Luna Mark
1088 Words
Hailey made her way up the stairs, then took the room Archer had indicated for her. It had a round bed, covered in red sheets. She turned on the lights, then walked around it, her eyes taking in the small details of the room. A single wolf painting on the wall, empty wardrobes, and the light scent of incense. She swallowed, and sat on the bed, a small breath escaping her as she lay back, her hand supporting her head.
"We need to cleanse it. You know when you took a taboo. You knew when you did this to her. Her blood will remain on your hands."
Alpha Morales moved his head, his eyes closing tight. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead, his chest heaving as he gradually started to lose breath.
"No," he said, moving, his hand holding on to the sheets. "Don't do it."
His eyes tightened more, as he grasped on the bed sheets, his lips falling open as he gasped for air. It felt like someone was trying to suffocate him.
Hailey stirred from all the noise, and she woke up, her eyes squinting. It was dark outside, dusk having settled on the pack. Her room however, was well lit, and she flipped the covers off.
The sound was coming from the room opposite, and she immediately went to the door, her brows furrowing. She placed her hand on the door knob, then turned it slowly. It was dark, and she struggled to see through it.
"Don't do it."
Her brows furrowed.
"Archer?"
There was no response.
"Archer, is everything okay?"
There was still no answer. She immediately moved to the side of his bed, her fingers maneuvering around him. He appeared to be asleep, but his limbs were active, his legs moving under the sheets, his hands grabbing onto the sheets.
She immediately reached for the bedside lamp and turned it on, then shook him.
He didn't wake. His lips were open, his eyes tightly shut. Like it was a place he didn't want to get out of, yet it scared him to death. It was new seeing the alpha so scared.
"Alpha!" She yelled, and his eyes flew open and he jerked up to a sitting position.
He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, his face burying in the crooks of her neck, his body seeking hers.
She swallowed hard, letting him find solace in whatever he could find solace in, and if that was her, she believed the mark, the eventual turn out of things would gradually start to make sense.
She swallowed, and he buried himself in her neck, his body slowly easing with her scent. It was the same scent that had drawn him to mark her and claim her as his own.
"Archer? Are you okay?"
He swallowed, then moved away. Her eyes skimmed down his face, only realizing that he was shirtless.
"I was..." he said nothing more, then turned around, his hand moving to his hair. He flipped the covers off and without a word, walked to the shower.
Hailey listened as the shower turned on and she gave a small sigh.
Archer felt his muscles relax under the shower, his body easing up. It was a nightmare he'd seen every night for three years, but he never seemed to get used to it. The voices, the images...
He swallowed, then brought his hand up. There was no blood on it. But he felt like he could see it. He felt like her blood was on his hands, and there was no way to wipe it off.
Slowly, he pulled out a robe and stepped out of the shower, his hair falling in front of his eyes. Without a word to Hailey who still watched him like some case study, he wore a grey jogger pants, then kept the shirt off.
"Are you okay, Archer?"
He looked up to her. "Why are you here?"
"I heard your voice. There is no one else around, so I checked on you. Was it a nightmare?"
He moved to the bed. "It's not your problem."
"My mate is having nightmares."
"I am not your mate!"
"You are stuck with me either way. I am stuck with you. I am going to make the best of it."
He swallowed, then blinked rapidly. "Why do you smell like her?"
Hailey's brows furrowed. "Like who? I was born with this scent. And this hair...if you are wondering."
He looked down at her hair, then sighed. "And you decided to become a priestess?"
"I was born with the mark too."
"What else were you born with? Probably two pups at this point."
She cracked a small smile. "Sorry to disappoint you, but it is not that grand. Just another mark. It looked weird, so no one knows about it."
Somewhat, Archer felt his interest piqued. "A mark?"
Hailey said nothing, then slowly stood up and moved towards him. Her dress was zipped to the small of her back, and she showed him the zip.
"You know how dangerously low that will get?" His voice was husky, and she struggled to fight off the same feelings that had conquered her the other night.
"I bet you have seen far more beautiful women go even lower, Archer. Open it up."
His eyes squinted at her. He always knew there was something peculiar about her. Something particularly different. He had managed to weave his way through different women, but this one...
He brought his hand to the zipper, then slowly pulled it down to the very end.
His eyes roamed on her fair skin, and he moved forward, the small crescent sign on the small of her back catching his eyes.
"This mark..."
"You know what it is, Archer?"
He looked up to her, his breath hitching. He slowly brought a hand to touch it, and he heard her suck in a sharp breath, her body squirming under him.
"You smell like her. And...you have this mark."
"I never told anyone. It is not in a place just anyone can see."
She turned to him, her hands holding the dress around her.
"You have the Luna mark."
Her brows furrowed. "I am a priestess."
"But you are a luna. And I have never heard of a worse taboo."
She said nothing, dread filling her as she stood watching him. He swallowed.
A priestess being a Luna...maybe he had seen a taboo just like that.
"Or maybe I have."
She met his eyes.
"Once."
- Writer
