He Called My Mark a Sticker

I walked into the Ravenswood Conglomerate lobby with a lunch bag in one hand. The Omega receptionists gave me their usual smiles, and I smiled back on my way to the private elevator.

"Aria?"

I knew that voice before I even turned around.

Marcus was standing by the revolving doors, his adopted sister, Tessa Hart, right beside him. With the stubble and the shadows under his eyes, I almost didn't recognize him.

"You came to pick me up?" He walked over, already grinning. "I just flew in from my assignment. How'd you even know I was back?"

I shifted the insulated bag to my other hand. "Excuse me. I have somewhere to be."

His eyes dropped to the bag. "You brought lunch, too? You knew I'd be starving." The grin got wider. "I knew you'd still be waiting for me."

Beside him, Tessa gave a small cough. Marcus turned to her at once and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey. You okay? Is your wolf acting up again?"

He murmured to her for a moment, then hurried after me.

"Don't read into that. She's fragile. Her dad died taking a rogue's claws meant for me. I'm all the family she's got left, so she's my responsibility."

"Right." I turned back toward the elevator.

He stepped in front of me. "Come on, Aria. If you came for me, just say it. I know it hurt when I didn't mark you at the Moon Rite. But we were eighteen. We were kids. I'm back now, and we can start over."

I brushed my hair over my shoulder and tilted my head, baring my neck.

"I already have a mate."

The mark sat just above my collarbone, a small silver shape like a wolf's fang, glowing faintly against my skin. A bond mark. The permanent kind.

"Honestly, I should thank you for walking out on me," I said. "If you hadn't, I never would have found him."

Marcus stared at the mark for a long moment. Then he laughed.

"What is that, a sticker?" He leaned in for a closer look. "Come on. You don't really expect me to buy that."

"Believe whatever you want." I pressed the call button.

The laugh faded, and his voice turned hard. "The whole pack knew about our Rite. As far as anyone's concerned, you were going to be my mate. Who'd have the guts to mark you after that?"

So he'd known. He'd known exactly what it meant to claim me in front of the whole pack, and he'd left anyway. Maybe he'd counted on the gossip to leave me no choice but to wait.

Would he still be laughing when he found out I was the pack's Luna?

The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped in. Marcus tried to follow, and two security guards moved into his path.

"Sir, you don't have clearance for the top floor."

"Are you kidding me? I'm Adrian Ravenswood's nephew!"

"Sorry, sir. Rules are rules."

The doors closed on his furious face.

As the car rose, my mind drifted back two years.

On the night of my eighteenth birthday, the whole pack had crowded into the banquet hall to watch Marcus mark me. Just before the Rite began, Tessa collapsed.

Marcus hesitated for one second. Then he turned to me. "Tessa can't wait. I have to find someone who can help her. We'll push the Rite back three days. I'll be back by then."

He scooped her up, walked out, and caught the next flight without looking back once.

The hall went dead silent. Then the whispers started, and somebody snickered. I stood alone in the middle of the room in the dress I'd picked out for him, too stunned to move.

That was when Adrian walked up.

Marcus's uncle. The Alpha of the entire Silver Moon pack. He stopped in front of me, bowed low like a knight in an old story, and offered me his hand.

"Would you consider taking a different mate?"

I looked into his red wolf eyes and put my hand in his. "Yes."

He pulled me close, bent his head, and bit down on my neck. The bond snapped into place, and his power poured through my veins, so strong it made me shiver.

The elevator chimed at the top floor.

Adrian's secretary told me his meeting would run another hour. I handed her the lunch bag just as my phone buzzed.

My Alpha: Sorry, sweetheart. Warren won't stop talking. Don't wait up for me tonight. I'll make it up to you.

He'd even added a little heart at the end. I couldn't help smiling.

"Aria?"

I looked up. Marcus was standing in the office doorway, a little out of breath. He must have flashed his old employee badge and taken the stairs.

His eyes went to my phone screen, and he smirked. "'My Alpha'? And he just happens to text you about a meeting running late? You're really overselling this."

He crossed his arms. "Stop playing games, Aria. You know I hate being tested."

Then his voice went soft and coaxing, like I was a sulking kid. "Still this stubborn after two years. Come on, let me see this fake mark. I'll admit it looks pretty real."

He reached for the hair at my neck.