Chapter 252: 252-The Mark Hurts
Clementine:
My neck started to tingle, and my senses went numb. My wolf couldn’t transition during the marking. I grimaced in pain; I never thought a mark could hurt so much.
I’d heard stories, everyone said a mate’s mark felt like heaven. But I guess because I was reluctant, it didn’t feel pleasant at all.
In fact, I wanted to throw him off, rip him away, and beat the hell out of him. But he clung to me, making sure I couldn’t move until he’d finished marking me. Then he pulled back, snapped his head up, and started laughing, his canines still showing.
That’s when I shoved him away. But the damage was already done. I slid back, touching my neck and feeling the blood. The realization hit hard.
"What the fuck?" I screamed at him as loud as I could. "What the fuck have you done?"
I screamed again, and only then did he realize it wasn’t a joke. He stopped acting strange and dropped to his knees, staring at me.
"You fucking marked me against my will!" I yelled, getting up and lunging at him.
This time, he didn’t fight back. He fell onto his back, his arms wrapping around me as I sat on top of him. My legs straddled his waist. I hit him once, twice, three times, but every time he lifted his upper body, still clutching my back.
I hated his touch. I slapped his hands away, but he kept grabbing me, refusing to let go. I cried, hitting him over and over until my knuckles were bruised and smeared with his blood.
"What the fuck is going on here?"
A voice snapped me back to reality, but it didn’t stop me. I kept going at Ian until two strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me off him.
"What’s going on?"
Troy stepped into view, glancing at Ian, who now lay on the ground, one knee bent, the other leg stretched out casually. His body was propped up on his elbows, and he stared at me with a bloody face.
"What the fuck did you do?"
Yorick rushed in, grabbing Ian by the collar. But Ian slapped his hand away, warning him with his eyes not to try anything.
"But what happened? Weren’t you two supposed to clean the passage? How did you end up here? And what’s going on?" Troy questioned Ian, who now sat up and wiped his finger under his lip, checking the blood before shaking his head.
Haiden stood behind me, while I was still struggling in his grip, trying to break free.
"I will fucking murder you, you asshole!" I screamed, still fighting to reach Ian. But Haiden held me tight.
"What the fuck is going on? Would you say something?" Yorick hissed at Ian, stepping forward and shoving him to get his attention.
"Let me tell you what this fucker did," I snapped.
That’s when Haiden finally let me go. Maybe he realized holding me back was only making me angrier. As soon as he released me, I turned to him and motioned with my hand that it was fine, he didn’t have to stop me, that I wouldn’t attack again.
"He marked me."
The moment I said it, I wasn’t the one Ian needed to worry about anymore. My three mates unleashed on him.
Thunder rolled above us. I looked up. Red clouds filled the sky.
Then I looked down, and saw my mates fighting Ian.
Troy lunged from the side, clawing at Ian’s chest. But Ian swung his arm and threw him off. Yorick came next, striking from behind and biting his shoulder.
Ian twisted his arm back, grabbed the back of Yorick’s neck, and hunched down, flipping him over his shoulder and slamming him to the ground.
He stomped on Yorick’s chest, then dodged to the side, narrowly missing Haiden’s punch.
Everything turned chaotic. I stood frozen, until I noticed movement in the distance, lurkers were beginning to appear.
I rushed to Haiden and pulled him back, then pushed Yorick away before stepping in to stop Troy from attacking Ian again.
"Stop it. Let it go. He’s an asshole," I hissed. But my eyes must have told them I was more worried about the lurkers showing up and causing trouble than anything else.
Ian started to chuckle, and we all turned to him. I was shocked he could still laugh.
"You guys should listen to her since she’s your master," he taunted my mates.
Haiden lunged at him again, but I pressed my hands against his chest, stopping Ian once more.
"This is what he wants. He wants you to attack him so the lurkers can punish you," I reminded him that Ian only meant trouble.
"How can you be so calm about it? You fucking marked our mate! Do you not understand what you’ve done?" Yorick shouted, his voice shaking with emotion.
"Even the thought of it makes me go crazy," Troy added, backing Yorick up.
"You know what? Let’s tell the headmaster. Let’s see how they respond to his arrogance. Everyone knows she’s my mate. Once they find out he marked her, it’ll change how they see this asshole," Haiden hissed.
I clenched my jaw. I agreed with them, but something inside told me it wouldn’t go that smoothly. And the way Ian started to chuckle confirmed it.
"What would you tell them? That she’s your mate? That she’s only mated with you?" he asked.
The moment those words left his mouth, my spine stiffened. Ian caught the look of fear on my face and smirked.
"Yes. I’ll tell them she’s just my mate," Haiden replied, not recognizing the threat behind Ian’s tone.
"And if you think we’ll be scared of you, we won’t. We’ll deny it. When you accuse us of being her mates, we’ll simply say it’s not true."
Yorick thought he had everything under control, but that wasn’t what Ian was hinting at.
Because then Ian smirked and softly said, "What about me? I won’t lie to them."
As soon as he said that, my mates turned toward me, while I stood frozen, staring at Ian in disbelief.
"Why? You didn’t tell your mates that I’m also your mate?" Ian asked, locking his gaze with mine.
Gasps filled the air.