Jamie
The days go by, and all I do is sleep. That's all I can do. I've never felt so tired and weak, and I don't even understand what happened. I remember the moment with Adrian. I remember the kiss. I mean, how can I forget a kiss like that, but everything else is hazy and confusing as fuck.
He kissed me, and then....
Something about me being his mine.
But did he mean in the literal sense, or just in a 'now you're mine' kinda way? When I finally wake properly, the room is quiet. He's not here, but it's not like I expected him to be waiting by the bed for me.
Something is seriously wrong with me. And it all runs back to the day in the woods. I have no explanation, but something happened, and it's about time I find out the truth. Sunlight leaks through the curtains, warm across the sheets.
I look around, and the room is still the same, but I don't know what day it is today, or what time. For a second, I almost believe everything that's happening is some sort of weird dream. The fire. The kiss. He bit me, too. The memory comes in. It's weird and doesn't make any sense. I get up from the bed, because there's a smell that I think is coming from me. I am still wearing one of his shirts. The door to the bathroom is open, so I go in. My reflection in the mirror is ghastly. I don't even recognise the person staring at me.
"What the hell," I mutter, tugging at my hair, trying to loosen up the knotted curls. My skin is pale, and my eyes are sunken with dark circles. I look sick. My eyes shift to the mark on my neck, the one that seems like a dream. So he bit me. What does that mean? Is this some kind of hickey? A way to claim me or something. A sound outside distracts me from what I'm seeing, so I go out to the room thinking it's Adrian.
It's not.
The girl from a couple of nights back, the one who touched him like he belonged to her, steps inside the room, her heels clicking against the wood. She looks perfect, put together, like she walked out of some magazine spread. There's a look in her eyes, one that looks like pure venom. She hates me, she must, but why?
Adrian assured me that they were nothing.
Does she think they are something?
"Wow," she says, her voice syrupy and sharp. "So, it's true."
I don't know what she's talking about, but I don't like that she looks so clean and desirable, and all I can offer her is my paleness and the shirt I borrowed from Adrian. "Is what true?" I manage, unsure of where this conversation is going.
"I wanted to see it for myself," her gaze drops to my neck. Her smile cuts like glass. "And there it is. His mark. On you."
My hand flies to my throat, heat flooding my face. I don't know what she is talking about, but I don't like the way she's looking at me with so much hate...anger? "I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Don't bother," she steps closer, her heels clicking like nails in a coffin. "Do you even have a clue what this means? What he did to you?"
Why is she making such a big deal? Whatever Adrian did is between me and him. "I..." My chest tightens. "He hasn't explained—"
"Of course he hasn't." Her laugh is sharp, cruel. "He wouldn't. Because the truth would send you running, wouldn't it?"
I freeze, stomach twisting. "Truth?"
Her eyes gleam. "You really don't know." She leans in, her voice dropping, deliberate and merciless. "Adrian Vega isn't just your campus golden boy. He's an Alpha. A werewolf. And that bite? That mark?" Her gaze flicks to my throat again. "That makes you his. Permanently. Like a brand. You're not a boyfriend. You're not a fling. You're property."
The words slam into me, leaving me cold.
Werewolf?
Is this some sort of joke?
There's no way she is serious.
Werewolves aren't real.
"That's not—" My voice shakes, but I can't finish. Because part of me remembers the heat of it, the way it felt when his teeth sank in, how my wolf sang.
She tilts her head. There's a satisfaction in her eyes at the crack in my face. "Did you really think he wanted you. That he's choose you over me? Over anyone? No. You're convenient. A mistake. And once they pack tears you apart for what you are, he won't even be able to save you."
There's a lot of confusion in me, but her words make it all real. The woods, the bite, why I suddenly feel like a different person. Adrian knew, and he is one of them. Maybe even the one that hurt me at the campsite. He has been lying to me all along. Her words slice deeper than they should. Maybe she's twisting things, maybe she's lying. But maybe she isn't. And the part of me that still doesn't understand what I've become, the part that's scared out of my fucking mind, believes her.
She smiles, slow and cruel. "You'll thank me for telling you the truth. Better me than the council. Better now than when you realise you don't belong here."
I don't remember standing. I don't remember grabbing my hoodie from the chair or slipping my shoes on with trembling hands.
All I know is that I can't breathe. Not in this house. Not with her words echoing in my skull.
So I wait until she's gone. I wait until the halls are quiet. And then I slip out, my heart pounding, my throat burning with the mark that suddenly feels like a chain.
I don't stop moving until Adrian's house is nothing but a shadow behind me.
****
The air outside bites colder than I expect. My lungs burn with every breath, but I don't slow down. Everywhere is quiet, tucked behind endless trees, but I don't know where I'm going. I just know I have to leave.
The hoodie I have on is doing nothing for me as I go deeper into the woods. The earth is wet and soft under my sneakers. The silence seems wrong.
The girl from earlier words echoes in my head. Property. Mistake. Weakness.
I dig my hands into my pockets, curling my fingers into fists. My heart is pounding against my chest so hard that it hurts. "Screw this," I whisper under my breath. "Screw him. Screw all of them."
I pick up speed, following what looks like a trail., Maybe it'll lead me to the road. I mean, why the fuck is his home so far into the fucking woods? Maybe I can get to the road and find someone in a car or something. Anything is safer than this place. Stopping in my tracks, i hear footsteps, light, measured and close.
I stiffen.
For a second, I think Adrian found out I left and followed me out here. But there's someone else.
"Well, well," a voice drawls behind me. "You're not supposed to be out here, are you?"
I spin around.
The guy standing a few feet away looks older than me, tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a half-unzipped hoodie and a look that's halfway between amusement and concern. His hair is messy, his eyes an unsettling silver-grey that glints even in the low light.
He lifts his hands, mock-casual. "Easy, kid. You look like you're about to bolt."
I swallow hard, trying to steady my breathing. "Who are you?"
"Elliot," he says easily. "And you're Jamie."
My stomach drops. "How do you..."
He nods toward my neck. "Hard to miss that mark. Word travels fast around here."
I take a step back. "I'm leaving."
Elliot sighs. "You really don't want to do that."
"Watch me."
I dart left, or I try to. I don't get far before he's suddenly in front of me again, moving faster than any human should. He doesn't even look like he's trying.
My heart hammers. "You're one of them," I breathe.
"Guilty," he says, voice light but not unkind. "And believe me, you don't want to be alone in these woods right now. Not with what's out there."
"I'll take my chances."
He tilts his head, studying me like I'm some problem he's already solved. "You don't even know how close you are to the borders, do you? You step past them, and Adrian won't be able to sense you until it's too late. You think that mark hurts now? Wait until the bond starts pulling you back."
I grit my teeth. "You don't get to talk about him and whatever this is."
Elliot's expression softens, just slightly. "I don't need to. I just need to bring you back before you do something stupid."
He moves again, smooth and fast, and before I can react, his hand closes around my arm, firm, not painful. "Easy," he murmurs. "I'm not gonna hurt you. But you're not running from this. Or from him."
I twist against his grip, but he's solid as stone. The frustration burns behind my eyes. "I don't want to go back."
"I know," he says quietly. "But you will."
I don't have the strength to fight. Not him. Not the ache already tearing through my chest. Everyone keeps talking about a mark and bonds. I didn't choose this. I might have asked him to, but I didn't know what it was.
I didn't ask for this.
By the time we break through the trees, the house comes into view again, quiet, still, waiting.
And I can already feel it: Adrian's presence, sharp and electric, somewhere inside.
Elliot glances at me, his tone gentler now. "You should've known better than to run, Jamie. The Alpha doesn't lose what's his."
The words sting, but I don't answer. I keep my eyes on the house, the place I swore I'd never go back to.
But somehow, I'm already there.