and instead somehow morphed into a sensation of extreme elation that soon grew into euphoria. I could feel my blood coursing through my body with vitality and power. The strange, over-pleasant feeling lasted a few seconds. The release made me sigh out in bliss, shutting my eyes and resting my face on his shoulder.

He withdrew his canines from my neck and licked up the blood. My neck felt sore and the mark was especially sensitive.

"Are you okay?" I heard him whisper in concern.

I nodded slightly. He let me down from the door and cupped my face, searching my eyes intently. I gave him a small, reassuring smile.

He smiled back in relief and hugged me. "It won't feel so sensitive after a few minutes," he said. "Of course it will never actually heal, but it will stop aching."

"It doesn't ache, it throbs," I told him. Examining it in the mirror, it looked just like all the other marks I had seen: two dots aligned along the artery. Only that mine had a faint "A" mark around it, similar to the way Trisha's had a faint "B". To be honest, it appeared simply as a hickey with two holes in it.

"It'll be alright; I promise," he said. "Thank you for letting me mark you, Lucy."

I smiled up at him, fondness bursting inside me. Veli was purring happily.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Hey you two. You're expected down any moment now so please wrap up the smooching," teased Lexi through the link.

We rolled our eyes in unison.