Chapter 30

~Christopher~

She was definitely asleep now. I opened my eyes in the dark, the dim moonlight pouring in through the window onto Grace’s face.

I gently rolled over and looked at her. She was so beautiful, her long brown hair framing her mature face. It was no wonder she was sought after by so many powerful men.

I knew who she was the moment I laid eyes on her in the forest. Why she was out there all alone, I didn’t know. I had considered killing her right then and there, then all of this drama would stop. Every day, she was part of some scandal, either on the receiving or giving end of it.

I sighed. Maybe then, my sister would stop nagging me about her.

But, I had a better plan. She would be useless to me dead. Alive, I could use her to my advantage. There were a lot of powerful pieces moving across the chess board right now, and Grace was at the center of it all.

The Lycan King had been my biggest threat recently. He kept a tight hold on the border, and killed off many of my people. Of course, I hadn’t exactly been a friendly neighbor either, launching attacks on his very territory just to get a feeling of how the old Black Lycan clan was holding up.

Yes, Lycans had a long, ancient history of being powerful, but with their unfortunate circumstances of needing to find a mate, otherwise they would go feral… . Their population was dying out.

The Black Lycan clan had become smaller and smaller every year with their low birth rate and long lives.

And each time I attacked, they became weaker. I especially felt it this last attack, at Grace’s welcome party. They were barely able to hold us off.

If only I could get the Lycan King out of the picture. He was the problem in everyone’s plans. He messed up Sophia’s plans, Liam’s plans, my plans.

The only issue was that he was immensely powerful. I couldn't hope to beat him even with all my people, even if I was able to convince them it would be worth it.

But brute force was never my strong suit. Was it luck or fate that brought Grace to me tonight in the forest? That she took pity on me and brought me into her bedroom, which just so happened to be in the core of the Black Lycan clan?

I didn’t even need to sneak in.

A wicked smile curled across my face. Yes, this was all falling into my lap. It was a sign, for sure.

I shifted, carefully sitting up so I didn’t disturb the beautiful, sleeping woman next to me. I leaned forward and my lips brushed across her warm, soft cheek, stealing a kiss.

I pulled back, looking over her. Her chest rose and fell gently with each sleeping breath. My eyes traveled up her chest and to her neck, where her mark from Liam sat visible, dark on her skin.

I ran a finger over it. I doubt she was very fond of it, after leaving Liam. No matter what, I would give her a new one and make her my own.

If I marked her, and stole her away, I would have the trump card. What did the Lycan King care about more? He’d be at my mercy.

Feeling triumphant already, I lowered my mouth to her neck.

~Grace~

My eyes flew open as I felt a sharp pain on the side of my neck. I jolted up, disoriented, but feeling someone next to me. I shoved them away, practically falling out of bed.

Placing my hand on my neck where it hurt, my heart stopped with sudden realization. They were attempting to mark me!

I stood up, enraged. The memories of the night flooded into my mind, and I remembered who lay in bed next to me.

Standing over him, I growled threateningly. “What do you think you’re doing?”

I thought he was an innocent man, but he clearly had ulterior motives. Maybe he didn’t fully understand the meaning of his actions, but he definitely knew how to mark someone. And to do it without their knowledge was unforgivable.

“What were you doing?” I demanded again, this time more forceful.

The man sat on my bed, silently watching me. I sighed. Right, he was mute. He couldn’t respond to me, anyway.

I hissed in annoyance. I was tired, I’d gotten maybe an hour’s worth of sleep the whole night, and I had to deal with… this.

“Okay,” I started, trying to keep my voice calm, “maybe you weren’t aware of your intentions, but that wasn’t okay. You never mark someone without their permission.”

The man smiled at me. I stared at him in confusion, but something deep inside me felt unsettled. I had a feeling he knew more than he let on.

I took a step back, cautious of this man. What were his intentions, anyway?

He got off the bed, and stood up, still smiling at me. I watched him with caution, not trusting him any more. There was an intelligence in those eyes that let me know he was not as helpless as I had thought.

Turning around, he opened my window, and a cold breeze blew into the room. I stared at him, waiting for him to make the next move. What was he planning?

With agile spryness, he suddenly jumped onto the window sill, crouched as he looked back at me.

What did he think he was doing? A fall from that height could kill him! At the very least, he’d be severely injured!

The stranger gave me a playful wink, a smile stretched across his face. Shocked, I stood frozen in place as he jumped out the window, disappearing out of sight.

Rushing over, I stared down at the ground after him, but he was gone. Where did he go? If he had fallen, I’d surely hear a sound.

I sighed, sitting down on my bed, my head aching. God, I never should have gone into that forest tonight. I mean, what was I thinking, bringing a stranger into my room? Showed me what happened when you tried to show kindness to a stranger.

Who was he, really? It was hard to believe he was some random stranger that just so happened to be injured along the Black Lycan clan border. And he tried to mark me? Ugh!

Just thinking about it still made my blood boil.

I heard a door across the hallway open and close, and I jumped at the noise.

Oh, Alex must have gotten back. Thank god he didn’t get here when the stranger was still here… He would have been so mad at me.

Even if I had told him about what happened tonight…, I shivered at the thought. I had seen Alex’s wrath before, and I did not want to experience it directed at me.

Besides, he might think it was some breach of contract between us, and I still needed him to take down Liam. We were so close, in the final stretch, but I couldn’t do it without him.

Yes, it was better to keep this a secret.