02

My neck is in pain and Anne and Gemma are looking at it. It felt like I was burned by a rod; the pain was excruciating.

They begin whispering to each other and they look at me. “Mae,” Anne says, my eyes looking at her.

“Come with me,” she says, my head nodding.

They show me my neck and I gasp, a paw print displayed on my neck. I touch it, but it doesn’t feel like anything. It’s like a tattoo.

“What is this?” I ask, Gemma’s brown eyes looking at me with utter sympathy.

“I don’t know, in all honesty,” she whispers, but Anne says she knows. She turns her sleeve up and I see she has one on her forearm, my lips pursing.

“It’s the mark,” she says, my fear rising.

Before I even register, my body runs to the front door in a frantic rush. I run for a while until I hear a growl, my body turning to see a wolf looking at me.

My hands move in front of me and crouch down, trying not to get hurt. I feel a cold, wet nose hit my palm and I look up in fear, the wolf sitting and looking at me with big green eyes. The fur is a brown color and I adore the beauty it holds. It’s so beautiful, but so dangerous.

I’m hesitant before I run my hand over the snout, the animal moving into my touch. What did I do to have this huge animal treat me as if I’m its master; like a dog and owner?

Hesitantly, I stand and the animal does as well, the wolf huge in comparison to me. Its head leans down and I brush my fingers over its fur, its snout leaning against my neck. It licks my wounds and I stiffen, its head moving to my back. It pushes me back towards the cabin the family lives in, my eyes watching the wolf run off.

When I walk in, I’m met with shocked eyes and jaws dropped. “How the hell did you do that?” Gemma asks, my shoulders shrugging.

Anne hands me a cup of tea and we sit at the table, her hand grabbing my arm.

“Did the wolf…touch this?” she asks, my eyes looking down at my arm. It’s healed.

“Yeah,” I say, startled at the sight.

Gemma sits beside me, my eyes watching as Harry storms into the house. He rushes down the hall and shuts another door, Anne sighing heavily.

“He’s not very welcoming like he used to be,” she explains, my head nodding.

“It’s alright,” I say, her fingers moving through her hair lightly.

“He lost his friends in an accident last year,” Gemma says.

I know the feeling.

“Since, he’s been moody and angry. He can’t find the good in anything. So when he brought you here we had hope but after this morning…” Anne trails, my hand touching my neck again.

“It’s a mark that won’t come off. It's permanent,” Gemma explains, my eyes widening.

“I wish we could explain it to you but someone else has to,” she continues, tilting her head to the hallway. They want Harry to explain this to me?

“He won’t be easy to talk to but you are more than welcome to try,” Anne says, my head nodding.

I stand and walk towards the door where rumbling and pounding is coming from. It’s horrible when you know you’re completely inferior to the person on the opposite side of the door.

My fingers form a fist and I knock on the door, deep thuds heard as the door swings open. I stand small compared to Harry’s huge stature, his green eyes terrifying as he glares at me.

“What?” he asks, my eyes unable to falter from his gaze.

“I-I have a question,” I ask, his arm flexing as he grips the door frame.

He stares at me; the fact soon coming to me that he’s awaiting my question.

“What is this?” I ask, pointing to my neck. He looks at my neck, his lips pursed into a line. Why can’t he be sad, not angry?

“It’s a mark. The mark of wolves,” he states, my confusion clear as he sighs in annoyance at me.

“You get it when a wolf makes contact with you,” he huffs, attempting to close the door in my face.

“Then why did I get it when you looked at me?” I ask, his body stiffening.

He stares at me before huffing once again, turning and shutting the door. Before he shut it though, I saw the exact same mark on his neck.

_____

“Are you sure you are alright?” Anne asks, my head nodding.

“Thank you for your help,” I smile, their heads nodding.

I walk out of the cabin and begin to walk in the direction of the campsite with the directions of Gemma, my feet walking through the woods.

As I go up a hill, a branch breaks and I turn around, nothing in sight. It’s probable that I’m paranoid, knowing it’s all in my head. Ever since the night at the fire, I’ve thought I’ve heard branches breaking way too many times.

The noise is heard again, and I turn and see a huge black wolf in the distance. My feet walk quicker, the wolf coming closer to me.

A door slams and I see Harry running out of the cabin, my eyes widening in fear. He is running straight at the wolf as the wolf runs at me. My eyes go between both, my body falling over a rock. As I raise my arms to shield myself, I watch in awe as Harry jumps and turns into the same animal. My jaw drops and I watch them fight, my body shying away but watching in wonder.

The wolves are huge because they’re werewolves. I’d never thought about this but that could explain why so many people don’t go into the woods; why my mom has been so afraid to let me see the truth.

Harry’s wolf watches as the other wolf turns into a human, my eyes widening at the realization of who it is.

“What did I tell you about being on our fucking land?!” Harry yells, a much older Dean laughing.

“I smelled her. Where’d you find my friend?” he asks, my knees coming to my chest.

“Friend?” Harry asks, my mind still trying to think of an explanation for the past events. He’s a werewolf and Dean is too.

“Went to school with Mae,” he says, my eyes distracted and clouded.

“Don’t move closer,” Harry grits, my eyes moving to look at the interaction.

“Why not Harry? I’d think she’d like to come to our land for a while,” Dean says, Harry shoving him further away.

“She’s not leaving. You are not taking her,” Harry says, angered Dean even tried.

“Why? Come on, I haven’t seen her in years,” Dean tries. He continues trying to get Harry to waver, Harry eventually shoving him against a tree.

“You’re not to touch her! She’s my mate!” Harry yells, my eyes widening.

Dean is shocked, as well as I am, and Harry shoves him off the tree. I find myself stunned, rendered motionless and speechless. Dean runs off and I’m still sitting in the same position, not moving until two arms lift me.

“You are not to leave this house again,” Harry states, my head nodding quickly. He walks into his house and doesn’t say a word to his family, walking me straight into his room and shutting the door.

“Why did you leave?” he asks after sitting me on the bed, seriousness in his voice.

“Your mom said I could. Said I would be safe.”

He clenches his jaw and forms a fist with his hand. “I told her you aren’t to leave.”

“Why can’t I leave?” I rush, his eyebrows forming together.

“Did you not hear what I said?” he asks, anger in his voice.

“I-I heard, b-but I don’t know what it meant,” I say, his stature taller than Russ’. Everything about him is superior to Russ. His muscles, hair, eyes; Harry’s attractive. His personality isn’t.

“It means you aren’t leaving. This means you can’t,” he says, touching the back of my neck. His fingers are incredibly warm and leave a shiver down my spine at the touch.

“You’re a wolf,” I whisper, his lips frowning.

“So is your father,” he says, my eyes widening.

“You don’t know anything about my father!” I nearly cry, pain brought back to my heart.

My father left my mom and me when I was eight. He had ‘business’ to do and my mom assumed the worst. He was found cheating on my mom with another woman and we were heartbroken. He left us to fend for ourselves and my mom became extremely protective of me.

“I know him better than you do,” he says, my eyes releasing tears.

Harry crouches in front of me and grabs my chin, frowning at my tears.

“Your mother wasn’t his true mate. She never got the mark. He left because he found his mate. He’s spoken about you, Mae, and he is afraid you’ll become a wolf,” Harry says, his eyes looking into mine.

“Why would he be afraid I become a wolf?” I ask, so confused. There is no way my father is a wolf.

“Because you would overrule him. He is Alpha in that clan, but you would be far superior to him because you have pure blood,” he tells me.

“Your dad…he’s a mutt, for lack of a better term,” he explains, my lips frowning.

“But I didn’t know that you were his daughter until I saw your eyes. It’s how you…mate,” he says, lowering his voice when saying ‘mate’.

“Everything about that person flashes before your eyes. I saw everything about you in a millisecond, I lost everything I knew and only saw you. The years I’ve spent just living in anger were gone because the inevitable occurred. I’ve pushed finding my mate out of the way, hating the concept, but you have to understand that it’s bound to occur. There’s processes mates must undergo and I won’t go through with them. It’s not something I want to do but it’s in my instincts to protect you,” he says, my body startled when he runs his hand over my cheek, ridding the tears.

“What do…mates have to do?” I ask, his jaw clenching.

“A lot of things. They have to have acceptance, the first kiss, then claiming, and the last is final mating,” he says, my legs moving as I bring my knees to my chest.

“What’s claiming?” I ask, his body moving to sit on the floor.

“Where the male marks his mate as his own. I’d literally have to bite you and prove to everyone you’re mine.”

My eyes widen with fear and he watches me, my confusion and curiosity clearly making him mad.

“It apparently hurts like hell and that’s why I won’t go through with it. I won’t hurt you; mates shouldn’t hurt each other,” he states, my eyes seeing his arm now has a tattoo on it.

“Can I see that?” I ask, intrigued by his arm. He extends his arm to me and I brush my fingers over his rose tattoo.

“They show up with whatever occurs.”

I nod and he jolts up at something, my eyes watching him run out the door. I get up to follow and I see his wolf out the window, my eyes seeing someone else as well. A man.

The man forms into a wolf and I step outside, watching the interaction. It occurs to me that Harry’s wolf was the one that healed me, allowing me to feel his soft hair.

The conversation ends and Harry’s wolf walks towards me, shielding me from the wolf across the way. It runs away and Harry sits, looking at me. He bows his head and I run my hand over his snout, his head moving into my neck. I hold his fur lightly and he gets up, running off for something.

Upon walking into the house, Anne sits me at the couch and hugs me. The news is overbearing and I try to relax but I end up passing out again in the span of 24 hours.

__________

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