His Lover, My Mate

Three: Marked Again

*Rush*

The night was cold and full of terrors, but nothing was more terrifying than the Night Alpha and his army of men.

Rush was pissed off, and when he was pissed, dreams turned into nightmares.

"We're going to take our rightful Luna from the hands of that traitor," Rush growled into the night. "If his army strikes at you, you strike them back. Spare no one."

His men growled with acknowledgement before they disappeared in the dark and within a flash of a second, appeared before the walls of the Shadow Pack. Lucien's guards surrounded the walls, but none of them were matches for Rush and his men. The night was his dominion. Everyone in the Darklands knew that. He lived through the night as if it was his second nature, because he was something terrifying. Something unbecoming. Whispers of his unnaturalness travelled across the realm, but none knew what he really was.

"Step aside and let us through," Rush calmly ordered the guards.

The commander stepped toward him, eyes full of hatred. "These doors aren't open for you, dog."

"You might want to take that back, because when I start, I don't stop." A grin spread on Rush's face. "It goes for fucking...as well as for killing."

The commander's face twisted with disgust. "You disgusting mutt. How dare you come here and--" His head tore in half and he dropped dead on the ground.

Rush licked the blood off his hand as he watched the other guards. "Anyone else want to die? I don't have any fucking patience so come now or open the damn gates before my men kill you all."

Terror flooded in the air, and Rush marveled in it. It was sweet, intoxicating. Every time he fed, that was the delicious scent he smelled from his victims before he pierced their necks.

"If you hurt our Alpha--" started one of the guards with fear in his eyes.

"I will hurt your Alpha, but I won't kill him," Rush promised. "I'm an Alpha. Take my word for it."

That did. The guards opened the doors and Rush stepped in. Without wasting any more time, he stormed toward the Shadow Castle, the main castle of the pack where the Alpha's throne was. It was where Lucien and his lover lived. And tonight, that lover would no longer be with him. Rush would take her away and she would never see Lucien again.

No one ever refused Rush. This wouldn't be his first.

It didn't take long until Lucien was out of the castle and lunging for him. "I told you to stay away," he growled. "You can't have her, she's mine!"

"Said who? Your dumb little mark on her neck? Stop fucking with me." Rush started snickering. "If you think a mark is going to stop me, you're wrong."

Lucien's eyes flashed with panic. "She's married to me!"

"She's married to no one!" Rush growled, his fist connecting with Lucien's jaw. "Get that in your head, or do I have to knock out some of the shit inside so you can finally understand?"

"You can't take her," Lucien sounded like he was almost begging him now. "She loves me."

Rush's eyes narrowed. "You can't take another's mate from them. That's wrong and you need to give her up. She isn't yours. She was never yours. Aletha is my mate. She will go with me."

"I won't go," her voice suddenly rang out. Both the Alphas snapped their heads up and saw her up by the stone stairs, a snarl on her lips. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Rush went very still, and the night grew deadly silent. "You shouldn't have said that, love," he spoke very softly, enough to send chills running through her body. "Because I'm not leaving without you."

"Aletha, go back inside!" Lucien shouted.

"Lucien, I can take care of myself," Aletha said fiercely, arms crossed. "I'm not scared of him."

"You aren't? You should be," Rush said, going up the steps. "Hold him down," Rush instructed his men. "If any of his men try to attack, kill them on sight."

"Run Aletha!" Lucien screamed out. "Run away! He's a monster."

How accurate. Rush smiled wide as more and more pack members gathered around the castle to see the sight unfolding before them. "Your Alpha fears me," Rush told her. "Just look at him. He thinks I'm going to eat you. I'd rather do that in a more pleasurable way rather than in a cannibalistic way."

Her dark eyes pierced into his. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why wouldn't I be doing this? You're my mate. I'm an Alpha. Alphas need their mates not only for his prosperity but for the prosperity of his pack."

She shook her head. "I'm am Lucien's mate. I am no longer yours."

Rush took another step closer to her. She was going to step away, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. She let out a shriek as she collided against his chest. Her breathing was ragged, her lips parting with fear. "Ah, there it is. Fear." He chuckled. "What a normal response."

"Please don't hurt him," she cried. "Please just leave us alone!"

"But love, I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, what I want is you." His fingers traced her neck, and damn, her skin felt good. She shivered at his touch as he stopped on her mark. "You really believe Lucien married you?"

"What else does marking mean?"

"You're so naive," Rush said, turning to Lucien. "You never told her, did you? That you can never be married?" He turned to her with a wide grin. "You have to be true mates to marry, because that mark is temporary. It will never be permanent."

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean? The marking ceremony is the marriage ceremony!"

"The marking ceremony means nothing if you aren't true mates. All this time, you were his lover. You can never be his wife, Aletha. You can never have children. Your mark will always fade away within a few days." His thumb brushed against her mark as he leaned closer to her face. "But you can always be my wife and bear my children. And my mark would last forever."

Horror washed over her eyes. "No," she shrieked, shaking her head. "Please no! Don't mark me!"

"But you leave me with no choice," he said, one of his hands yanking on her hair while the other gripping her shoulder tightly. "Don't struggle or it'll hurt like hell. I don't want to hurt you."

"No no no!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed with terror.

Behind them, Lucien growled, but Rush's men held him down ferociously. Lucien's men were ready to attack, but the rest of Rush's warriors held them back.

Rush hated to force himself on her, but she would learn who really was her mate. It sure as hell wasn't Lucien. He opened his mouth, his canines sharpening. She was writhing hard so he jerked her head back to temporarily halt her. Then his mouth found her neck, his teeth piercing her flesh. He ripped through her old mark, tearing it out and replacing it with a new one. A permanent one.

A new bond began to materialize. It was stronger than he ever felt before. It snapped her soul and his soul together, and now he felt everything she felt. Agony, grief, terror, hatred. A lot of hatred.

She was quiet when he withdrew from her. She was still crying, but she was too scared to struggle anymore.

"There," said Rush, touching his new mark on her reddened neck. "As of today and forever more, you belong to me. You are the wife of Alpha Rushika of the Night Pack. No longer are you Lucien's little mistress. Our bond prevents you from even trying to be with him ever again. If you come back to him, I will know." He turned to Lucien. "Now she is mine, Lucien. She will never be yours. I hope you take this as a lesson never to fuck with me again."

His men released Lucien, and he fell to his knees, eyes soulless. He had nothing to say anymore.

Rush pulled on her wrist, forcing her to follow him down the steps. "Say goodbye to the Shadow Pack," he told her. "Because you will never see it again."