A Dark Mark

A Dark Mark
Myra turned around slowly, torn between shock and fear.
Arthur was right behind her, his arm outstretched, his eyes sharp and unforgiving.
"Did you think I wouldn't know it was you?" He repeated, advancing towards her like a lion.
Her lips parted but no words came. Her feet were rooted to the spot, her face drained of all color.
"You lied to me. You hid it" he began, his voice dangerously icy. "You made a fool of me"
She had nothing to say, so what she did next caught him off guard. Laughter.
Flat, hollow laughter that chilled his bones.
She shook her head, her shoulders trembling as the force of the humour hit her.
The sound was dry like cracked glass, sending cold shivers down his spine. He wasn't expecting that.
"You're taking me for a joke?" He hissed.
She didn't answer. She threw her head back, her laughter spiralling into hysteria.
She was going crazy, it echoed loudly around them.
Arthur recoiled at the broken sound that was more dead than a lifeless being. Cold, empty and void of all life.
He narrowed his eyes, trying to keep his anger in check. He was on her in seconds, wrapping his fingers around her throat and slammed her to a bookshelf behind.
"Answer me!" He roared. "Am I some kind of joke to you?"
Like a candle, her laughter faded slowly and she stilled.
When she looked up, her eyes shocked his nerves. Colder than her laughter, stripped of all emotions. Dead.
"A joke?" She repeated, hardly bothered her neck was in his hand. "You're the one who used me and tossed me aside like I was garbage"
A muscle in his jaw ticked. "Don't you dare—"
"Now you're angry like the spoiled bastard that you are" she continued in a monotone. "Because you finally remembered the face beneath your lust"
Her words hit him right in the chest.
His expression faltered and his grip loosened slightly. "Don't even twist my words"
"Twist?" She snorted. "What's there to twist? You used me ruthlessly or you were too slow to catch up?"
"You fooled me. You seduced me. All for what princess?"
"Seduce you?" She asked, disbelief settling slowly on her face.
What the hell did he just say?
"You hid that night. While I searched like a fool, looking for a ghost. A phantom that was you all along"
"What did you expect?" The pain was returning to her voice. "That night was the worst night of my life. You made me walk through the palace like a shadow, made me want to rip my skin off because it smelled like you"
Her sudden confession stung a bit but he brushed it off. She was trying to put the blame on him.
"And you walked away from the mess" she said, her voice cracking with suppressed tears. "You buried it all beneath your desire, now you're mad I hid it?"
"Don't try to twist the whole scene. You walked into that room with the intention of getting into bed with me"
Myra could not believe her ears. "Seduce you? Don't flatter yourself Alpha. I hate you more than the devil. You disgust me!" She spat with venom.
"That is not how you speak to your Alpha" his grip tightened again.
"You are not my Alpha. You're a bastard who derives pleasure from sin" As usual, she was quick to lash out, her eyes spitting fire.
He squeezed her neck. "Don't make me kill you"
She smiled, ignoring the deprivation of air. "Kill me" she whispered. "I need it. I need the peace it brings"
Then she chuckled again. She really was losing it.
Arthur shook her harshly. "You will not get a taste of death" he said slowly. "You will not get a taste of peace. I will break you till there's nothing left"
"I'm already broken" she declared bluntly then shrugged as if it meant nothing. "It won't hurt if you snap my head off. Saves us time. Can't you do it Alpha? Scared of blood?"
She goading him to commit murder. Her murder.
"You can't play your tricks on me" he gritted his teeth. "Tell me why you hid it and still looked me in the eye"
Myra tilted her head, a cruel smirk lighting up her flat eyes. "Wouldn't you want to know? Why are you so eager?"
His anger snapped and he tightened his grip brutally.
"Tell me the truth princess" his voice was hiding back the storm that wanted to engulf her. "Why did you hide it? And why did you seduce me? What did you plan to gain from all this?"
Air was gradually leaving her lungs but she refused to gasp in front of him. Instead, she managed a smile and squeezed out,
"Kill me Alpha. You don't deserve to know anything. You deserve to be tortured with silence like I was"
His golden eyes shredded to slits that looked menacing. "Stop messing with me princess" he grated, scratching her neck slightly.
The sharp sting induced a little fear in her. "I'm not saying anything"
"Fine then. I'll kill you. Then your sister will be left all alone. She'll take your place"
Her heart shuddered. "Fine then" she spat. "I hid it because you could have killed me sooner! Or branded me a whore for getting into your bed without your permission. You would have laughed at me"
She paused for a staggering breath. "You think it's so easy to accept such a shame? To live with it? To know you're no longer as innocent as you thought you were?"
She dragged her gaze over his carefully guarded features. "No you don't. You're the Alpha. You're the one who calls the shots, taking lives and ruining women..... you're a monster"
Her last words broke his sanity. He released her neck and stepped back.
She gulped in the sweetest batch of air and massaged her neck. "The words hurt, don't they? That's because you are exactly what everyone fears. A monster"
In a blink, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, pinning her against the desk.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" She screamed, panic flooding her veins.
His heavy form pinned her down, his scent wrapped around her. She was reliving that memory. In a room just like this, the same feeling of being trapped.
"Leave me! Let me go!"
"You want a monster?" His breath was hot but his tone was cold. "You'll get one"
"Let me go now! I swear I'll kill you" She thrashed beneath him, reaching out to scratch his face, arms, anywhere she could touch.
He caught her wrists with ease and pinned them to the desk. His grip was like steel so it was useless to struggle.
"This is what a monster does" he bent to her ear. "This is what a monster gives. You're enjoying that feeling aren't you?"
She turned her face away, breathing hard. She bit down on her lips. "Leave me alone. You're a sick twisted monster. Now leave me!"
"Oh we're just getting warmed up. There's more coming"
She shook her head furiously, trying to get away from him. That moment, her hair shifted slightly, revealing a faint spot that caught his attention.
His wolf awakened. 'Touch it. Mine. Touch it'
"What's that?" He asked quietly—too quietly.
She glared at him through her tears. "Let me go. Don't touch me"
Ignoring her, he reached for her neck but she stiffened and shifted slightly.
"Don't touch me. Leave me alone. What do you want?" She was close to sobs, her voice trembling.
Her words barely elicited any pity from him. He didn't even loosen his grip.
"Now you're begging? A minute ago, you were spitting fire and storms"
"Leave me alone" she choked, refusing to show defeat. "Don't touch me, get away"
He glanced at her neck but her curls were in the way. Something about it was familiar.
'Touch it. Touch her' the wolf was restless again. It knew something. Something that felt like danger to him.
He reached up and brushed her hair aside. She stiffened but he held her firmly.
When his eyes fell upon her neck, all the air left him in one breath.
Sitting at the base of her neck was a dark mark shaped like a paw. His fingers brushed it slowly, feeling a spark—almost like magic.
Something inside him clicked.
It.... It couldn't be.....
His hands dropped to the side, his feet taking a step back as if he'd just been stabbed.
He shook his head in denial. "It can't be"
'She's mine. Ours' the wolf dropped the bomb calmly.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Want to humiliate me again?" Myra asked warily, stepping away instinctively.
As he stared at her, the missing piece fell into place. Shock failed to describe his emotions that moment.
It had to be a joke. This could not be happening.
That was why his wolf never let go. That was why her scent haunted him.
That night.... he had marked her.