Blood Of The Marked

Once I had changed back into my clothes,a black dress I had chosen for tonight and a light pink leather jacket—I headed back upstairs.

“Goodnight, birthday girl,” Aiden said, leaning in for a hug. “Goodnight.” I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close. It was crazy to think he was my mate.

Whether I liked it or not, I was stuck with him for the rest of our lives.That was how Theo had known, with such certainty, that I would be in his life in ten years from now, I realized to myself.

“Goodnight, Raven,” Colton said, hugging me next. His hug was followed by a hug from Rhys.After getting hugs from all of them, I was all smiles as Theo and I headed for the door.Theo held his car door open for me, and I climbed into it.

As he climbed in on the other side, I turned to him. “So, where exactly are you taking me?”

“You’ll see,” he replied with a smile. Once he backed out of the driveway, he glanced over at me. “I hope we didn’t overwhelm you in there.”

“I mean, maybe a little bit,” I admitted.

“It’s just that we wanted to explain everything to you. You deserved to know the truth—about everything.”

“It is kind of crazy that you were keeping this whole mate thing a secret from me for so long,” I admitted. “I have so many questions about it.”

“Hit me with all of your questions,” Theo replied.

“You’re the only one who’s able to hear my thoughts,” I began to say, but he intercepted.

“Actually, Aiden would be able to hear your thoughts right now, too if it weren’t for the necklace, anyway.”

“So, that answers my question. I was going to ask if you’re able to listen in on my thoughts because you’re my mate.”

“Yes,” he replied with a nod.

“Does my being mated to you have anything to do with why I have this constant… urge to see you? I feel like my body is beginning to go through withdrawals when I’m away for you for too long,” I explained.

“Yes.” His light blue eyes slid over to meet mine. “I feel the same way about you.”

“Really?” I was surprised. “You do a really good job of not letting that show. I never would have guessed you felt that way.”

“Well, I do.”

I paused, realizing the real question—why they had been avoiding me all this time hadn’t actually been answered. “Why did you stay away from me then?”

Theo sighed. “We were all trying to make sense of this. In between teaching, we have been doing a lot of research about the Ancients and trying to figure out who you could potentially be.” He glanced over at me. “There were only a limited number of Ancients, so you’re one of less than one-hundred-and-fifty, but none of us are able to recognize you from those times.”

“So, my very existence is a huge mystery,” I pieced together. I paused for a moment, realizing something. “So much for blowing out all of the candles on the first try. My birthday wish might not even come true.”

“How do you figure?” Theo asked.

“We don’t even know if today is my real birthday.”

“True.” He let out a sigh. Then he reached over and laced his fingers through mine.

A smile hit my lips. It was the first time he’d ever held my hand before.

“Um, I still have questions,” I told him.

“Lots and lots of questions.” “I’ll try to do my best to answer all of them,” Theo replied.

“Now that Aiden and I are also mated, does that mean he and I will also feel the same way about one another?” I asked.

“Yeah, all mates usually feel this way. Once your souls are bound together, there will forever be a desire, a longing, for that wolf.”

His eyes met mine. “That’s why we will always be a part of one another’s lives from this point forward. We couldn’t stay away from each other even if we wanted to—even if we tried.” Theo swallowed hard.

“The thing is, I hate that you’re mated to Aiden now, but it’s too late. The damage can never be undone.”It may have been ’damage’ to him, but it was incredible to me.

“So, my next question,” I went on, “is... are the rumors about Ancients true? Is it impossible to fall out of love with an Ancient?”

“Yes.”

I swallowed hard.

“What if I told you that I think there’s someone who’s in love with

you?”

“You’re in love with me already?” His eyes locked on mine, a look of

amusement swirling within them. “I knew it would happen eventually, but you don’t even know my favorite color yet.”

“I wasn’t talking about myself,” I replied with an eye roll. “I was talking about Caroline Wickburn.”

“Caroline Wickburn?” He snorted. “What makes you think that witch is in love with me?”

“She’s a witch?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“I didn’t mean that in the literal sense. In reality, most witches are probably nicer than her. But what gives you the idea that she could be in love with me?”

“It’s just that she warned me to stay away from you. She warned me to stay away from all of the Darken, but she specifically named you.” I shrugged. “It was just… odd. It made me think that she was telling me to leave you alone so she can have you all to herself.”

“Well, actually, she did ask me out,” Theo admitted.

“She did? See. I’m totally right about this.” I paused. “So, how was your date with her?”

He chuckled. “You sound like a jealous mate right now.” I rolled my eyes. “How was it?”

“I told her I don’t date my coworkers, but that wasn’t why. The reason is you.” He glanced over at me. “You’re the only girl I have eyes for, Raven. And even if you weren’t in the picture, I wouldn’t be able to find her attractive, anyway. She doesn’t have Ancient blood. The curse,” he reminded me.

“Oh, yeah. Who put that curse on the Ancients, anyway?” I asked. “It’s a long story. I’d be telling you about it all night. Rain check?”Theo asked. “We’re almost at our destination,” he said as he pulled onto a long, windy road that led up a steep hill.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, as my body leaned backwards into the seat of the car as we went up the hill.

“You’re about to find out,” Theo replied, keeping his eyes on the narrow, winding road.

“So, the one thing you should probably know about me is that I hate

surprises. With a passion,” I informed him.

“And the one thing you should probably know about me is that I love

surprising people,” Theo said, flashing me a grin.

“So, what you’re saying then is that we’re opposites.” “Opposites attract,” he replied with a shrug.

As the car eventually reached the top of the mountain, Theo brought it to a stop. Then he swung his car door open and climbed out.Confused, I followed after him.

“So, do you want to tell me where we are?” I asked.

“You’ll see. Come on.” He grabbed my hand and began to lead me into the woods.We reached a building with glass windows. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door and then led me inside.He flicked on a light, which casted a blueish purple glow over the room. I could see from where we stood that all of the walls and the ceiling were made with windows.

“What is this place?” I asked him.

“The closest thing humans have is a solarium, but it doesn’t even begin to compare to this,” he replied.That was when I saw the stars. For some reason, this room and the windows just seemed to amplify their brilliance. And the moon. The moon was full and round, and from here it just looked incredible.

“The stars, the moon, it all looks stunning,” I whispered.

“Just like you,” Theo said, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me to him.

He pulled his phone out then and put on

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran.

“Are you seriously trying to use an Ed Sheeran song on me?” I asked, even though I was unable to fully suppress my grin.

“Is it working?” Theo asked as his hands fell to my waist and we began to sway together to the music.

“Maybe,” I replied as I wrapped my arms around his neck.It was definitely working. Who knew I was a sucker for Ed Sheeran?

It was just me and my mate dancing to this song under the beauty of the stars and the moon, without a care in the entire world except for each other.Theo glanced down at me then, his light blue eyes glimmering in the moonlight.I wasn’t sure who kissed who first; all I knew was that our lips had found each other’s, and his tongue was swirling around inside my mouth. His kiss was slower this time. It was the kiss of a guy who knew that there were going to be a million more kisses to come in the future.

And in that moment, kissing him underneath the moon, for the first time in a long time, everything between us felt completely perfect.