MARK

“Me? A pack member?”

Kane nodded, his eyes never leaving Anna’s.

He was serious, they wanted to make her a pack member!

“I don’t think…I can…I should…” Anna looked down at her jean-clad lap and bit her lips, mulling over what she was going to say next. He had just told her that it wasn’t her choice to make. As usual. She was already used to being told that for years.

She had to find a way to make him change his mind, something that’ll stop him from making such a decision.

“You’ll just be wasting your mark…” She suddenly said, “In the long run, once you’ve done what it is you want with me, I’ll end up dying and you and your pack will end up feeling the loss of losing a pack member!”

All packs were connected by their alpha’s bite. The second they bared their necks in submission to him and he gave them the mark of an Alpha, everyone would be bonded, not as strong as the mate bond would be but strong enough to be able to connect to your fellow pack member if you thought about hard enough and if a pack member dies, the entire pack would feel it like losing parts of themselves, again not as strong as one would feel when losing their fated mates but strong enough to move one into days of sorrow.

Anna had never been part of a pack and never wanted to be, she feared such intimacy with people she didn’t know and would never trust, so she preferred being the rouge her parents made her to be. Denying her the bite of her birth pack’s Alpha claiming it was for her safety.

Sure enough, Kane wouldn’t want to create such intimacy between them, not with what they already had, and coupled with the fact that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her.

It was Kane’s turn to stare down at his fingers on his thighs. His jaw tightened so much she could hear the gritting of his teeth. Tony looked calmer than she expected him to be at that moment

His legs were crossed over one another and his gaze was on Kane’s face like he was trying to understand his expression.

“Listen, Annalisa.”

Anna couldn’t help but flinch when she heard his harsh tone. Brought back memories that were still fresh in her mind.

“If you think that mentioning your death over and over again will gain you some sort of sympathy from anyone in this room, then you are most definitely living in a stupid fantasy!”

“Kane…”

“I wasn’t done speaking!” He said to Tony who had tried to interrupt him.

Great, he was being an ass to everyone else. That was somewhat comforting.

“I need the Wolf Spirit to protect my pack, that is all that matters to me and I will do everything in my power to get it, including draining the life out of you if that’s what it takes!”

“He doesn’t mean that!” Tony quickly countered and then turned to Kane with a burning glare of his own.

They both had a stare down, Anna knew they were probably communicating telepathically, away from the ears of others in the room, including May who had been strangely quiet all through the entire thing.

After a few seconds, they both looked away from each other. Kane closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“You will become an official pack member tomorrow,” He said, his tone gentler than it had been only a few seconds ago.

Anna wondered just what he and his Beta had spoken about that changed his attitude this way.

“I will mark you first thing in the morning and you will find your place in the pack and do your part just like everyone else,”

He stood up from the couch and put his hands in his pocket, his eyes not meeting Anna’s once and his expression blank. Anna couldn’t see anything in his eyes, she couldn’t understand what was going through his head at that moment, she wished she did.

“Please do not make things difficult for anyone Anna, just do as you’re told so we can all get out of this situation sooner, then you’ll be free,”

Anna fought the urge to scoff at his words. Freedom?

Yes. They had promised her freedom after they finally got what they wanted, forgetting that there would be nothing left for her once the Wolf Spirit has been drained.

Only saying those words out loud to her for their benefit.

“If that’s what you want,” Anna smiled, one that held untold secrets and pain behind it.

“I will become a member of your pack, Kane,”

They seemed taken off guard by her sudden change in attitude.

Good.

She would plant her feet deep into the roots of this pack, and she would figure out an escape route, they would trust her so much that they would place the way out in her hands, then she would leave them and never look back!

Not even for Kane’s sake!

…

The next morning came like a blur, Anna didn’t remember falling asleep that night, only staring long and hard at the ceiling as the light outside her windows slowly became brighter and brighter.

She was up before the sun, walked into the bathroom, and had a warm shower.

It was like she was on autopilot, she dried her hair which took longer than drying the rest of her body.

She picked out a black sundress from the clothes Kane’s sister had brought in for her, carried the white slippers that she had been wearing for the past few days, and then spent the rest of her time braiding the sides of her hair just to make it easier to carry. She tied it at the back of her head and then put on the clothes she had selected. By the time she was done, it was already eight am.

There was a knock on her door a few minutes later.

Anna figured it would be Tony behind the door, or even May coming to tell her that it was time.

Anna walked to the door and opened it without hesitation.

Sea-green eyes met hers and she couldn’t help the surprised gasp that left her lips.

It was Kane.

He was there to mark her.