Chapter 244 MARKED AS A WARRIOR
Edeline
And for a second, despite the pain, I believed him.
Because he said nice things about me, I felt my face get hot. Slowly, a blush crept onto the apples of my cheeks. I cleared my throat and forced myself to look away from him. Sometimes, I caught myself stealing glances at him. He looked good. I would say it out loud, even if it made me feel a bit silly. I sometimes had thoughts about him, but I would never do anything about them.
“So, where are we going tomorrow night for this… celebration?” I asked, trying to keep my tone casual.
His arms were so big that I felt small in comparison. They were almost as wide as my hip. I could feel his strong body pressing against me, and that nice smell of him wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I could not help but bite my lip, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness.
My wolf was upset, sensing the tension in the air.
I had to whisper the last part to stop myself from laughing. “We are going out for drinks. You should invite some friends. But I have to say yes ahead of time because some of these idiots get on my nerves.”
I chuckled and added, “Thanks, rad rad.”
“Do not ever call me that again,” he growled at me, but I could hear the hint of amusement in his voice.
Even though his words stung a little, I laughed as he carried me up the steps of the pack house and into the house. I could not remember the last time I had felt this happy. It truly was one of the best days of my life.
…
After a long, hot soak in Epsom salts, I felt a bit better. My body would be fully recovered by tomorrow.
To put it mildly, dinner was… intense. It felt like a bus had hit Alexa and me while we sat there. The pack used some strong words to describe us. The Alpha always sat at the front, where Conor was positioned. Since the Beta spot next to him was still up for grabs, the seat to his right was free.
The left side was also unoccupied because he did not have a Luna. The Beta, or wolf in this case, always sat in the right spot. The left side was for the Luna, the most important position for the Alpha. If an Alpha did not have a mate, another high-ranking wolf would take that place—someone well-known and respected.
He let Alexa and me have those seats tonight. Alexa was on his right, and I was on his left. We joked that he should make her the Beta, but the other men at the table, who were competing for the job, growled at us. Then someone chimed in and suggested he should make me his Luna, which made me choke on my steak. Conor burst into laughter, clearly enjoying the moment.
I had planned to tell Conor about Tatiana after dinner. I had been thinking about it ever since Alexa brought it up, but it seemed like he was lost in his thoughts.
I stared at him in shock as we stood in the tattoo shop. “A tattoo?!?” The black and white walls surrounded us, and strange items sat on glass shelves. The smell of smoke and Vaseline filled the air, making the atmosphere feel surreal.
Standing in front of a glass case with my arms crossed, I looked up at him. The big wolf behind the counter, who was shorter than Conor but almost as wide, just stared at us both, his expression unreadable.
“Yep. You are a warrior now. So you, like every other warrior in my pack, need your symbol marked on you,” he explained, his tone leaving no room for argument.
That was what Damon meant…
My eyes widened. “B-but technically, I am not a part of your pack!”
Thoughts swirled in my head: “Well, the rest of the pack does not think that. Hey, if you do not want to show it off to the other warriors, that is fine. But they will all wonder why you did not get it. Just saying.” He shrugged his shoulders, his nonchalance contrasting with the seriousness of the situation. The thirty-something wolf behind the glass counter continued to stare at us, his slicked-back inky hair and black leather jacket blending perfectly with the tattoo shop’s edgy vibe.
My lip throbbed from where I’d bitten it, so I let out a long sigh. "Does Alexa have one?"
"Yep."
"Will it hurt?"
Conor shot me a deadpan look. "Seriously?"
Yeah, I guess he had a point. Compared to everything I’ve put myself through—breaking bones, getting punched in the face for fun—this should be nothing. I sighed again, giving in. "Alright... what am I supposed to get?"
Conor’s grin stretched wide. "That's my girl." He flipped open the old, worn-out book in front of us, turning the pages until he stopped at a symbol etched in thick, black ink. It was a large, dark ring with two triangles meeting at the top in a straight line. Inside the circle, two more triangles—sharp, like a wolf's canines—flanked either side of the line. The image stirred something in me. It felt oddly familiar.
His voice dropped an octave as he traced the design with his finger, the tip skimming the page. "This is the symbol for warriors. You’d wear it on your inner bicep. As you level up to intermediate, you'd add one more triangle. Once you reach expert, you'd add another. So, eventually, you’d have four marks instead of two."
I swallowed, my chest tightening. "Okay," I breathed, locking eyes with him. "Let’s do it."
He gave me a sneaky grin, one that sent a ripple of excitement through me. We both glanced at the massive wolf standing nearby, his brawny arms crossed, clearly eavesdropping. His eyes flicked between Conor and me, mouth slightly ajar, gaze wide.
Conor’s lip curled into a snarl. "Gage! What the hell are you staring at?" His face twisted into a fierce scowl.
Gage—the hulking wolf behind the desk—snapped out of it, shaking his head, his eyes widening further. "N-nothing, Alpha," he stammered, leaning in closer. His gaze shifted from me to Conor, his voice dropping into a whisper. "It’s just… she looks like—"
"I know!" Conor barked, cutting him off with a low, dangerous rumble. "Now get her in the chair before I start breaking things!" His voice echoed with the authority and menace of the Conor I’d met that very first time.