Chapter 114 Marked
Briar's POV
I woke up staring at the ceiling, my body still humming with residual heat even as Lucian carefully carried me back to the bed. The sheets were cool against my overheated skin and I should have felt satisfied, wrung out, ready to sleep, but instead my mind was racing in a way that felt uncomfortably familiar.
This was becoming a pattern, I realized with a jolt of clarity that cut through the pleasant haze. Every time I'd made a move on Lucian, I'd had alcohol in my system first. That night at Neon Nights when I'd approached him at the bar, the private room when I'd climbed into his lap, and tonight when I'd walked into his shower like I owned the place. I kept using alcohol as courage, as permission to do what I wanted but couldn't quite bring myself to do sober.
"Are you uncomfortable?" Lucian's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to me as he reached for something on the nightstand. Water still clung to his shoulders and the defined muscles of his back, droplets tracing the line of his spine down to where the sheet cut across his hips. I found myself staring at the flex and shift of muscle under his skin and thought with genuine regret that I should have touched him more while I had the chance.
He glanced back at me over his shoulder and caught me looking. One eyebrow went up and the corner of his mouth quirked in a way that made my face heat.
"So," he said, turning to face me fully. His voice dropped into something lower, rougher. "How was my performance? Do I meet your standards?"
I shrugged, trying for casual even as my pulse kicked up. "I don't have anything to compare it to, so I couldn't say."
Lucian went very still. His eyes searched my face like he was trying to figure out if I was joking, and when he apparently decided I wasn't, something shifted in his expression.
"Are you still drunk?" he asked quietly.
I met his gaze and held it. "I wasn't that drunk to begin with."
He was quiet for a moment, watching me with an intensity that made me want to squirm. Then he stood and crossed to the closet, pulling open one of the built-in drawers. When he came back he was holding a small box, the same one I'd left on the bathroom counter earlier.
His voice was low and deliberate when he spoke. "Since you're clearheaded now, and your mood seems to have improved considerably..." He set the box on the nightstand with a soft click. "I think we should go again."
We moved together with more urgency this time, and I was so focused on the building pressure that I almost missed it when something changed. It started as a pull deep in my chest, like a string had been tied around my ribs and someone was tugging on the other end. Selene stirred in the back of my mind, not with her usual wariness but with something that felt almost like longing.
Lucian's entire body went rigid above me. His eyes flashed gold and his breath came out harsh against my collarbone. "Briar. Do you feel that?"
I nodded because I couldn't quite form words. The pull was getting stronger, insistent, like my wolf was trying to claw her way to the surface to get closer to his.
"We're fated mates," Lucian said, and there was shock in his voice but underneath it was something deeper, something that sounded almost like relief.
My rational mind knew I should stop and think about this, but Selene was drowning out every logical thought with pure instinct, with the overwhelming need to complete the bond. I found myself tilting my head back to expose my throat before I'd consciously made the decision.
"Then mark me," I heard myself say.
Lucian's eyes blazed gold and he lowered his head to my neck. There was a moment of pressure and then sharp pain as his canines broke through, but the pain lasted only a second before it transformed into something else entirely.
Energy surged through me like lightning and I could suddenly feel Lucian's emotions as clearly as my own. Possessiveness, fierce and all-consuming. Protectiveness that bordered on violence. And underneath it all, a current of guilt so deep it made my chest ache.
When he finally pulled back and sealed the mark with his tongue, I was shaking from the sheer intensity of the connection between us.
I must have fallen asleep after that because the next thing I knew, early morning light was filtering through the curtains and I was alone in bed. I sat up slowly and caught sight of myself in the mirror across the room.
The mark on my neck was impossible to miss. Two crescent-shaped puncture wounds sat just below my jaw on the left side, the skin around them tinged with a faint silver shimmer that seemed to glow in the morning light. I walked closer to the mirror, tilting my head to examine it properly.
I stared at my reflection and tried to process it. Lucian Kincaid and I were fated mates. I'd used him as an emotional outlet last night and it turned out we were literally meant for each other. I'd already given myself one night to lick my wounds. I couldn't afford to waste any more time on it. The fated mate thing was just one more complication, and I'd deal with it later when I had time to think.
I showered quickly and headed to the kitchen following the smell of coffee. Lucian was at the stove and he glanced over his shoulder when I walked in.
"Morning," he said casually. "Hungry?"
I sat down at the table and noticed that the eggs on my plate had already been peeled. I picked one up and examined it, then looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What are you, my babysitter?"
Lucian brought over a pan of scrambled eggs. "I used to babysit Ash when he was younger. I stopped helping him with baths when he turned ten, though." He paused and his mouth curved into a smirk. "But I made an exception for you last night."
Heat flooded my face as I remembered him washing my hair in the shower. I focused very hard on my eggs.
"If you feel like I took advantage," Lucian continued, his voice dropping lower, "you're welcome to return the favor anytime."
I looked up at him through my lashes. "That sounds more like a reward to you."
He grinned and didn't deny it.
---
The board meeting started smoothly enough. I presented my grandfather's will, which clearly stated his intention for me to inherit his shares and take over management of the company. With forty percent of the voting shares, the board had no choice but to approve my appointment.
"I'd also like to propose Eric Thorne as the new General Manager," I said, sliding a folder across the table. "The formal appointment notice will be distributed this afternoon."
More murmurs of agreement. It was all going exactly according to plan.
James cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him. He stood, buttoning his suit jacket with deliberate precision.
"On behalf of Sterling Pharmaceuticals, I'm authorized to announce that we will be divesting our thirty percent stake in Vance Botanicals effective immediately. The shares will be offered to current board members first, in accordance with the right of first refusal clause. You have seventy-two hours to indicate your interest. After that, the shares will be sold to outside parties."
The room went dead silent.
Then chaos erupted. Board members started talking over each other, voices rising in confusion and alarm.
"Why are they pulling out now?"
"Do they know something we don't?"
"If Sterling is selling, maybe we should consider our positions too."
I sat frozen in my chair. This was Julian's move, it had to be. He was trying to destabilize the company, to make the other board members panic and pull their support.
The meeting dissolved into arguing and speculation. I managed to adjourn it but I could feel control slipping through my fingers with every anxious glance the board members exchanged on their way out.
When I finally stepped out into the hallway, James was waiting by the elevators. He fell into step beside me and his voice was cold when he spoke. "The injury on Alpha Julian's face. That was you, wasn't it?"
I didn't break stride. "Why? You don't think I hit him hard enough?"
James moved to block my path. His jaw was tight and his eyes were hard. "You're an ungrateful bitch. Alpha Julian gave you everything and this is how you repay him?"
I stared at him for a long moment, letting the silence stretch until it became uncomfortable. Then I said very quietly, "What did you just call me?"
James's throat worked but he held my gaze. "Ms. Vance," he bit out, the title sounding like an insult.
I smiled without any warmth. "Ivy League education and you're still just a lapdog. What a waste."
His face went dark red and his hands clenched into fists at his sides, but I was already turning away and walking toward the other elevator bank.