Calla's POV
"You believe it to be that simple?" He shot back, annoyed eyes flickering. "This isn't some fairy tale where I could just wave my fingers to make it all go. The mark decided on you, Calla. Running from it is not possible.
Watch me. Turning on my heel, prepared to run, Lucian was faster.
His hands on my shoulders, he stood in front of me and blocked my way. "You don't understand what you're doing. If you run, they'll find you. And when they do, they'll tear you apart."
Then let them! I cried and shoved him away. At least it will be fast. At least I won't have to constantly wonder if you will turn on me going forward.
The words struck him like a punch, and for a split second his visage broke. "You think I'd betray you?"
I hesitated, my anger wavering in the face of his raw emotion. "I don't know what to think anymore. All I know is that I'm scared, and I'm tired of feeling like a pawn in someone else's game."
Lucian's hands dropped to his sides, and he took a step closer, his voice gentle but urgent. "You're not a pawn to me, Calla. You never were."
"Then prove it," I said, my heart pumping. "Stop hiding behind half-truths and cryptic warnings. Tell me what is actually going on.
He hesitated, his mouth clenching as though he were engaged in some inner warfare. "The mark," It serves as a power emblem. It is a lighthouse, but as well. Indeed it will bring the curse to you. It also speeds you and strengthens you though. Right now, Calla, you have this.
And what happens should I find myself unable to manage? With my voice shaking, I asked.
"I'll protect you," he growled angrily, staring blankly into my eyes. " Especially if it kills me."
The weight of his words briefly took my breath. I looked at his face for any sign of dishonesty but there was none.
"Why do you care so much"? My voice just above a whisper, I asked.
His eyes softened, and he reached out to sweep a hair strand from my face. "Because Calla, I cannot lose you. Not me.
A deep growl rippled across the woods before I could answer. Lucian froze, his eyes narrowing as he looked over the darkness.
He said, "Stay behind me," his voice falling into a deadly growl.
"What is it?." My gut turned over with anxiety as I asked.
" Problems."
The growls got louder, suddenly they were upon us—two big wolves with blazing eyes like molten gold. Their aggressiveness in lunging at us made my blood stop cold.
Lucian answered them squarely, his motions a blur as he changed into his wolf form. His glittering eyes gleamed with lethal determination, his black fur bristled sleekly.
He yelled, "Calla, run!" and his voice was raspy but still clear.
But I was unable to move. As I watched the terrible struggle play out, my feet felt anchored to the earth. Lucian was a natural powerhouse with unequaled speed and strength. Still, the wolves were relentless, their strikes planned.
A man with sharp features and cold, calculated eyes entered the area as Lucian pulled down the second wolf.
"Well, well," he murmured, his voice mocking and silky. "The terrible Lucian Grey, reduced to defending a mortal."
Lucian turned back into his human form, bloodied but deferential. "Darry."
The name made me shudder from the bottom up.
Darius looked at me, a nasty smile flickering on his lips. And you had to be the female I have heard so much about. The one with the mark.
Lucian snarled, his body coiled like a spring. Stay away from her.
Darius laughed, not sure what else. "Oh, I'm not here to injure her. Not yet either. I simply wanted to glimpse the face of the girl meant to bring about the end of all we know.
My heart came to a stop. "What are you referencing?"
Darius smiled wideningly and replied, "You'll find out soon enough." Still, think of this as a warning for now. Little buddy, the mark is not a gift. It's a curse. And it'll ruin you.
Darius disappeared into the darkness before Lucian could respond, therefore isolating us in the clearing.
My voice shaking, I turned to Lucian. "What did he imply? Lucian, what exactly did he mean?
His quiet was plenty; dread twisted in my stomach.
A reminder that things were far from finished, the mark seared on my skin.
You are bleeding.
As I bent down to Lucian, his wolf shape fading back into his human body, my voice shook. Blood flowed from a cut along his side, coating the flooring under him and his shirt.
"I'll live," he said, his voice strained but calm.
"That's not good enough," I said, pushing my hands on the incision to stop bleeding. "Stop acting as though you are unbeatable."
He grabbed my wrist, his hold strong even with his frailty. Start caring about yourself instead of me. Selene will not stop unless she has you.
And whose negligence is that? I turned back, my fury growing along with my terror. "You Lucian got me into this situation. You marked me, and today I am the one everyone wants dead!
His jaw tightened, and he forced himself straight, stinging with the effort. "I did not mark you, Calla. The mark selected you.
"That does not make it better!" Pulling away from him, I said, "You keep saying it's fate, that I'm some kind of key, but you still haven't told me what that even means!!"
Lucian narrowed his gaze, his annoyance reflecting mine. "Because I don't know! You are carrying the mark that I have spent millennia attempting to comprehend. Do you suppose I sought this for you? Regarding us:
His words weighty hung in the air, and my heart twisted agonizingly. "For " I repeated, just above a whisper.
He stopped, softening his face. "Calla, I…"
"Don't," I said, taking a step back. My emotions were tumultuous, and his close proximity further complicated matters. "Say something you cannot undo."
His eyes locked with mine, a concoction of longing and guilt. "I have never misled you on my feelings."
But you have lied about everything else, I said, my voice breaking. "How should I believe you, Lucian? When you claim to be able to defend me, but all you have done is conceal the truth, how am I supposed to believe you?"voice low and frantic, he replied, "I'm trying to protect you from things you can't even imagine." "Know everything, and you will destroy yourself."
"I'm Wrecked! wrecked!," Tears flooded my face, I yelled. "Don't you see that? My life is ending. Not sure even know who I am!