THE MARK

STACY

Slowly, I open my eyes and realise that I'm in the bathroom, lying inside a bathtub filled with the coldest water ever.

My body is still hot and painful, but I somehow feel a little bit of relief.

I smell Maurice so I search for him and I'm glad that I don't have to look very far because he's right beside me. He's leaning against the wall and his eyes are closed shut. He's dozing off. I wonder how long I've been here.

I remember the last happenings before I blacked out again. Maurice had pushed me away while saying that it was only my heat that was making me want him. Goodness, how dense could he be? I would want him regardless of my heat or not!

For now the pain is bearable, the cold water has somehow helped, but I know it isn't over yet. There is only one way for the heat to stop and that is for me to get marked during our first mating with my mate.

I sigh, although I feel rejected, I'm happy that Maurice thought of what I would have wanted first. He must've known that I wasn't at my very best to be making decisions. For now, I'm only thankful that I can think clearly and I have the strength to move.

I stand up, trying to move as stealthy as possible. Maurice must've been watching over me for a long time and I assume it's only fair for him to rest.

However, my plan doesn't work out because as I stand, his eyes open and he immediately stands up. He takes a towel and wraps it around me.

“I'm sorry, I fell asleep.” He says as he removes the plug stopping the water from going down the drain and it starts flowing away. I take the towel and start drying myself.

“I'm sorry...” I whisper shyly. I can't look at him in the eyes. I keep remembering how embarrassingly I acted in front of him.

I hear him chuckle and I quickly glare at him, pouting. How dare he laugh at my plight?

Upon receiving my deathly glare, he tries to stop himself from laughing but he fails terribly. “Let me dry you up.” He says, still laughing as he approaches me. He carries me from the bathtub and leads me back inside the room.

He sets me down on one of the couches in his huge bedroom as I start drying myself again with the towel.

Maurice leaves for a while saying he has to get something and when he returns, he hands me one of his shirts. He also has another towel in which he helps me dry myself.

When he finally sits down in front of me, I speak once again. “Mark me Maurice!” My heart beats loudly as I drop the words. He was definitely not expecting it because his eyes widen as he looks back at me.

“Are you sure about this? Are you ready? The mark will hu--” I hold his face with one of my hands as I touch my forehead onto his. The heat is starting to act up again and I'm starting to feel the pain.

“Shhhh... I know you're worried, but I will be fine. I know that I don't have an Alpha or a Beta blood running through my veins so the mark will hurt, but don't worry about it. I'm ready to take the pain.” I explain to him.

I can feel that he's still worried, he's hesitating and I can tell that he doesn't want me to go through the pain. But I can't find the words to explain to him that going through the heat's pain is worse than the pain that I will go through with the marking.

“I love you, Stacy.” He utters and my eyes widen in utter shock while my heartbeat speeds up more than before. The heat intensifies and the attraction towards him becomes stronger. I know he cares for me and possibly loves me but he never said it before, but he always showed it. He's shy when showing his real emotions and he's probably not used to it and I perfectly understand why.

But still...

Hearing him say it directly to me has a different effect. He loves me.... Maurice loves me.

We didn't start at the best footing, but we are here now. We managed to overcome our differences and tried our best to accept each other with all our flaws. But that all seems so far now.

My cheeks burn up as he looks at me with such sincerity in his eyes, telling me that he really means what he has just said. I bite my lower lip and look away... his gaze is intense and sincere.

“You're quite sly.” I whisper and I only hear him chuckle. The heat's pain makes its way back and this time it demands to be felt even more than before.

I wince in pain. Although I must've been in that cold bath for a long time, it seems to turn to naughtiness because now my body is starting to burn up again.

He must've noticed it too. “Hold on, I'll start the water--”

I don't give him the chance to walk away and leave me, instead, I pull him closer to me and I kiss him again, this time round with a lot of passion. How bold even for me now that I'm at the right state of mind.

But that doesn't matter now.

He is quick to return my kiss, responding to it, making me smile. I wrap my arms around his neck and perfectly, he is sitting in front of me so I'm able to wrap my legs around his torso. He carries me off the couch and closer to the bed.

Once we are on top of the bed, his hands work their way to remove my shirt again, like he did before I blacked out. I help him take his shirt off too.

He pulls away from our kiss as his lips trail kisses until my lower neck, where his mark should be. My body responds so naturally, the pain of the heat seems to disappear as it feels my mate's touch on where I should be marked.

I gasp at the relief I suddenly feel. Maurice looks up to me and I can now see the mix of lust in his eyes. I kiss him back and he again responds. As for his hands, they make their way to my skirt, easily pulling it away then he slowly lays me down on the bed.

When he pulls away to take a look at me, I look away and bite my lip. I feel so naked- which I almost am. My heart is racing and I'm getting so hot. “Stop staring.” I manage to whisper.

He chuckles and starts trailing kisses from my neck down to my chest. “You're more beautiful than you think.” He states then goes back up to my neck, gently nibbling on where his mark should be.

He looks at me first. “I'm going to mark you now.” He says and I take a deep breath and nod.

He shows his canines and damn, they're long. His eyes turn gold as he shows them. I close my eyes, preparing myself for the pain.

And then, it comes.

As his canines sink into my neck, the pain comes gushing through. And here I thought the pain of the heat was bad. This pain is worse, it's excruciating such that I scream but all that leaves my mouth is a moan of pain and a tear falling from my eye. I can feel every vein that the pain passes through and I almost think that my heart is going to stop beating from the pain.

But then, he pulls back and I can feel something warm where he placed his mark. The mark is forming and after a short while, the pain subsides. What follows is bliss.

I can feel more of what he is feeling and I can hear more of what he's thinking. I can feel that we are truly connected now and our bond is stronger.

I open my eyes and look at him. I feel that he's worried and starts to blame himself whether he did it wrong or if he made a mistake. I smile and right away, he feels relief and then he's happy.

He comes closer again and kisses me yet again.

“Gosh, you drive me crazy.” He whispers when he pulls away momentarily and I smile at his comment.

“Good.” I kiss him back. I can feel his hand travelling behind my back.

Easily, he unhooks the strap of my undergarment, still placing feather soft kisses on my skin, fanning me with his smooth breath.

What happens next is an unforgettable night of passion where love is not spoken but felt. Finally, I get to feel like the beautiful woman that I am!