Marked for Darkness

by Raven Woodward

  Harlow was too consumed by the building pleasure to answer. Her hips ground against his hand and he inserted a second finger, stretching her. She moaned again when Arian resumed his torment, his tongue on her nipple.

  Then she shattered.

  Her sheath clenched against his fingers and she cried out to the ceiling, back bowed, as the strength of her orgasm sent wave after wave of pleasure through her. A sound of male satisfaction rumbled up from Arian as he withdrew his cum-slicked fingers and sucked them clean. Harlow blinked, filled with a syrupy warmth brought only by extreme pleasure.

  “You taste so good. Sweet and pure.” He pressed his lips to hers again in a sweeter, more intimate kiss, and pulled back her clothing into place. She could taste herself on his lips, which only made her want more.

  His next words were just a whisper at the shell of her ear. “I want you to complete the Mark. Be mine in every way and I can give you pleasure beyond what you just experienced.”

  She sobered, swallowing hard. “What?”

  He leaned back to look at her, cupping her cheek in one hand. “If neither of us could last for more than a week apart, how will I be able to resist you come the next moon cycle? As a beast, I’ll hunt you relentlessly. If I tried to take you in that form, force you to complete the Mark, it would likely kill you.”

  Her lips parted on a sharp breath. “If I left the country…”

  Arian shook his head. “If you run, the beast will only tear through a country filled with innocent humans. It’ll slaughter anyone and everyone that separated me from you. It’s dangerous.”

  “What was your plan before then?” Her eyes pricked with hot tears. “Basically, I have no choice. Either I complete the Mark and tie myself to you irrevocably, or I risk thousands of people dying by refusing. There’s no way to win.”

  Olivia chose that exact moment to reenter the room, clearly eavesdropping. “When we taste the blood of our Marked, it begins the process,” she said.

  “That’s enough,” Arian growled, gripping Harlow’s shoulders and attempting to turn her away from Olivia, but she jerked out of his reach.

  Arian had bitten her in his bathtub to stop her magic from going haywire. He’d bitten her, knowing it would make everything a million times more complicated.

  Olivia’s expression was hard. Defiant. “All that’s left is for you to willingly take his blood as well. Usually in the heat of passion, the bond makes it so you can bite your mate back. He can’t slip some of his blood into your coffee or anything like that.

  “Arian told us what happened and why he had to bite you. We planned”—she shook her head—“plan to lock him in his own dungeon far from you. All of us working together will hopefully be enough to keep him away.”

  She turned her attention to Arian. “I haven’t had a Soul Marked so I don’t understand what either of you are going through, but I know you, Arian. If your unbreakable self-control has finally cracked, then God help us all. But you can’t complete the Mark and you know it. She needs to know it too.” Fixing Harlow with a pleading look, she said, “It’s never as simple as it seems. You might be okay with living the rest of your mortal life with Arian, but imagine what he’ll suffer when you inevitably die. Several of our kind have lost their Marked and they’re never the same. Even if they’d had a hundred years together, for an immortal it’ll never be enough. And if Arian were to lose his mind once you died, our clan would be leaderless. Everything is just so much bigger than the two of you.”

  Harlow’s chest tightened. Less than ten minutes ago, she might have been fully willing to complete the Mark, heedless of the consequences. Now, she just wanted to leave. To be alone. The room was suddenly too hot, too small. She tried to push past Arian, to make her way to the door, but he caught her by the wrist and spun her to face him.

  Remorse was plain on his heartbreakingly handsome face. Arian ran a hand through his tousled dark hair. “I apologize. I never should have said that; I shouldn’t have come here. We’ll move to the next location and I’ll go.” He released his tight grip and stalked past her, his motions jerky, robotic.

  Reluctant.

  Harlow didn’t dare watch him leave. Her heart twisted, conflicted. She stared at the floor, too embarrassed to meet Olivia’s gaze.

  But when her arms wrapped around Harlow’s shoulders, the dam burst open, and Harlow let her tears fall.

  She tried to reason with herself that she didn’t want the Mark. That she didn’t want Arian. Yet her body spoke the truth: every time he entered the room, every inch of her was aware.

  Even if nothing stood in the way of completing the Mark, the truth was, together, they were volatile.

  On his own, Arian was a force of nature—bending the world to his will. Harlow was a solid force in her own right, a mountain that stood tall despite the battering storm. Until he touched her.

  If she let him, he’d melt her down and mold her into something she wasn’t.

  Into something she hated.

  It was better this way. They weren’t right for each other.

  If only her heart knew that too…

  Harlow

  Arian hadn’t returned. She fell asleep on the couch, her head in Olivia’s lap as she played with Harlow’s hair in the loving way a mother or a sister would. It soothed her. Helped her try to forget what she and Arian had done less than five feet from where she lay.

  A soft haze filled her dreamscape, then she was standing in a dark, dank cell. Across from her, sprawled on a cot was a man. He lay with an arm thrown over his face, yet there was something familiar about him.

  As if sensing her presence, he bolted upright, eyes wide.

  Harlow gasped, hands flying to her mouth in horror. Rex’s face was gaunt, mottled with bruises of various shades, a thick gash marring his left cheek with one eye puffy and bloodshot.

  “Harlow?” he asked at the same time she cried,

  “Rex!”

  His hands flew to his hair, shoving his fingers through the dirty blond strands as his face betrayed his shock, then excitement. He rushed toward her, scooping her up in his arms and hugging her tight. His skin was hot—too hot. His scent mixed with the mold and the smell of urine, making her nose wrinkle.

  She pulled back. “You’re burning up.”

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Listen, I have no idea how long this will last. I needed to tell you not to complete the bond with Arian.”

  Harlow stumbled back, confused. “What?”

  Rex closed the distance again, grasping her arms tightly. Too tight, they barked in pain. She tried to wiggle away, but his strength only seemed to increase.

  “Where are you? Why are you here? What’s going on?” Her voice grew more panicked with each word, but Rex ignored her questions.

  “Arian is bad news, Har. You can’t mate with him, okay? You have other options.”

  Harlow shook her head, trying to clear it. Or wake up. Yet everything seemed real. “Rex.” She placed her hands on his chest, which seemed to push past the maniacal gleam that had entered his eyes. “Where are you? Who has you?”

  Shouts sounded in the distance and Rex flinched away from them, confirming what she’d already guessed.

  “Oricus has you? Where are you?”

  Rex’s gaze cut back to her, suddenly harsh and angry. “Oricus is helping me, okay? He’s told me so much. Everything—my whole life—is finally making sense.” He paused to brush her cheek in a tender gesture that was so at odds with his ricocheting emotions. “Even you. Why I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you.”

  Harlow swallowed hard. “Rex, tell me where you are, I’ll find you. We’ll get you out.”

  Again, his expression morphed into one of anger. He pushed her back a step. “We? Have you fucked him already? Tell me you haven’t fucked him!” He snarled before spinning on his heel and launching a fist straight into the solid concrete wall.

  She heard the bones shatt
er and her stomach turned. “No, Rex, I haven’t slept with him,” she said in a small, soothing voice. Slowly she stepped toward him, tentatively reaching for his back. But before she could touch him, he whirled on her again. This time, the madness was gone. His pale blue eyes were clear. Wide and frightened.

  “Harlow,” he choked out as he fell to his knees. “Help me.”

  “I will, just tell me where you are,” she begged.

  He curled in on himself as though she wasn’t there. A broken sob tore from his throat before the small cell vanished.

  Harlow sat up, panting. Her skin was damp with sweat. Pushing the curls that clung to her face, she strained her eyes to see through the dark room. Olivia was gone. All was silent. She focused on catching her breath as she tried to make sense of what she saw: Rex, beaten and on the brink of insanity, held in a tiny cell somewhere.

  Not a dream, she decided. Definitely not a dream.

  Oricus had him—but why? Because she knew him? If that were the case, did he have Lenae and Maribelle too? Her heart still thundered even as her breathing returned to normal.

  She needed to tell Arian what she’d seen. They needed to find Rex. And she needed to check up on Lenae and Maribelle to make sure they were safe.

  Harlow flopped back on the couch, her mind racing. It was still the middle of the night, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. Had Arian come back at some point? Was he asleep somewhere in the tiny cabin? For some reason, she doubted it.

  He didn’t seem like the type to sleep when he was under a great deal of stress.

  Kicking off the thin sheet covering her feet, she stood and crept for the bathroom, snatching up her duffel bag on the way and trying not to wake whoever might be sleeping.

  By the time she’d finished showering off the trauma of her experience with Rex, she was determined to find him. There wasn’t a moment to waste. If Oricus had anyone else that she cared for, she needed to get them out. Arian might not be thrilled about a rescue mission concerning Rex, but she didn’t care.

  After toweling off, she put on her last pair of clean clothes. Using the brush from the bag she’d packed, she combed through the wet tangles and brushed her teeth before exiting the bathroom.

  She didn’t have to bother trying to find Arian, however. Her skin prickled with heat as she sensed him. His nearness forced her body to recall his kiss. His touch.

  Be mine in every way, and I can give you pleasure beyond what you just experienced.

  She forced away the memory of his heated words with a shiver just before entering the sitting room.

  Arian sat on the couch, one leg resting on the opposite knee. The lamp beside him illuminated half of his face. Enough to show he was scowling.

  “Oh, did I wake you?” Harlow asked, dropping her bag where she stood in the doorway.

  His eyes were a dark green. A good sign, all things considered.

  “I was doing a perimeter check and came back to find you not where you should have been. Luckily it didn’t take long to realize where you’d gone.” He reached inside his now-pristine suit jacket and pulled out his phone. Whatever the screen revealed deepened his frown. “Bad dream?” he asked as he stowed the phone in his inside pocket.

  “Uh,” Harlow wavered, wondering where to start.

  He rose a single expectant brow.

  “Kind of.” Launching into what she’d seen, she relayed every detail she could remember from the life-like dream, while Arian’s jaw twitched and flexed. When she’d finished, she added, “I want to call my friend Lenae and my sister to make sure they’re okay.”

  Arian brushed away a nonexistent piece of fluff from his shoulder before he rolled them back, adding to his already imposing size. Wordlessly, he stood. Then he said, “Lenae is perfectly safe. There was a threat on your sister’s life as well as her family, but we’ve moved them all to safety—”

  “What?” Harlow shrieked. “You’re just now telling me this?”

  He held up a hand—to calm her or silence her, she didn’t know. Or care.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? Every time I start to think that maybe you’re a good guy, you throw another curveball at me. Controlling and secretive, just what every girl wants!”

  He rolled his eyes. “If I’d told you, you’d have been out of your mind with worry, and at least for now you can’t call her since she’s doing her own regular relocations. Our movements are leading Oricus’s men in the opposite direction of your sister.” Harlow opened her mouth to protest, but Arian continued. “They’re safe and protected. As soon as I can ensure they’re not being tracked, I will arrange for you to speak with her to put your mind at ease.”

  She glared at him, arms folded over her chest. Always the headstrong male who acted first and dealt with the consequences later. “You still should have told me.” Her voice was soft. “She’s the only family I have left.”

  Arian sighed. “I promise to keep you apprised of any further incidents. Will that satisfy you?” He started toward her but Harlow leapt back, feeling his heat more and more with every step he took. An arrogant smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

  “What are we going to do about Rex?” The mention of his name didn’t quite have the effect she’d desired as he still strode closer, a determined glint in his eyes.

  “We’ll find him,” he said, stopping in front of her. Leaning down, his nose brushed along her jaw as he breathed in deeply. “If he’s missing, that is.”

  Harlow’s mind went blank at his nearness, yet something seemed off in his voice. “He is,” she croaked as his lips pressed to the side of her neck, against the wild pounding of her pulse. Remembering Olivia’s warning, she jerked back. The rush of cool air broke through the haze, easing the ache of desire between her thighs.

  “He’s in trouble.”

  “It was a dream,” Arian countered, the heat in his eyes suddenly chilling. “If he’s in any danger, we’ll find him. It’s not as if the two of you knew each other well.”

  Harlow made a sound of disgust in the back of her throat. “Does that matter? No one should be tortured because of me.”

  Arian cocked his head to the side in a way that made Harlow go still. Then with a smile that was entirely too bright under the circumstances, he said, “We’ll find him, don’t worry. In the meantime, I’d like to show you my home before…”

  Before you become a beast mindlessly fighting to get to me? The words hung in the air, unspoken, yet understood. Harlow nodded. “Sure. Is it safe though?”

  “I’d never put you in harm’s way.”

  And she almost believed him. With a smile, she asked, “When do we leave?”

  Harlow

  In the wee hours of morning, Harlow, Arian, and Olivia stood in the center of the small sitting room clasping hands.

  Harlow’s stomach flipped nervously. “So how does this work?”

  Olivia yawned yet again, eyes heavy lidded with sleep. Yet even after rolling out of bed she looked like a super-model.

  When she’d seen Olivia shuffling out of the bedroom, Harlow had grumbled about how unfair life was. Arian had smirked while Olivia simply muttered, “You have five minutes to put an extra-large coffee in my hand, or else.”

  “It’s very simple,” Arian answered. “Close your eyes.”

  Harlow did as he said. Olivia’s eyes were already closed, whether in preparation or because she was dozing, Harlow didn’t have time to find out.

  The ground shifted beneath her feet, but she didn’t dare peek. That is, until she heard the thunderous sound of waves crashing. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped.

  She’d seen this place before.

  Coarse black pebbles crunched beneath her shoes. The sunlight was so bright it burned, but Harlow refused to squint. Two large suns rose high in the creamy orange sky streaked with fuchsia and violet, and a third dipped into the horizon.

  Where an ocean of blood spanned as far as the ey
e could see. The foamy water was tinged a pale pink as it sloshed up the rocky shore. Beside her, Arian awaited her reaction.

  She turned to look at him. “I’ve seen this before.”

  He nodded. Even though he’d told her that her paintings were of his home, it didn’t seem real. “Your visions depict the past as well as the future. The painting you’re thinking of captures this exact moment.” He pointed to the two suns above them. “My planet has never been, nor will it be again, this close to these suns as we are right now. Their orbits are always shifting. The vision you had two years ago was a specific time.”

  Harlow swallowed hard. “They predict the future?” She spun, looking for Olivia to lend support, but she was nowhere to be found.

  “Olivia’s gone to fetch something with caffeine, I imagine. Don’t worry, she can still see us,” Arian said, mistaking her panicked expression.

  It was the image of herself atop a throne with an ethereal man beside her—a man who was not Arian—that had Harlow’s mind spinning. Looking back behind them, above a thick, wide stretch of tall trees, she spotted the roof of a modern-looking mansion on a hill in the distance.

  So perhaps she could paint the future, or maybe it was a coincidence. But the past? She’d painted from her own memories before, but anyone could do that.

  “How do you know I can see the past?” she asked, turning to face Arian. He stared out at the horizon, looking lost in his own mind. Somehow in his expensive suit he looked like he belonged here. On Earth, he looked more at ease within the shadows, but here, the sunshine highlighted his golden skin and lightened his eyes. He was even more striking.

  “And surely that was just a coincidence. It’s not like I can really see into the future.”

  He was silent for several moments. “You’ve painted moments from your past and mine. I’ll have to show you which ones I mean once we’ve returned to New York.” His gaze hardened. “As to your other question, I think what you see is undoubtedly the future. However, whether that future is certain is unknown. If there’s anything I’ve learned over my long life, it’s that the future has many paths. What you saw—what you painted—may very well just be a possibility.”