NOVEL NEXT 349 Catching up with Violet 2
"I would know if I was marked, right?" Violet asked. "I mean, th-that's a p-pretty major thing."
Graeme pressed his lips together. He wasn't sure what it would be like if a mark was forced on someone. Did that even qualify as a marking? Did it have to be consensual?
"Have you talked to anyone else about this?" he asked, assuming that there was someone else who would know better than he would how to handle this or what to tell her or how to comfort her.
"Yes. Sylvia came and talked to me. And Beth, the healer," she sniffed.
"Good," he sighed heavily and studied the floor. "Where is your mother?"
"I haven't called her yet. I left without telling her anything, and I don't know if I want to see her. I don't know how she will react," she shrugged. "I don't have a wolf, and I am all banged up everywhere, and I don't know if I want anyone else to know other than those who already do."
"She will want to know. Your mother loves you, Violet," he reassured her.
"I know, I know she does. But I am so ashamed," she said and then her face crumpled, and she buried her head in her hands so he wouldn't see her cry.
Goddess, he was not the person for this. He didn't know what to do or say, so he just gave her time to regain her composure. She had wanted to talk to him for a reason, so he would wait and hear everything she had to say. If that's all he could do for her, he would do it.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to put this on you, especially when there is so much happening and you have all of these other things to deal with. That's not why… I just…" she said, wiping more tears from her eyes as she searched for the right words. "I heard your mate is gone, and I want you to consider not going to find her."
Graeme rolled back on his heals. "And why is that?"
"Can't you see that she is responsible for all of this? There is a male out there who looks just like her… like some kind of psychotic mutant with bright, glowing gold eyes, and he took my wolf. He took my wolf! Just imagine what she can do as the Luna of our pack… maybe she brainwashed you and now this is your chance to have a clear head to see her for who she really is and all of the things she has done!"
Graeme sighed and stood up, turning away from Violet so he could think more clearly without the terror in her eyes swaying him.
"Why do you think she is responsible for any of this?" he asked.
"Because you changed so quickly. You didn't want a mate, am I right?" she chuckled. "And then you were back and determined to insert yourself into the Alpha role that you had sworn off. You weren't being yourself. She has some kind of hold over you. How do you know she isn't after the pack?"
"People change quickly when they find their mates, Vi. That's not unusual," he argued. "And what would she want with the pack?"
"Who knows, but that other male like her—I would bet anything that he was from the same screwed up human experiment as her—and the other lycans around him were acting like he was their Alpha. If he took over that pack and she takes over this one… that's not a coincidence, is it?" she asked.
"Are you implying that I can be fooled into thinking I found my mate?" he asked, turning with narrowed eyes.
"No, no… I-I am n-not saying that," she stuttered, shaking her head. "It's just that… how do we know they can't manufacture a mate bond?"
"Who is 'they' Violet?" he asked. What kind of crazy conspiracy theory was this?
"The ones who made her. The researchers at Eliade. If they can change her genes around with a virus to make her whatever she is now, then a mate bond is small potatoes don't you think? I mean, would she even be your mate if it wasn't for the human's pandemic?" Violet's eyes were wide with the possibilities that were alive and multiplying in her mind.
"Look, you have been through a lot," Graeme started, sighing heavily. "Maybe you should get some rest. And in the morning, you need to call your mother and let her know what has happened to you. It is not good for you to be alone here with these wild ideas."
"I know, I don't want to be alone," she muttered, eyes darting to the dark corners of the room.
"Do you need… anything? Pain medication?" he asked.
"What if he comes for me? He marked me," she muttered again, this time like she was talking to herself.
"So he did mark you?" Graeme asked, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
"I think he did," she whimpered, her face crumpling again before her eyes went wide in terror. "He's coming for me, isn't he? You don't mark someone and then leave them alone. He is going to follow me here. He is going to find me…"
"Calm down," he said.
What Violet was saying was entirely possible. If that unknown male marked her and realized it afterward, he would be driven to find her and take her back with him. And anyone getting between a male and his mate would have a really hard time.
"But I'm right, aren't I?" she asked. "He is going to come for me."
"Can you feel him? Can you feel the mate bond?" he asked.
"I don't want to feel it," she shook her head. "It was supposed to be you. You were supposed to be the one to mark me."
His stomach turned when she said that. He didn't want to go down this road with her again. It was hard enough breaking it off with her after she had the miscarriage, because he felt so guilty. He shouldn't have been with her in the first place—he knew she wasn't his mate, but it felt good for awhile… to be needed by someone, to feel like a hero in her eyes. Because no one else viewed him like that at the time. He always felt like a disappointment and a failure who could never live up to the role his father had left to him.
"I know that's what you wanted, Vi, but it wasn't meant to be," he said softly.
"I know," she nodded, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm just so scared. What did I get myself into? I have no wolf… I can't even defend myself."
"We aren't going to let anyone take you who you don't want to go with, okay?" he told her, sitting in the chair next to her bed. "This is your pack. You are safe here. We will protect you if it comes to that."
"Thank you," she whimpered and wiped her nose with the sweater she was clutching like it was a life line. "Do you think you can stay here with me?"
Why did he have a feeling this is what was coming? The suggestion made him sick to his stomach. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"I'll call someone in the morning. I'm just afraid to be alone," she said, her eyes darting to the window as if she would see someone peering in from outside.
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