Complications

*Rowan*

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
The bite mark on my neck isn’t bleeding much now as I step out into the hallway. That’s partially because of my wolf shifter DNA, but it’s also because of what it is.
This is no ordinary bite–it’s a mark. A mate’s mark. Hezzlie just claimed me as her own.
“Well, you sure are fucking blowing this, aren’t you?” Dean says. He stands next to James across the hallway from me, both of them looking concerned with a trace of cockiness. “Literally.”
“Shut the fuck up!” I growl at him, walking past them both toward my room.
“Did she… mark you?” James asks in confirmation of what we all already know. “That’s going to really suck for you once she leaves tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fine,” I tell him, not even bothering to turn my head.
Of course, they are trailing me, but they keep their distance because they know I’m about to lose my shit. At the moment, I think I could snap and rip both their heads off without even pausing to think about what I was doing.
“You won’t be fine,” James argues. “You know the further away from you she gets, the more pain and weakness you’ll experience. You won’t be able to function, let alone rule.”
I turn on him, my eyes practically glowing with wrath. “I said I’ll be fine.” I open my bedroom door and walk in, slamming it behind me. I don’t pause for even a moment on my way to the shower.
While I scrub at the mark as if I could somehow wash it away, I go over what I know about the mate mark. My parents were almost always together once they marked one another before I was born. But when my father went off for work, it only took a few days before my mother would begin to feel ill. Father never mentioned any weakness when he returned, but I have to assume he felt the same way.
The mate mark serves as a symbol of devotion from one mate to another. It’s supposed to happen during sex when our other sensations are so heightened there’s hardly any pain. It’s supposed to be mutual.
In this case, I felt my teeth elongating and knew I couldn’t bite Hezzlie. She’s not going to stay here. Having her leave my side as my mate, even without a mark, would be difficult, but this will make it so much worse. I was able to keep myself from biting her, but I was so distracted that I didn’t even consider that she might mark me.
That’s why I’d wanted to take her from behind, like I had the other day.
“Fuck,” I say again, covering the mark with my hand. The bleeding has stopped, but the searing pain is still there.
I get out, dry off and step in front of the mirror. Her mark glows slightly. It’s healed now, but I can clearly see the shape of a full moon on my shoulder. I bang my head against the glass of the mirror but don’t break it. My friends are right–I’m completely fucked.
I can’t let this become a distraction. I have to stay strong and continue on with my plans. It’s not like I can change things now. I have to stay focused on the fact that my sister will finally be back tomorrow. That’s something to be happy about, something to celebrate.
And we will celebrate. I’ve asked Wilma and the rest of the staff to throw another ball tomorrow night. Imagining my sister coming home has me thinking less about Hezzlie and more about finally achieving a goal I set for myself years ago.
The only problem is, King Solomon will still be out there, and I desperately want him dead. Perhaps, I will have time to focus on defeating him once my sister is home. If he’s so much as harmed a hair on her head, I will go after him and make sure he pays dearly for all that he’s done.
I slip on a pair of clean boxers and slide into bed. The house is quiet now with Hezzlie’s crying and begging quieted. I absently cover my mark with my hand and close my eyes. I have to sleep. I’ll need my energy to do what no wolf shifter is meant to do tomorrow–send my mate away.
Forever.

***

*Hezzlie*

I try to fall asleep, but it’s difficult. I hurt Rowan–I bit him. I can’t believe I would do something so horrible.
After he left, I went and took a shower to try to wash his scent away. I brushed my teeth for several minutes in an attempt to wash the bloody taste from my mouth. Nothing is working. I feel awful.
My bed smells like him, and the heady smell of our lovemaking hangs all around me. I tell myself Natalie or someone will change the sheets in the morning so tomorrow night I won’t have to worry about it, but then I remember–tomorrow night, I won’t be here.
Tomorrow night, I’ll be in my father’s home, my father’s castle.
I am a princess.
It sounds ridiculous. Even when I was a little girl, I didn’t pretend to be a princess. It was so far out of reach for me, a poor little girl being raised by her single mother, that it seemed like a waste of time to pretend to be something I never could be.
And yet, tomorrow, I will be one.
I have no idea how my father and his family will treat me. I don’t even know if I have any siblings–half siblings. And I don’t know if he has a wife. What if she hates me because I am a product of him cheating on her? It wouldn’t be without reason for that to be the case.
I will find out tomorrow.
I’ll also have to say goodbye to the friends I’ve made here. To Wilma, Dr. Bolton, Dean, and Natalie.
And then there’s Rowan.
I have to say goodbye to him, too. I can try telling myself that it’s just as well, that he hates me, but I know that’s not true. My wolf is going to be crying forever once we’re away from his wolf. It’s going to be difficult for both of us–or is it just me? I have no idea how to even think about her.
I hope I don’t dream about him. Not tonight or at all. Eventually, maybe my longing for him will fade. If it’s possible, maybe I’ll find a different mate. I don’t know how any of that works.
While I don’t know why, I think I should keep this information about Rowan to myself. I decide not to tell my new family about our connection. It seems like it could be dangerous to him, and even if he will be my enemy in a few hours, I see no reason to make the war worse.
After a few hours of tossing and turning, I finally fall to sleep. Thankfully, I do not dream of Rowan. I don’t dream of anything at all. At least, when I leave here, I will have fixed the problem that brought me to this place to begin with. No more nightmares.
Either that or the nightmare is just beginning.