Chapter 9

Arielle’s POV

Even after I had closed the door behind Asher, and  forced myself to breathe, to act normal, my body refused to listen.

My mind refused to let it go, the shock of pain lingered even long after he left. I could still feel it—the sting of that kiss like something had seared into my very bones, an invisible brand burning beneath my skin. Every time I replayed the moment in my head, I shuddered from the cold shock, it wasn’t normal.

It wasn’t possible, definitely shouldn't have been possible especially since Damian had rejected me.

I repeated that fact over and over again as I put the groceries away, hoping it would calm the pounding of my heart in my chest.

But my hands kept trembling,  I reached for a can of soup, nearly dropping it but I caught myself in the last moment and left it in a cupboard taking in a deep breath I could just stop shaking.

I clenched my jaw and tried to focus on the task in front of me.  Bread on the counter. Eggs in the fridge. Vegetables stacked neatly in a basket.

It took less time to do it so  I forced myself too and soon I was done but  my thoughts still refused to settle.

No matter how much I told myself that Damian had nothing to do with this and that the pain was just an anomaly, a cruel trick from the universe—one truth nagged at the back of my mind.

It was the mating bond that was causing this for me a  mate bond that shouldn’t be affecting me because the man who was my supposed mate had rejected me in front of a bunch of people not caring for my feelings and just shattering my trust.

I rubbed my fingers against my temple, frustration curling in my gut.

I needed answers.

And there was only one person in the pack who might have them. I would have to go to her myself.

I walked out the house, locking the door firmly and striding out of the building. As if it was trying to match my mood the wind had picked up by the time I reached the edge  of pack lands, the forests were thicker here, the grass greener.

The sounds of rustling leaves from the thick canopied trees standing like giants. The seer’s cottage was at the far edge of the forest, rumours had it that the very first alpha had built it for a seer that came from the north seeking to help his pack and despite the prejudice against her he had taken her in and protected her from harm.

Since then she lived in that cottage, I found that very hard to believe but I wasn't about to question it either.

The cottage was a beautiful building, half-hidden behind ivy-covered gray stone walls, with smoke always coming out of the chimney.

I remember the scent of burning herbs drifting through the cool air of Valery's home when I was younger, when my life had been much easier. Valery had always unnerved me—not because she was unkind, but because she knew things. Things that weren’t supposed to be known it was ironic that I needed her for that same ability now.

I got to her door and for a moment a part of me hesitated knocking at door, I stood at the wooden door, my hand hovering just above the iron knocker.

Did I really want to hear what she had to say?

Did I really want to know what I suspected was true, that I was defective and had imprinted on Damian, just because he was my mate, even after I had been rejected by him.

My cheeks flushed with shame at the thought of it but i pushed it away and focused on why I was here in the first place if anyone could explain what had happened with Asher, it was her.

Steeling myself, I knocked.

It didn’t take long for the door to creak open.

“Arielle,” Valery said, her voice smooth and knowing, as if she had been expecting me which from what I knew about her she likely had.

"Come in, child.”

I swallowed hard and stepped inside.

The cottage was just as I remembered it, it was dimly lit, most of it's shelves lined with ancient books and small vials of glowing liquids that I wouldn't touch even if she paid me too. Growing worst on my skin once was one time too many for me.

A few dried herbs hung from the ceiling, their scents mixing into an almost overwhelming blend of sage, lavender, and something I couldn’t quite place. It definitely hadn't changed since I had last been here.

Valery walked ahead of me, her long flowing dress brushing against the wooden floor as she gestured for me to sit. I did, my hands clenched tightly in my lap as she settled across from me.

“You’re troubled,” she observed. I let out a breath.

“I need answers.” She tilted her head slightly her eyes running over me in a way that definitely felt magnetic.

"About the pain?”  she murmured and a chill ran down my spine. I shouldn’t have been surprised that she already knew.

“Yes,” I admitted.

“I—I don’t understand what happened. Damian rejected me. The bond should be severed, but when I…”  my throat tightened and she smiled at me a sly tilt of her lips to one corner and a flush filling my cheeks immediately.

" Go on dearie m, we don't have all day " I cleared my throat and looked over her head.

“When I kissed Asher, I felt—”

“Pain,” Valery finished for me, her dark eyes gleaming.

“Like a burning pain through your soul.”  I nodded, my nails digging into my palms.

“Why? Why would that happen?” Valery was silent for a long moment just watching me  her eyes fixed over my face like she could see something that I couldn't myself and then she leaned forward, her voice low almost like a whisper.

“Because you may have been rejected but you were not completely freed from your bond to your mate." she muttering and I froze.

"I don't understand." I muttered.

"I felt it. Damian said the words—he rejected me. I felt the bond breaking.”

“You felt pain,” Valery corrected gently.

“But did you ever feel emptiness?”  I opened my mouth to argue with her, what the hell did that mean, a rejection was a rejection no matter what I felt.

But she wasn't lying either, I had felt pain when I kissed Asher but I had also felt like I was doing something wrong. A strange coldness settled over me as I thought back to that night. I swallowed hard, my voice hoarse.

"What are you saying?”

Valery watched me carefully like I was a skittish cattle that would soon flee.

"I am saying that Damian marked you.”

The world around me seemed to blur around me and for a moment it felt like the room was tilting around me.

I stared at her, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“That’s—that’s not possible.”

“Isn’t it?” she murmured. I shook my head, my breath coming faster.

“No." I shook my head violently.

"No. It is not true. He never—”

Valery reached for my wrist. Her fingers were warm as she turned my arm over, her thumb brushing against the skin just below my elbow. A jolt shot through me.

And suddenly, I felt it.

Something beneath my skin, twisting within me.

Something that didn’t belong in me, my breath hitched, horror clawing at my throat.

“No.”

Valery’s expression softened, but there was no mistaking the truth in her eyes.

“Not all marks are visible,” she said quietly. “Some are hidden. Buried beneath skin and woven into the soul.”

I jerked my arm away, my pulse hammering wildly.

“But—why? Why would he do that?” Valery’s gaze darkened.

“To keep you bound to him, the true reason why is his to explain now" she murmured pulling away from me .

Damian had marked me, the god-damned bastard.

That’s why—why I had felt that burning pain when I kissed Asher.

Because my soul was still tied to Damian because he had claimed me in a way I couldn’t escape.

But why, why couldn't he let me move on from him when he didn't really want me for himself.

I shoved my chair back, standing so abruptly that the wooden legs scraped against the floor, my whole body trembling.

“I—I need to go.”

Valery didn’t stop me, she just watched me behave like the coward that I was as I turned and ran.