Blood Of The Marked

As seven o’clock was about to roll around, I glanced at myself in the mirror one last time. I had decided to curl my hair, which was growing longer every day. When we first started classes, it was just slightly longer than my shoulders. Now it was halfway down my back. Iris had told me that werewolves’ hair grew like crazy, so it was probably due to my werewolf gene being activated.

I wondered what Aiden had planned for us to do for this date tonight. I was hoping that he wasn’t planning to take me to the same solarium Theo had. Don’t get me wrong. It was a beautiful place for a date, but since Theo had taken me there, it felt like it was our place. It would have felt so wrong to go there with another guy.

My doorbell rang two minutes before seven o’clock.Pulling the door open, I found him standing outside with a huge bouquet of roses, but the color threw me off.

As he handed me the bouquet, my eyebrows lifted in question. “You brought me… black roses?”Most guys went for red or pink. At least, I assumed. No guy had ever given me flowers before, so the gesture alone was incredibly sweet… even if it was an odd choice in flower. Even if black roses felt like they could have been a bad omen.

“Actually, I carefully chose black roses for a reason,” Aiden explained. “Black roses are only found in Halfeti, which is near the Urfa province of Turkey. They are extremely rare—just like you.”

Well, that was pretty freaking sweet.

“Thank you. I love them,” I replied, giving him a peck on the lips.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” Aiden said as I pulled away from him and headed to the kitchen to put the flowers in water.

“Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me yet?” I asked. “Nope.” A smile hit his lips. “You’ll find out soon.”

—-

Twenty minutes later, I was flying high in the sky in a jet plane with Aiden. An actual freaking jet plane.

“How come I never knew any of you had a private jet?” I asked him over the sound of the plane’s engine.

“Well, it’s technically the pack’s jet. We share it,” Aiden replied from the pilot’s seat, as he flew the plane, titling it from side to side.

“Are you guys, like, rich or something?” And if they were, how hadn’t I realized this before now?

“We’re well off,” Aiden confirmed. “Like how well off?” I asked.

“Combined, we have about as much money as Bill Gates,” he replied. Holy. Crap.Not that I wanted these guys because of their money. They could have been homeless, and I still would have wanted them just as much. My want for them was clearly out of my control.

It was dark out, and the stars just seemed to glow brightly through the darkness of the night. They looked like big fireflies from up here. I had never seen anything like it before.

Everything just looked so beautiful.

I wasn’t sure if Aiden would be able to top Theo’s first date with me, but this… well, it was certainly on par to the solarium and dancing under the stars to Ed Sheeran.

Both of these first dates were special in their own way.

Vince’s words echoed through my mind then: “Will you end up picking one of them in the end?”

How could I choose just one of them?

—-

As we headed for the front door of my dorm suite, I noticed the small flakes that were falling from the sky. “Hey, look. It’s snowing.”

Aiden’s honey brown eyes met mine. “It’s a nice little romantic touch, isn’t it?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Did you somehow make this happen?” His lips slid into a grin. “Maybe.”

“How?” I knew werewolves were capable of magic, but this wasn’t anything Professor Lee was teaching us in Lunar Magic 101.

“It’s a mystery.” His eyes met mine.

I would get him to tell me how he had made it happen later, but right now, all I wanted to do was take it all in.

“Well, it’s beautiful.” I pulled my key out and unlocked the door. “I had a great time with you.”

“May I come inside?” Aiden asked.

I thought about Theo, about the fact that letting Aiden inside would basically be a form of betrayal.Except, deep down I knew it wasn’t. They had all agreed to this, after

all.So instead of thinking about the rest of the Darken, I followed what my heart wanted and what my heart wanted more than anything was to let him inside.

I nodded as I held the door open for him.

We had barely set foot inside my apartment, and his lips were already on mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth, setting my entire body on fire.

Holy shit.

I wasn’t sure if it was because we were mated now or what, but this kiss… It was so much different than the first time he had ever kissed me.His kiss was slow and deep, powerful. It felt as though he was claiming me with his lips—and he was doing a good job at it. I could feel something stirring within me… something more than just desire. I needed him.

Threading my fingers through his dark brown hair, I pulled him closer. Everything about his kiss was completely intoxicating.

Aiden lifted me into the air, kissed me on my neck, and then tossed me onto the sectional. He climbed on top of it, hovering over me.

One of his hands fell to my thighs, moving up the length of my dress until he reached my thong. His fingers slipped underneath the lacy material.Shifting his body, he kissed me again.

As his tongue tangled with mine, he slipped a finger inside of me. He moved his mouth downwards, sucking one of my nipples hard. “Fuck,” I groaned out, tilting my head back as he circled my clit with

his finger. My knees were trembling.

“You’re so fucking hot,” Aiden growled out.

“I want you so bad right

now.”

“I’m all yours,” I managed to moan out. I wanted—no, needed—him in me so bad.

“Fuck me.”

“Tonight is all about you.” He began to trail his kisses down my stomach, his breath warm against my pelvis.My legs began to tremble uncontrollably as his tongue slowly circled over my clit. He closed his mouth around it, sucking it hard as he continued to move his fingers in and out of me.

“Aiden,” I moaned out as I felt myself tightening at the core.It just took one flick of his tongue against my clit to come undone. As I unraveled underneath him, the world around us just seemed to

spin.

—-

Aiden stayed with me that night but only after I nearly begged him to.

I wasn’t sure how Theo or the others would feel about him spending the night, but I was sure their turn would come eventually.When my eyes fluttered open the next morning, I found Aiden’s arm wrapped around me, pulling me close.

I smiled. I could seriously get used to this.

As I shifted in his arms, letting him know I was awake, he brought his lips down on mine. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” I replied, smiling up at him. “Last night was… incredible.”

“You were incredible,” he replied.

I hesitated. “Except you rejected sleeping with me.”

“I suppose you should probably know the reason why,” Aiden said with a sigh.

“Believe me when I tell you that I did not want to reject you, but the guys all have an agreement.”

“What’s the agreement?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“None of us is allowed to have sex with you until you’ve been on a date with each of us,” he explained.

I just narrowed my eyes at him. “I love how I get no say in this decision about who I sleep with.”

“We just want each of us to have a fair chance at being your first,” Aiden explained quietly.

“How do you know I haven’t already had a first?” The truth was that I hadn’t lost my V-card yet, but I didn’t remember telling any of them that. “This is probably going to sound weird, but we can smell it,” Aiden

replied.

“Smell it? Like, literally?” I asked with raised eyebrows.