Dark Alpha: A Fated Mates Novel

11: AN ALPHA'S MARKS

~VANNIE~

That window was her best chance of escape now. After a mental preparation, she decided to just go for it and risk the consequences.

So she waited for Maeve, her current babysitter, to lose guard for a split second, then she made her move. Eyeing the windows cautiously, she heard the power surge in the magïck spell that protected it from intruders. Only the King could disable this hex, and he wasn't around. Good.

She jumped for the window, just as she saw Maeve's eyes and mouth fall open in horror. But even the Beth's Lycae speed wouldn't be able to catch up in this instant, and for a minute, Vannie felt mildly triumphant.

But instead of getting flayed and flambéed within an inch of her life, she was popped back to her original position, inches away from the bed. And she knew, she knew. She wouldn't be able to influence her own death. If she still had suicide in mind, Sinclair had just made it impossible.

That's what Sin meant when he said the spell was to protect her against herself.

How— how did...? But she didn't give herself time to wonder about it, she was jumping again. To be sure that that first time wasn't a fluke — for empirical purposes, if you may.
This time, of course, Maeve was quick enough to stand in her way, rock-solid.

"I will not watch the King's mate die on my watch," the Beth said, sounding very threatening.

Mate. Hades.

She'd never thought about having one. When other girls of fifteen were getting primped up and gaining valuable education about how to be a mate, she was on her way to being the most efficient Magïck and Runes Officer in Zhode.

Being a mate was just something biological that would happen sometime. When it came, she'd thought she would take it slow till it became as natural as breathing.

On her sixteenth birthday, when other Zhodian girls were dropping off their garlands in the boys' pockets, their wolves feeling the first wave of the heat season, she'd accepted her signet for Commander-in-Runes, the only position she could have gotten at that age, and had gotten after proving herself worthy.

Two days later, she'd been a prisoner. Matehood had never crossed her mind, had never even come close to brushing the edge of her unconscious.

And suddenly, by some gruesome twist of fate, the man who had burned her family house to the ground claimed to be her mate — was her mate if the ink on her chest was any indication.

Calm down. Calm down. You can't deny it now, can you? You're truly mated.

"May I ask you something, Your Majesty?" The Beth started, now seeming nervous. "Why do you want to kill yourself so badly?"

This, Vannie could answer with ease. "Because I'd rather die than let the King use my blood."

Maeve nodded, like that was the answer she'd been expecting. "Well, you can be rest assured that the King will not be able to use your blood for anything. So you don't have to bother yourself with dying."

She eyed Maeve suspiciously. "What do you mean he will not be able to use my blood? He assured me that he could do it with or without my consent."

Maeve sighed. "That was before he knew you were his mate. Do you understand? Now, he'd saw off his limbs before he touched a hair on your body without your permission."

Vannie shivered. "I don't believe that."

"Look at your marks, Luna." And Maeve left the room.

***

Vannie stared at the mark for the rest of the day, examining the intricate rune that would be on her body for the rest of her life.

"Regis notas sit evanescet," she whispered despairingly, the ancient language falling from her lips like a prayer. Please, let the King's marks disappear.

But even fae magïck was powerless against the mate bond.

And there was no denying that's what it was. She was truly the Alpha's mate, which meant she'd be expected to live in this palace with him, and to rule alongside him. She'd hold the fort when he and his Keepers went to war for the Inlands. She'd be expected to take the King to her bed and bear him pups.

And judging by the soft tingle in her chest, she would like doing it. Because the mate bond would make her love Sinclair de Noir, whether she wanted it or not.

"Fuck this," she spat, wondering if this was what the rest of her life would be, with her at the King's beck and call.

"I have to find a way to stop this. I won't just sit back and wait for this to happen to me." She should probably start by keeping her thoughts to herself, because Sin's powerful hearing might pick up on her rants, but right now, she couldn't summon the urge to care.

"I have to leave before the mate bond kicks in. But where will I go?"

Ah, yes. The most important question. She could return to Zhode, but the only reason they'd accept her back was because of the healing power of her blood. She and her family would still be considered traitors, and there was a new Zhodian Alpha. The only people in the world who'd loved her were dead now. Her brother. Her Dam. Her Sire.

She fell back to the bed. Now was not the time to be discouraged. She'd survived the dungeons, hadn't she? She countered the King (of all the werewolves, for Hades' sake) at every turn. This anger that she carried, she swore to use it to escape.

Alpha de Noir would have no hold over her. But she knew that if she entered the forest and attempted to break from the Inlands, the King's Keepers would find her without stress.

Even if, by some extreme luck, she managed to escape them, she'd still need to avoid the magïck spells that protected the Inlands from other borders.

There was a way out — she knew this as surely as she knew her name. And by the goddess, she'd find it.

For now, she'd be grateful for the marks. With them on her body, Sinclair could not harm her. Right?

A/N:
So. . .I wasn't going to update today, but I logged in to Wattpad and saw that we're at 300+ reads, 50 votes, and few lovely comments. 🥺 I know that may seem small to some, but it means everything to me.

Thank you!