Chapter 3

Faye's pov

Ever since the party, I couldn't look at Killian the same way anymore.

Ever since that night, the night he killed Jake, I hadn't been able to sleep. I kept reliving the same nightmares — Jake's blood on his hands, the way his green eyes turned red with rage, the way he ripped Jake apart like a rabid beast. Everything was vivid imprinted in my mind.

That night, I had never felt so scared in my life.

Killian, my brother. The one whose eyes always beamed now had a murderous glint in them.

That night, he rose from Jake's mauled corpse and smiled at me as though expecting gratitude, understanding but all I felt was pure, bone-chilling fear.

I remember taking a step back. It was a single step but it shattered something between us.

His smile fell and my breath hitched. He had seen it. He had seen the fear in my eyes and he hated it.

“Don't look at me like that!” He had yelled.

But how else would I look at it when he was covered in blood.

He had saved me from being raped but he had also killed for me.

And I didn't know if he did it out of love or madness or both.

After that night, things never remained the same.

I resumed avoiding Killian but avoiding him became even harder.

I could feel him watching me, feel the weight of his presence everywhere.

If I stayed in my room, he would knock until I opened the door which would be hours later.

If I slipped away to train alone, he would show up.

If I wanted the company of my friends, I would find myself alone with him.

One day, I told myself I had had enough.

“Killian, enough!” I snapped just as I was about to leave the house.

“Stop what?” He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed.

“This!” I turned around. “Following me, forcing me to be around you. I've had enough of it! Stop making me feel like I don't have a choice —”

“That’s because you don't!” He cut me off mid-sentence.

“Excuse me?”

“You're my mate, Faye and you will accept that!”

“You think killing a man proves anything? It only makes me realize I don't even know you anymore. I don't know what you are!” I yelled.

A flash of anger crossed his face but I didn't care. I turned around and walked away before I could feel his gaze on me.

I returned home not long after and Killian was nowhere to be found.

I told myself it was for the best and assumed he was with some friends in the south.

I had dinner with dad that night and after badding him goodnight, I snuck up to my room to get a shut-eye, expecting keep tomcome but it never did.

“Aargh!” I groaned in frustration after tossing and turning on my bed for hours.

I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

Why was I sleepless? Was it because Killian wasn't home? But there were days I slept well when he wasn't home.

Why now?

My hair on my arms suddenly rose and my skin tingled with a restlessness I couldn't shake.

Someone was watching me but hmwho?

I told myself I wouldn't stay to get the answer.

I slipped out of bed, stripped down my pajamas and shifted.

I pushed open the windows and ran free. The moment my paws hit the ground and inhaled the crisp night air, I felt a rush of relief.

The wind whipped through my fur, carrying away my fear and the memories I wanted to erase.

Out here, under, the moon, I wasn't Killian's mate. I wasn't Alpha King Fenrirson's daughter. I was just me — Faye.

I ran deeper into the woods, past the borders of our usual hunting grounds, letting my mind guide me.

And then I felt it.

Something big.

I skidded to a stop, ears perking up, heart pounding as I scanned the darkness.

Then, a deep, rumbling growl echoed in the wind.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

What the hell was that?

I turned sharply and my stomach flipped.

Standing before me was a massive will, bigger than any I have ever seen. It's due as as dark as the night and it's piercing red eyes locked on me.

Shit.

The wolf's eyes gleamed with something I couldn't understand and I heard a quiet voice call out — MATE.

The realization hit me like a lightning bolt.

I staggered back, shaking my head. “What? How is this possible?”

The black wolf prowled, it's huge size dwarfing mine.

My instincts screamed for me to run but my body refused to run. My wolf was frozen.

I was mated to my brother an now, a dangerous wolf?

Before I could blink, the wolf lunged forward and I screamed.

I tired to run but it was faster. It grabbed me and sank it's teeth into my neck.

“Aargh!” A loud scream erupted from my lips as I let out a strangled cry.

I tried to push the massive wolf away but I was weak. My body was shuddering under the force of the bite.

The wolf noticed me struggling and pulled back, licking the wound it had left behind.

I collasped on the ground, trembling.

It had but me.

I sat up, panting in fear. Suddenly, something pulsed in my veins and heat began to flow though me.

What was this feeling?

I looked down at myself – blood stained my white fur and then I felt the bite marks on my neck – Two fang marks.

Oh no.

The wolf did not leave behind a wound.

I was wrong.

It had marked me.

I had been claimed by a wolf I didn't even know!

Our bond suddenly flared to life and my breath came in ragged gasps.

Why did he do that to me, a stranger?

I struggled to push myself up but my muscles screamed in protest. I wanted to run but my wolf couldn't move. It felt like I was being controlled by the wolf that marked me.

It began to move forward again and I let out a shout. “Stay back!”

My yells did nothing to stop it.

Then the massive wolf took a step back, it's body shrinking by the second.

Finally, I would get a better look at the basted that marked me against my own damn wish.

I decided to shift too.

Bones cracked and reshaped, furs receded and limbs elongated and before my eyes, the beast melted away — leaving behind the one person I had spent weeks avoiding — Killian.

At this point in my life, I was starting to think I was cursed.

My entire body went rigid as he stood before me, completely bare, his chest rising and falling with deep, deep breaths.

He was calm too. Impossibly calm for someone that had just done what he did.

I was stunned, still trying to make sense of the impossible.

My lips parted, but no words came out.

“We're you expecting someone else?” He began to approach me.

I scrambled to my feet. “You! You marked me!”

He tilted his head slightly. “Would you have preferred someone else?”

Yes! But I never said it out loud.

“Why!” I asked.

“It had to be you.”

I scoffed. “You knew it was me! You knew what you were doing and you still…”

“Of course, I knew. After all, I was the one watching you in your bedroom.”

Realization hit me like a cold wave and my heart slammed against my ribcage. It was him in my room? I knew I wasn't insane when I felt strange eyes on me.

“It was you? You're insane!”

Killian stopped right in front of me, his gaze holding me in place. I should've moved back but my body betrayed me. My feet was completely rooted in place.

“I tried to fight it,” he whispered, looking into my eyes. “I let you have your space but you kept running from me.”

“You didn't try hard enoufh.” I swallowed hard.

“No,” he smirked. “I suppose I didn't.”

“This isn't right, Killian.”

“I know but the Moon Goddess made us mates and she's never wrong.”

He did make a point there but still there was a difference between morals and romance.

“Faye…” Killian reached up his hand to my face. “What can I do to stop this hunger growing inside of me?”

“It's simple. Leave me alone.” I whispered.

He leaned his face closer to mine.

My mind screamed at me to run but I couldn't.

“You smell so good.” His lips crashed against mine before I could process anything.

I gasped against his lips but Killian didn't bother. He pulled me against him, kissing me with every ounce of need and desperation. He kissed me like he had been starved of water for days and had finally found it again. The intensity made my toes curl.

I should've pushed him away but instead my body reacted in ways I never it would.

My fingers hooked around his neck, pulling him in.

He began to trail kisses down my neck till he stopped to where he had marked me. A moan escaped my lips and heat pooled between my legs. What was this feeling?

Suddenly, his lip loosened and he pulled away.

My lips were swollen and my breath was uneven. What a kiss that was.

He leaned dcliser again and I thought he wanted to kiss me again but he brushed his lips against my ears. “Get used to this, Faye, because I'm tired of fighting it. Next time, I won't be gentle with you.”

And with that, he vanished, leaving me too stunned to react.

By the time he was gone, I was breathless

By the time he was gone, I wanted more.