MARKED | COMPLETED

Chapter 8

Mother was walking around the bulletin board when I saw her. I wasn't sure what it was that she was looking for—but she seemed to be picking up various fliers for various jobs around the compound. It made sense; she spent eighteen years of her life keeping herself busy, to avoid me, how can she possibly break that habit now?

I was leaning against the porch railing.

So many questions swarmed through my head, blocking everything else out except the things I needed to know. The first question was the most obvious, it was the one that everyone had asked me. Why? Why did she force me to hide my Mark? I was sure that, if any other parent had given birth to the first Luna in centuries, they would be more than pleased. They'd be so willing to hand their child over to Alpha Aisling. Your family would be praised for such a thing.

So why didn't she? Why didn't my parents rejoice at that discovery? Why did they hide me?

If I had known from the very beginning of what I would become, maybe I would have been more willing. Maybe I would have accepted my title graciously. Instead, I was afraid of it—I was afraid of the burden that it carried, that I would always carry.

If I had known maybe things would be different.

"Isabel Murphy," a voice pointed out.

I made out Beta Shaun's form in my periphery.

"My mother."

Or rather, the woman who held me in her womb for nine months, and later took care of me from afar for eighteen years. Being so far away from her wasn't anything new at all. I was practically at home. When she finally disappeared from view, with her stack of fliers in her hand, I turned around to face him.

"Mind if I ask a question?" he asked me.

Bring on the questions, I told myself.

He had loud boots. Everything was louder now, however. So when he stepped forward, I heard every thud, every creak in the wooden planks below us Which one would prove to be more annoying—loud footsteps, or having to experience someone else's emotions. So far, it was both. I had a new respect for the wolves that have dealt with this a lot longer than I have.

"Which one of your family members made you hide the rest of your Mark?"

While I was sure that he didn't mean to sound so interrogative, his tone of voice delved into suspicion. I didn't stop the plaguing thought that I'd be questioned more harshly by Beta Shaun than Alpha Aisling. My arms crossed.

"I did." Lie.

Mother did. Isabel Murphy woke me up at the crack of dawn every morning and forced me to hide my Mark, to hide everything that I was, and I had no idea why she would do such a thing. As much as I wanted to know, I could walk off the porch and ask her. There were people watching me now. I would never be alone.

"I was afraid. I thought—if no one knew, the problem was solved."

Beta Shaun stepped forward.

"You're telling me, that for eighteen years, you have looked me in the eye—and lied to me." His voice was stern, but there was sincerity in his eyes.

This was the man that raised me, in a sense. Sure, he was strict, but he cared about us—about all of us. The look in his eyes told me one thing; I could have told him. I could have indulged in this secret with him at any time, and it would have been okay.

That was his real secret power. Guilt. He could stack on so much guilt and that was how he got things done. I felt guilty, now, for keeping this from him. But these were lies.