Marked Book 4

The somber forest was dense. Trees sprouted from the ground only yards apart, yet my quick reflexes and agile frame allowed me to run between the naked trunks and leap over the rising roots with ease.

The winds had brought a merciless storm to our small town. Most people would be seeking the comfort of their warm homes, but I was a troubled soul in need of relief.

Every breath I took left a lingering scent of fresh air, mud, and soaked grass in my nose. The intense rain had drenched my fur, but it was pointless turning back now when I was so close to shelter.

I turned left toward a clearing, my paws digging up the swampy forest floor while mud stained my white fur.

The familiar rock formation appeared between the trees, and I forced my feet to move faster.

My lungs were burning, and my legs felt stiff, but it was only a matter of moments before I could relish in the warmth of my secret place.

The fierce wind felt like a slap across my face when I fled the forest that had shielded me from Mother Nature’s wrath.

I fought her opposing powers until I reached the entrance to a cave that was large enough to house my enormous body.

A relieved sigh escaped my throat once I was inside. The cave wasn’t as warm as our house. Nevertheless, it was better than staying outside.

I shook my body to rid my white coat of excess water, spraying the walls with its drops.

The sun remained hidden behind the gloomy clouds in the sky, leaving my surroundings dark and eerie; however, my wolf allowed me to see what normal human eyes couldn’t.

Exhausted, I settled down on the stone floor, savoring the sound of rain and solitude.

I hadn’t heard silence like this for days. Our house had been in a state of never-ending conflict for almost a week.

If it wasn’t Mom and Dad arguing about the specifics of our business trip tomorrow, it was Mom and me, or my brothers.

Business trips weren’t uncommon for us as one of the most recognized alpha families in the world, but Mating Season was only a few days away.

We would be gone for at least a week, and I did not want to spend the first few days of Mating Season with strange wolves on strange lands.

Worst of all, no one cared to disclose the identity of the pack we were to visit or why this meeting was necessary. My parents claimed it was security-related, but it was hard for me to wrap my head around.

No pack was more important than our own during Mating Season; those were the words my brothers and I had been taught since we were born.

Mating Season was a sacred time for all wolves—a time when we surrendered to our animalistic instincts and explored our sexuality until we found our mate.

Nothing might happen on our trip, but I had a responsibility here. I had people who counted on me—

A shimmer of red flashed before my eyes near the entrance.

I rose to my feet, exposing my lethal teeth and pushing my ears forward to express authority.

The storm was still raging, so whatever was out there could be dangerous.

“Diana?”

The voice in my head was unmistakable, but only when the red fur coat was fully visible by the entrance did I let down my guard.

“Aunty Everly?” I asked, using the mind-link that connected us. “What are you doing out here in this storm?”

The wolf began changing. Its fur retracted, and its body became smaller until a human frame stood where the red wolf had once been.

Fiery red curls spilled over her naked shoulders as she approached the corner where a pile of thick blankets was located.

The pain of my bones snapping and rearranging was swift and expected after more than two years with my wolf.

Everly sighed as she handed me a blanket to cover my naked body. “What has she done now?”

I sat down and trapped the ends of my white hair between my fingertips. “Haven’t you heard about our trip tomorrow?” I asked, rolling my eyes to express my opinion on the matter.

Everly dropped her shoulders and crooked her head to her right. “I believe everyone is aware of your upcoming trip. It was somewhat unexpected, given that Mating Season is just around the corner.

“Still, your mother emphasized before the council that it was of utmost importance that the entire Loucrious family went together.”

“And that’s what I don’t get,” I said, crossing my arms. “What could be more important than being with our pack during the beginning of Mating Season? I—”

I stopped myself before I said too much. I loved Aunty Everly like family, but she was Mom’s oldest friend. She’d likely take Mom’s side and attempt to convince me I was wrong—just like Mom.

“Diana,” Everly said and sat down beside me. “This isn’t just about the trip and your mother, is it?”

I didn’t answer her. Instead, I looked away and pretended I hadn’t heard her question. Not that I knew it would work; she knew me too well.

“Is this about Henri?”

The image of an olive-skinned man grazed my mind. The thought of his uneven black hair and dimples made me smile.

Henri wasn’t necessarily the most attractive wolf in our pack, but he was kind and passionate about his work as a painter. He was a decent lover too.

I loved listening to the inspiring stories of his paintings, and though we only met last season, I’d intended to ask him for permission to mark him when this year’s Mating Season began.

“It’s not just about Henri,” I said, sighing at the thought of Mating Season. “I also made a promise to my friend, and I—”

The metallic taste of blood touched my tongue as I bit the inside of my cheek.

“Listen, Diana,” Everly said and put an arm around my shoulders. “I know that Mating Season is the only time for an alpha wolf to explore a potential mating bond, but you’re strong.

“A few days of discomfort in the shadow of your wolf’s nature shouldn’t be too much for one of the Loucrious Pack’s greatest warriors to handle.

“I have no doubt that Henri will be waiting for you when you get back.”

“What if I can’t?” I asked, digging my nails into my naked arms.

“What if I can’t control my wolf? An alpha’s instinct is to breed, Everly. It was so bad during my first season that I could hardly contain myself.”

I’d already been through two Mating Seasons without the mark, but the thought of getting stuck elsewhere, away from my family and friends, for an entire season because I couldn’t control myself terrified me.

“You seem to be forgetting what else an alpha wolf is capable of, Diana,” Everly said. I looked up and caught her smile.

“The alpha wolf has more control of their emotions, which is why they need the mark and Mating Season in the first place.”

Everly chuckled and kissed my hair. “You should’ve seen your mom when she was your age. She gave your father a hell of a fight.”

I snorted, amused. “I can’t say I find that hard to believe.”

“You know,” Everly said, leaning backward. “I was there the day she defeated Icarus.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “Were you? Was she really as powerful as Dad claims?”

The Loucrious bloodline wasn’t only famous for being the first to turn their back on our once-savage werewolf ways.

My ancestor, Icarus, had found joy in slaughtering innocents, including his own sister—the woman I was named after—and her children.

All that death transpired hundreds of years ago, but a vengeful hunter said to be Diana’s husband asked for help from a witch who immortalized them both.

Icarus had since been a prisoner for our bloodline to guard until the hunter persuaded Mom and Dad to unleash Icarus from his eternal chains and help the hunter purge the world of this evil.

However, Icarus hadn’t been as weak as they’d anticipated.

According to Dad, they only defeated him because Mom appeared to possess some mysterious powers that were triggered when she touched Icarus’s wicked soul.

I was presumably born with those powers, too, based on the natural whiteness of my hair, but I’d never been close enough to a soul as dark as Icarus’s for me to find out.

I never hoped to find myself in such a situation either.

“I didn’t directly see the fight between Rieka and Icarus, but I felt Icarus’s strength on my own body,” Everly said, clenching the fabric around her chest while she stared into the empty air.

“He was so powerful and so—”

Everly paused, and the hairs on my body rose. “Your mother has been through a lot, Diana, and I know she only wishes that you two could get along.

“However, if your mother is convinced that this meeting is as urgent as they say, I wouldn’t question it.”

I sighed and buried my head by my knees. Everly stands by Mom’s side through thick and thin; I already knew that.

Everly nudged my shoulder. “How are your brothers handling it?”

A resounding snort escaped me, the sound bouncing between the cave walls. “Aspen doesn’t want to show it, but I think he’s pretty stressed about the trip.

“Not for the same reasons as me, but since he’s to inherit Dad’s title as the Loucrious alpha in a few years, he has to prove that he’s ready for it.”

Aspen was only fifteen minutes older than me, and I was only ten minutes older than our other brother, Cassian.

However, it did make Aspen the natural heir to our alpha legacy unless he renounced the title. Then it would fall to me, and I did not want to lead a pack. That was Aspen’s specialty, not mine.

I was a warrior, trained by my dad since the day I could walk.

“And Cassian?” Everly asked.

I shrugged. “It’s a madhouse right now. Everyone is getting on everyone’s nerves because of the trip tomorrow, and I couldn’t be in it anymore. I had to get away.”

“Ah, yes,” Everly said, shifting her weight. “The whole reason I showed you this cave to begin with.”

I chuckled, imagining the moment she first brought me here.

I couldn’t have been more than thirteen. Everly brought me here shortly after my first serious fight with Mom regarding her thinking that I couldn’t devote all of my time to training.

I was a Loucrious, which meant I had other responsibilities waiting for me.

“You really saved me that day,” I said with a smile, “and you’ve probably saved my brothers from many broken ribs too.

“If I hadn’t had this place where I knew they wouldn’t find me, I probably would have let my anger get the best of me.”

“You get that temper from your mother, that’s for sure, but this is what the cave does,” Everly said, breathing in the cave air like the scent of her mate. “It calms you.”

“So, why are you here?” I asked, getting the exact reaction I’d hoped for.

Everly had turned speechless and as stiff as a statue.

I chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No,” she said, rubbing her neck. “Noah just returned from another one of his college interviews.

“I love my son, but I will be shedding my skin if I have to hear about another nonlinear equation leading to the salvation of our world.”

It wasn’t nice to laugh when I could see her frustration was honest, but I couldn’t help myself. “So you’re exhausted because of math?”

Everly chuckled through my heartfelt laugh. “You might laugh now, but I remember how he had to spend days and nights at your place to help you pass your math exam.”

Noah was only a few days older than the three of us. He’d been treated like family for as long as I could remember, so it sometimes felt like we were quadruplets instead of triplets.

Or it used to until we turned sixteen and bonded with our wolves.

“So you left your poor mate to deal with it instead?”

Everly waved a hand in the air to brush me off. “Caleb handles Noah a lot better than I do these days. It might actually be a relief that I’m not there.”

“I—”

Mom’s voice roared in my head like a commander on a sinking ship.

This cave might be mine and Aunty Everly’s secret place, but that didn’t stop Mom from reaching out to me using the cursed mind-link.

I gulped and felt my mouth become dry. She was furious.

“Was that Rieka?” Everly asked when she saw the blood drain from my face.

I nodded silently, unable to think clearly. “I—um…” I got up from the floor and looked around like a lost puppy. “I think Mom finally figured out that I’m gone.”

A crooked smile was the only smile I could force onto my face. My body was trembling with fear of facing Mom on my own.

I’d expected her to be angry. She was already stressed, but this kind of fury was something I’d only seen a few times before.

“I have to go, Aunty. Send my regards to Noah and Uncle Caleb and wish Noah good luck with his college applications.”

My bones had already started snapping before I’d thrown off the blanket. It didn’t take me more than a few seconds to shift back to the giant wolf that would terrify any ignorant human.

“Diana,” Everly said before I could jump out of the cave. I looked back to find her eyebrows crooked and an expression of worry painted on her face.

“Be good to your mother and cut her some slack. She has a lot on her plate.”

I nodded reluctantly.

It wasn’t Mom’s funeral they would have to prepare if I couldn’t contain myself; it was mine.

The rain had subsided a little, so I was no longer spending my energy trying to stay on my feet. Instead, I spent it trying to push the boundaries of what was possible for the speed of a wolf.

I slowed down as I saw our house appear behind the trees.

It had been no more than fifteen minutes since Mom told me to come home, but she could easily be occupied doing something other than waiting for me.

My muddy paws carried me to the other side of the garden while my eyes scoured the building for an open window.

The door to the living room had been left slightly ajar, leaving a way for me to get inside without being noticed.

It could be a trap, so I cautiously moved closer, hiding behind every bush and statue I could find.

The room remained dark and abandoned. There were no signs of life and no detectable movement.

I quietly pushed the door open to allow my huge body inside without alarming anyone.

My fur was still dripping wet, and my paws were covered in mud. It wasn’t ideal, but I couldn’t shift now. Mom would undoubtedly hear me.

“So, you finally decided to show up, Di.”

I stiffened as every hair on my body rose.

Cassian was sitting in a chair with the back turned toward the windows. I couldn’t have seen him from outside even if I’d scoured every inch of the room.

He played carelessly with the expensive phone while his narrow eyes rested on my paralyzed wolf.

“I’d love to hear what Mom has to say about you sneaking in here like that.”

Cassian should’ve grown out of his childish behavior years ago, but he seemed stuck with it, making my life a living hell.

No words would convince him not to call Mom. However, I would make sure he’d remember to think twice next time he considered ratting me out.

I stepped in his direction and lowered my head as if I were stalking helpless prey. Cass immediately comprehended what I was trying to do, but it was already too late.

Cassian’s tiny human legs weren’t going to get him far before I caught him.

“MOM!” Cassian screamed before my paws landed on his chest, knocking every last speck of air out of him.

He was lucky to be carrying the wolf gene; otherwise, the weight of my body on his would’ve crushed his lungs.

Footsteps echoed behind us, and I knew I didn’t have long before chaos would wreak havoc in this room. However, I wasn’t going to let Cassian off the hook so easily.

Cassian wiggled like a worm underneath my paws. It was almost satisfying seeing him like this—helpless and weak.

“Get off, Diana!” he shouted, hitting my legs in a futile attempt to throw me off.

Then his eyes met mine, and I knew I’d taken my vengeance too far. His irises were bright, and his lips curled, revealing his growing canines.

Cassian was about to shift.

“Diana! Cassian! Stop it, both of you!”

Mom’s voice tore through the air, forcing Cassian and me to freeze. Neither of us moved while her heels echoed through the living room as she approached us.

I could hardly breathe until she stood in front of us, squinting her eyes ruthlessly.

“Get up,” she said, gesturing for us to separate and fall in line.

I instantly let go of Cassian and raised my head like the wolf warrior I was. She terrified me, but I would not let Cassian see that. He would never be able to let it go.

The toll of the years as the Loucrious Luna vaguely presented itself as faint wrinkles around her eyes.

Strands of her wild, white hair were already escaping the perfection they’d been forced into, yet she remained as scary as she must’ve been when she defeated Icarus, if not more so.

“Cassian.” Mom sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Go clean yourself up, honey, and wait for me in the office.”

My muddy footprints had left Cassian’s shirt looking like a piece of sophisticated art. I would’ve been smiling if Mom hadn’t been right in front of me.

Cassian’s dirty-blond waves bounced when he nodded to acknowledge Mom’s order. We waited silently until Cassian had left the room and closed the door behind him.

I still didn’t move when she walked past me. It wasn’t until I felt a blanket being thrown across my back that I looked back to see her disappointed face.

“Do you mind shifting back, Diana?” Mom said, sighing as she sat down on the couch.

The pain was still there as I shifted to my human form, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of my chest growing too tight for me to breathe.

My human fingers grabbed the corners of the blanket before I sat down beside her.

Neither of us said anything until the silence became too unbearable for me to endure.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I whispered, twirling the blanket’s fringes around my muddy fingers. “I just needed some fresh air to cool my mind, and with Mating Season around the corner… I just—”

“Why today, Diana?” Mom whispered, still unable to look at me.

The stinging feeling of disappointment in her voice pierced my skin like needles. Her enraged screams were horrifying, but this voice had me on the verge of tears.

This was the sound of her being close to giving up on me, and that feeling hurt even worse than facing the wrathful beast residing within her.

I didn’t always make life easy for her, but it had never been my intention to truly hurt her.

“I understand you’re not fond of visiting another pack so close to Mating Season, but the Oculum Pack has summoned us for a reason. We should’ve gone the day the letter arrived.

“The only reason we didn’t was because we still had important business to finish here first,” Mom explained, picking her cuticles.

“Please, try to understand that we’re not doing this to upset you or your brothers.”

My mouth turned into a straight line as I remembered Aunty Everly’s final words before I left the cave.

Mom put her hand on mine and waited for my eyes to find hers.

“You’re all members of the Loucrious family, and this meeting has the potential to shape the future of our pack. So it’s important that we go as a family.”

She sighed when I still didn’t answer her. “I need you to do this, Diana, but if you can’t find it in your heart to do it for me, I beg you to at least do it for your brothers and the pack.”

Her hand trembled as she patiently awaited my answer.

I still wanted to know more about this Oculum Pack and why they were so important that they couldn’t wait another week for us to visit them.

However, the echo of Aunty Everly’s story about Mom’s strength and her plea to give Mom a little space made me nod before I knew what I was doing.

“Thank you, honey,” Mom said, her face painted with an expression of relief.

“Do you mind if I steal your mother for a bit, Diana?”

I looked behind me and saw Dad approaching us. I don’t know how long he’d been standing there or how much he’d heard. Mom smiled pleasantly as his hands reached her shoulders.

“The shower is free for you to use when you’re ready,” Dad said, massaging Mom’s shoulders.

“Don’t stay up too late. We’ll spend most of the day in the air, but the evening will be long, so get some rest while you can.”

Dad smiled and kissed my hair before grabbing Mom’s hand and guiding her out of the room until I was left utterly alone in the darkness.

I leaned into the soft fabric of the couch, relishing the calmness of the silence as I thought of the extent of my promise.

We were leaving tomorrow, whether I liked it or not, and we weren’t returning until Mating Season had officially begun.

Perhaps, if I could behave throughout the week, Mom would finally start accepting me for my wishes; however, if I couldn’t shake my bad habits, she might never trust me again.

My body grew tense as a cold shiver ran down my spine.

The first days of Mating Season were always the hardest to fight through, but as long as my wolf didn’t find an unmated he-wolf attractive enough for me to lose control, I’d be fine.

I would be back here before I knew it.